Robert A. Dahl

Robert A. Dahl
Born December 17, 1915
Inwood, Iowa, U.S.
Died February 5, 2014 (aged 98)
Hamden, Connecticut, U.S.
Fields Political science, Democratic theory
Alma mater University of Washington
Yale University, Ph.D.
Thesis Socialist Programs and Democratic Politics: An Analysis
Academic advisors Francis Coker, Harvey Mansfield, Sr.
Notable students Catherine MacKinnon • Guillermo O'Donnell • Nelson Polsby • Ian Shapiro • Edward Tufte • Ray Wolfinger • James Fishkin
Known for Polyarchy, pluralism
Influences Elite theory • Kenneth Arrow • Léon Duguit • James Coleman • Carl Hempel
Influenced Charles Lindblom, Tom Malleson
Spouse Mary Louise Bartlett (1940–1970)
Ann Sale (1973–2014)
Children 4

Robert Alan Dahl (/dɑːl/; December 17, 1915 – February 5, 2014) was a political theorist and Sterling Professor of Political Science at Yale University. His established the pluralist theory of democracy—in which political outcomes are enacted through competitive, if unequal, interests group—and introduced "polyarchy" as a descriptor of actual democratic governance. An originator of "empirical theory" and known for advancing behavioralist characterizations of political power, Dahl's research focused on the nature of decisionmaking in actual institutions, such as American cities. Dahl is considered one of the most influential political social scientists of the twentieth century, and has been described as "the dean of American political scientists."[1][2]

Dahl received his Ph.D. at Yale in 1940 and served on its political science faculty from 1946 to 1986. His influential early books include A Preface to Democratic Theory (1956), Who Governs? (1961), and Pluralist Democracy in the United States (1967), which presented pluralistic explanations for political rule in the United States.[3][4] He was elected president of the American Political Science Association in 1966.

Writings

Robert A. Dahl teaching a political science class at Yale University

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he was involved in an academic disagreement with C. Wright Mills over the nature of politics in the United States. Mills held that America's governments are in the grasp of a unitary and demographically narrow power elite. Dahl responded that there are many different elites involved, who have to work both in contention and in compromise with one another. If this is not democracy in a populist sense, Dahl contended, it is at least polyarchy (or pluralism). In perhaps his best known work, Who Governs? (1961), he examines the power structures (both formal and informal) in the city of New Haven, Connecticut, as a case study, and finds that it supports this view.[5]

From the late 1960s onwards, his conclusions were challenged by scholars such as G. William Domhoff and Charles E. Lindblom (a friend and colleague of Dahl).[6][7]

In How Democratic Is the American Constitution? (2001) Dahl argued that the US Constitution is much less democratic than it ought to be, given that its authors were operating from a position of "profound ignorance" about the future. However, he adds that there is little or nothing that can be done about this "short of some constitutional breakdown, which I neither foresee nor, certainly, wish for." [8]

Influence terms

One of Robert Dahl’s many contributions is his explication of the varieties of power, which he defines as “A” getting “B” to do what “A” wants. Dahl prefers the more neutral “influence terms,” (Michael G. Roskin) which he arrayed on a scale from best to worst:

  1. Rational Persuasion, the nicest form of influence, means telling the truth and explaining why someone should do something, like your doctor convincing you to stop smoking.
  2. Manipulative persuasion, a notch lower, means lying or misleading to get someone to do something.
  3. Inducement still lower, means offering rewards or punishments to get someone to do something, i.e. like bribery.
  4. Power threatens severe punishment, such as jail or loss of job.
  5. Coercion is power with no way out; you have to do it.
  6. Physical force – is backing up coercion with use or threat of bodily harm.

Thus, we can tell which governments are best; the ones that use influence at the higher end of the scale. The worst use the unpleasant forms of influence at the lower end.

Democracy and polyarchies

Main article: polyarchy

In his book, Democracy and Its Critics (1989), Dahl clarifies his view about democracy. No modern country meets the ideal of democracy, which is as a theoretical utopia. To reach the ideal requires meeting five criteria:[9]

  1. Effective participation
    Citizens must have adequate and equal opportunities to form their preference and place questions on the public agenda and express reasons for one outcome over the other.
  2. Voting equality at the decisive stage
    Each citizen must be assured his or her judgments will be counted as equal in weights to the judgments of others.
  3. Enlightened understanding
    Citizens must enjoy ample and equal opportunities for discovering and affirming what choice would best serve their interests.
  4. Control of the agenda
    Demos or people must have the opportunity to decide what political matters actually are and what should be brought up for deliberation.
  5. Inclusiveness
    Equality must extend to all citizens within the state. Everyone has legitimate stake within the political process.

Instead, he calls politically advanced countries "polyarchies". Polyarchies have elected officials, free and fair elections, inclusive suffrage, rights to run for office, freedom of expression, alternative information and associational autonomy. Those institutions are a major advance in that they create multiple centers of political power.[10]

Prizes

Dahl was awarded the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science in 1995.[4]

Criticism

Bibliography

The best known of Dahl's works include:

References

  1. ↑ Rodrigues, Adrien; Lloyd-Thomas, Matthew (7 February 2014). "Dahl’s Legacy Remembered". Yale Daily News. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  2. ↑ Campbell, John C. (Fall 1985). "Controlling Nuclear Weapons: Democracy Versus Guardianship". Foreign Affairs. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Robert Dahl, Sterling Professor Emeritus in Political Science, passes away". Yale University Department of Political Science. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Martin, Douglas (February 8, 2014). "Robert A. Dahl, defined politics and power; at 98". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ Heinz Eulau, "Who Governs? Democracy and Power in an American City. By Robert A. Dahl," American Political Science Review (1962) 56#1 pp 144-145.
  6. ↑ G. William Domhoff, Who really rules?: New Haven and community power reexamined (Transaction Books, 1978).
  7. ↑ David Vogel, Fluctuating fortunes: The political power of business in America (2003)
  8. ↑ Robert Alan Dahl (2003). How Democratic is the American Constitution?. Yale UP. p. 144.
  9. ↑ R.A. Dahl, Democracy and Its Critics, Yale University Press, p.221
  10. ↑ R.A. Dahl, Democracy and Its Critics, Yale University Press, p.222

Sources

Further reading

External links

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