CAN DEMOCRACY BE ACHIEVED UNDEMOCRATICALLY? AN EXAMINATION OF THE NEXUS BETWEEN PROCEDURAL AND SUBSTANTIVE THEORIES
The historical development of democracy reveals it as an institutional arrangement in which people articulate a vision of their values and cultural perspectives towards combating the challenges of governance. This vision of a people's values and culture permeates the character of democracy both in the Athenian democratic polis as well as in other societies that practice it. Democracy is thus the power of the people to govern themselves. It provides a framework in which the people occupy their space. They see themselves as being in charge, even if the charge is through their representatives. However, there is no clear-cut articulation of a logical congruence between the process (procedural) and the outcome or goal (substantive) of democracy. This lack of correspondence between the procedural and substantive democratic model has severely hampered its practice. Democratic practice, in many instances, reveals a consistent undermining of the procedural component of democracy, which ultimately impinges on the substantive democratic value. While the democratic process refers to the intrinsic value of democracy, the democratic outcome refers to the instrumental benefits of democracy. This prescriptive value is done through reflections on the dynamics of the relationship between the procedural and substantive democratic theories. This work is thus, a theoretical exploration of the nexus between the process and goal of democracy; leading to the conclusion that democracy should be achieved democratically and not undemocratically.
Keywords: Democracy, Procedural, Substantive, Prescriptive and Undemocratic