Popular democracy is a notion of direct democracy based on referendums and other devices of empowerment and concretization of popular will. The concept evolved out of the political philosophy of populism, as a fully democratic version of this popular empowerment ideology, but since it has become independent of it, and some even discuss if they are antagonistic or unrelated now (see Values). Though the expression has been used since the 19th century and may be applied to English Civil War politics, at least the notion (or the notion in its current form) is deemed recent and has only recently been fully developed.
Walt Whitman uses the word in Democratic Vistas as description of the vague notion of masse democracy with universal suffrage of a more or less direct and participatory type he defended. He admitted that the system had some dangers, but it "practically justifies itself beyond the proudest claims and wildest hopes of its enthusiasts".[7]William Jennings Bryan may be considered a popular democrat for his support of a democracy based on popular sovereignty.[8]
Theodore Roosevelt is considered a defender of a popular democrat insurgency against big business and elitism.[9]
In the end of the first half of the 20th century, the Christian democratic parties preferred the term "popular democrats" to Christian democrats.[10]
Eugene McCarthy was seen as a popular democrat presidential campaigner in 1968.[9]
In 1969 Muammar al-Gaddafi overthrew the pro-western monarchy and created a system he claimed to be a popular democracy.[13]
Late 20th century
Similarly to Gaddafi, Hafez al-Assad, officially ended the one party state of Ba'ath Syria created by the 1963 coup d'état in 1970, declaring the creation of a multi-party popular democracy.[14]
In 1975 Al Gaddafi wrote The Green Book, where he defends his political system as a form of "direct and popular democracy" based on the will of the people instead of representative parliaments.
After the fall of Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, a research and advocacy centre called the Institute for Popular Democracy was created who frequently criticizes "elite politics" and defends reformist local social movements.
In 1996 the popular democratic Organization for Popular Democracy - Labour Movement created the Congress for Democracy and Progress, being the current ruling party in Burkina Faso.
Today
The internet is sometimes considered as a vital part or an example of modern popular democratic practices.[17]
Some Marxist groups consider that the current Middle East is currently prepared for and wishes popular democracy (which in this context may be referring to Marxist People's Democracy) but that the "neoconservative design upon the region" and American power prevents this.[18]
There are some signs interpreted by analysts as possibilities of popular democracy, in Nigeria,[19]Abkhazia and Georgia.[20]
Former Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez was sometimes considered to either be practicing[21] or simulating[22] popular democracy.
As popular democracy is an ideal of direct and participatory democracy based on grassroots, there aren't exactly very defined values beyond support of this kind of democracy over more representative types. But some attempts have been made to define popular democrat ideals based around the idea that this direct democracy is just a step for a full democracy. Some proposals of popular democratic common values have been:
As the ideal of popular democracy came out of prepositions of Populism (ex: popular rule in democracy is fairer than elitist parliaments; decisions by general referendums are fairer than decisions by limited groups like parliaments and governments), and as platforms of certain groups claiming to be popular democratic are very similar to those of various democratic and undemocratic populist movements, there is discussion on the relation between both political philosophies.[26][27][28]
Alistair McConnachie writes frequent articles supporting popular democracy[23][24] for the think tank Sovereignty, which he directs.
Self-described Populist Harry C. Boyte adopts some popular democrat themes in his support of grassroots democracy.
The Nepalese Maoists also support a socialist, non-elitist, form of popular democracy,[31] which may be understood as a form of Maoist people's democracy but based more on popular participation and less on Vanguard parties.
^The Reader's Companion to American History, ed. Eric Foner, John Arthur Garraty, Society of American Historians, Houghton-Mifflin, 1991, section "JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY"
^Simons, Jon (30 August 2007). "Democratically Aestheticized Politics". American Political Science Association. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2012. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Hyatt Regency Chicago and the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, Chicago, Illinois.
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