THE NEED FOR A NEW DEMOCRATIC MODEL: REPRESENTATION, AUTONOMY AND ACCOMMODATION FOR PLURAL SOCIETIES

Abstract

With the end of the Cold War and dissolution of socialist federations of USSR and Yugoslavia, with the description of Francis Fukuyama, "the end of history" for ideologies had been declared and Western democracy and capitalism has been accepted as the norm of governance. With the rise of globalization starting from 1980s, neo-liberalism determined the governance forms in developing and developed countries. However the side effects of neo-liberalism have been increasingly faced particularly in developing world in the recent decades. Adopting neo-liberal market economy without adopting a plural democracy with human rights norms, results in unease in societies, particularly among the minority communities. In order to prevent conflict within societies, a more plural governance model that is based on democracy, representation rights, human rights and community rights is required. This paper aims to address the short-comings of majoritarian democracy and discuss the democracy and representation needs of contemporary governance systems. The need of an inclusive, accommodating and representative system with extensive human rights regimes will be discussed. A particular emphasis will be placed upon the needs of minority communities, especially in representation and autonomy. Thus, the models for plural democracy will be presented as new governance forms.