Keywords
Mediterranean affirmation
Democracy
Participation
North-Atlantic reaffirmations
How to Cite
Abstract
This article adopts an analytic-deductive approach, using documentary analysis techniques, to examine democracy as a political ideal. It initially discusses the democratic assertion in the Greek and Roman Mediterranean and its subsequent consolidation in the English, French, and American Atlantic contexts, highlighting democracy as a transcendent, universalizable, yet contextualized concept. From this perspective, the study examines the authenticity of democratic experiences in Southern Africa, focusing on South Africa, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The results indicate that, in these contexts, the most significant virtue of democratic processes lies in citizen participation rather than mere representation, reinforcing the ideal dimension of democracy as self-rule by the people.
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