| Popis: |
The topics of democracy and democratization of political regimes have been at the top of the social sciences agenda, especially that of political science and economics. As an increasing number of nations have chosen their political leaders through free and fair elections, the attention of researchers has also been directed to the need to discover what differentiates democracies. This academic attention is related to the growing weight that this topic has gained in the public agenda. The alleged decline in electoral participation, in citizens' trust in political institutions, the quality of political elites and mechanisms of accountability of power are recurrent themes. And there is the idea that the economic, social and cultural foundations that have led to the emergence of Democracy in industrialized countries have undergone such important changes that they may be affecting the most basic aspects of the relationship between citizens and power political. We analyse the Portuguese case, in which the quality of the functioning of democracy has become an increasingly relevant topic, in which the State ends up being the kidnapper of a people held hostage by promiscuity between private conveniences and public favours. This machination makes the electoral system unsuitable for reality and, above all, unsuitable for the future. The Portuguese people have become anesthetized, accustomed to a democratic system that does not favour economic growth and the well-being of citizens. It is the quality of democracy that is at stake. It has become imprisoned by a certain normative conception of Democracy, which, in turn, may not be representative of the views shared by most citizens or political agents. On the other hand, by privileging institutional aspects of the political system, this approach neglects the fundamental aspect of a democratic regime: the citizens and their perceptions and assessments. |
