Неокорпоративни концепт „ваучерске- демократије“
Neocorporatist Concept of “Voucher-Democracy”

Summary/Abstract: Recognizing the extraordinary importance of associative life for democratic theory, the problems associated with the democratic deficit of welfare state concept and trend of declining interest and trust in political institutions of the advanced capitalist societies, this paper analyzes the political and social design based on the qualities of associative engagement as a conceptual core of associative democracy project (primarily understood as a reform intervention in traditional model of representative democracy or аs reform addition to dominant aggregative conceptions of democracy). In the first part of this paper, author critically examines: (1) Paul Hirst’s concept of associative democracy, which is a variant of institutional pluralism (oriented towards developing of adequate institutions for the more comprehensive inclusion of minorities); and (2) Joshua Cohen and Joel Rogers’s concept of associative democracy, which is based on the radical transformation of corporatist approach where interest groups take the most important position. The second part of the paper deals with the Philippe Schmitter’s neocorporatist concept of associative democracy, with a theoretical attempt to solve the problem of social inequality by promoting the secondary citizenship, semi-public associations and the state voucher system. The paper concludes with a consideration of the fact that, although conceived as a democratic reform, Schmitter’s concept of associative democracy manifest demand for deep metamorphosis of democracy.

• Details
• Contents