A Preface to Democratic Theory, Expanded Edition

“Few books remain in print for five decades as Robert Dahl’s brilliant and captivating Preface to Democratic Theory has done. Among the reasons is that in it Dahl set forth the definitive critique of James Madison’s discussion of majority rule in The Federalist. In his new Afterword written for this edition Dahl deepens and extends this critique, showing that Madison himself had become uncomfortable with some of his arguments toward the end of his life. No work on democratic theory combines the acuity, range, and depth of this classic of pluralist theory. It will likely remain the standard treatment of the subject for decades to come.”—Ian Shapiro, Yale University, author of The State of Democratic Theory

“Fifty years ago, Robert Dahl’s A Preface to Democratic Theory helped induce democratic theorists to think less about institutions and more about political sociology. In doing so, it argued that Madison’s political theory was substantially flawed. With this new, expanded edition of his signal work, Dahl looks back at his earlier effort and refines some of his formulations, showing that Madison was, in some respects, a more astute political thinker than he originally believed. The result is an important summing-up of the thought of one of the very best contemporary political theorists concerning the work of his great predecessor.”<Stephen Elkin, University of Maryland, author of Reconstructing the Commercial Republic>