Robert A. Dahl’s Followers (103)

Robert A. Dahl

Born

in Inwood, Iowa, The United States

December 17, 1915

Died

February 05, 2014

Genre

Politics

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Robert A. Dahl was one of the most influential political theorists of the twentieth century, best known for his foundational work on pluralist democracy and the concept of "polyarchy." A Sterling Professor of Political Science at Yale University, Dahl advanced empirical approaches to political science and reshaped understandings of democratic theory through both descriptive and normative lenses. He argued that political power in democracies is distributed among multiple interest groups rather than centralized in a single elite, a view he expounded in seminal works such as A Preface to Democratic Theory (1956) and Who Governs? (1961), the latter based on a case study of New Haven, Connecticut. His concept of polyarchy described modern repres Robert A. Dahl was one of the most influential political theorists of the twentieth century, best known for his foundational work on pluralist democracy and the concept of "polyarchy." A Sterling Professor of Political Science at Yale University, Dahl advanced empirical approaches to political science and reshaped understandings of democratic theory through both descriptive and normative lenses. He argued that political power in democracies is distributed among multiple interest groups rather than centralized in a single elite, a view he expounded in seminal works such as A Preface to Democratic Theory (1956) and Who Governs? (1961), the latter based on a case study of New Haven, Connecticut. His concept of polyarchy described modern representative democracies as systems characterized by key institutions like free elections, inclusive suffrage, and civil liberties.
Born in Inwood, Iowa, and raised in Skagway, Alaska, Dahl drew early insights from his experiences among working-class communities. After earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington, he completed his Ph.D. at Yale in 1940. He served in World War II as a reconnaissance platoon leader in Europe, earning a Bronze Star. After the war, he returned to Yale, where he taught for four decades and held leadership roles including department chair. Dahl also served as president of the American Political Science Association in 1966–67.
Throughout his career, Dahl explored the conditions and values essential to democratic governance. He articulated five criteria for evaluating democratic processes—effective participation, voting equality, enlightened understanding, control of the agenda, and inclusion. He also identified seven institutional requirements of polyarchy, such as elected officials, free and fair elections, and associational autonomy. In his later work, including Democracy and Its Critics (1989) and On Democracy (1998), he examined democracy’s advantages over other forms of governance, such as fostering political equality and safeguarding personal freedom.
Dahl remained critical of American political structures, particularly the U.S. Constitution, which he saw as undemocratic by contemporary standards. In How Democratic Is the American Constitution? (2001), he critiqued the framers’ limitations, while acknowledging the practical challenges of reform. He continued to address issues of political equality in On Political Equality (2006).
Dahl was the recipient of numerous honors, including two Woodrow Wilson Foundation Book Awards and the inaugural Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science. His legacy lives on in both theory and practice, with the American Political Science Association establishing the Robert A. Dahl Award in his honor. He passed away in 2014, leaving a lasting imprint on the study and practice of democracy. ...more

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Robert A. Dahl’s books

Average rating: 3.71 · 3,197 ratings · 292 reviews · 62 distinct works • Similar authors

	On Democracy 3.68 avg rating — 1,142 ratings — published 1998 — 38 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	How Democratic Is the American Constitution? 3.69 avg rating — 755 ratings — published 2001 — 31 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Democracy and Its Critics 3.84 avg rating — 317 ratings — published 1989 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition 3.90 avg rating — 293 ratings — published 1971 — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Who Governs? Democracy and Power in an American City 3.63 avg rating — 246 ratings — published 1961 — 20 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Preface to Democratic Theory 3.70 avg rating — 197 ratings — published 1956 — 29 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Modern Political Analysis by Robert A. Dahl, Bruce Stinebrickner 3.45 avg rating — 96 ratings — published 1970 — 25 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	On Political Equality 3.49 avg rating — 84 ratings — published 2006 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	After the Revolution?: Authority in a Good Society 3.93 avg rating — 44 ratings — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Democracy Sourcebook by Robert A. Dahl, José Antonio Cheibub, Vaclav Smil 3.68 avg rating — 22 ratings — published 2003 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Robert A. Dahl (?)

“democratic theory is concerned with processes by which ordinary citizens exert a relatively high degree of control over leaders;”
― Robert A. Dahl, A Preface to Democratic Theory

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“Why should we feel bound today by a document produced more than two centuries ago by a group of fifty-five mortal men, actually signed by only thirty-nine, a fair number of whom were slaveholders, and adopted in only thirteen states by the votes of fewer than two thousand men, all of whom are long since dead and mainly forgotten?2”
― Robert A. Dahl, How Democratic Is the American Constitution?: Second Edition

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“É dispensável dizer que, na falta do direito de exercer oposição, o direito de "participar" é despido de boa parte do significado que tem num país onde existe a contestação pública. '' P. 25

''Consideremos, então, a democratização como formada por pelo menos duas dimensões: contestação pública e direito de participação'' P.26”
― Robert Dahl

tags: polyarchy, robert-dahl

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Robert A. Dahl’s Followers (103)

Robert A. Dahl

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