The Under-Complexity of Democracy

Abstract:     
Gunther Teubner has raised the question of "What comes after the state?" Behind the question lies the insight that society is currently undergoing deep structural transformations in the sense that state-centered society, which was a strong characteristic of 19th and 20th century society, is fading away at the same time as new forms of trans-national structures continuously gain in importance. One of the many consequences of this development is, seemingly, that the political system is no longer capable of serving as the primary "partner" of the legal system, thereby reducing the impact of democratic decision-making on the legal system. Teubner`s theory of reflexive law thus needs to be complemented by a theory of reflexive politics.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 7

Keywords: democracy, democratic theory, Teubner, Luhmann, Habermas, systems theory, constitutionalism, transnational, legitimacy, autonomy, justification, functional differentiation, Hegel, modernity, steering, nation state, globalization, corporatism, structural coupling, reflexive law

Accepted Paper Series