About the Journal

Democratic Theory is a peer-reviewed journal published and distributed by Berghahn. It encourages philosophical and interdisciplinary contributions that critically explore democratic theory—in all its forms. Spanning a range of views, the journal offers a cross-disciplinary forum for diverse theoretical questions to be put forward and systematically examined. It advances non-Western as well as Western ideas and is actively based on the premise that there are many forms of democracies and many types of democrats.

As a forum for debate, the journal challenges theorists to ask and answer the perennial questions that plague the field of democratization studies:

• Why is democracy so prominent in the world today?
• What is the meaning of democracy?
• Will democracy continue to expand?
• Are current forms of democracy sufficient to give voice to “the people” in an increasingly fragmented and divided world?
• Who leads in democracy?
• What types of non-Western democratic theories are there?
• Should democrats always defend democracy?
• Should democrats be fearful of de-democratization, post-democracies, and the rise of hybridized regimes?  

For too long, the discourse of democracy has been colonized and predetermined by the West. Now more than ever there is a need to globalize—and by extension democratize—how we think about democracy: Democratic Theory provides the means for these essential debates to germinate and develop.

Democratic Theory is now ranked in the Australian Political Studies Association's 2016 Preferred Journal List.