A Democracia Como um Ideal à Luz das Suas Afirmações Mediterrânicas, das Reafirmações Norte-Atlânticas e das Experiências Australo-africanas | Democracy as an Ideal in Light of its Mediterranean Affirmations, NA Reaffirmations and SA Experiences
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.
Fields of Study & Subjects
African cultural and philosophical studies
Political Conflict and Governance
Education
Politics
and Culture Studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Political Observer | Revista Portuguesa de Ciência Política (Portuguese Journal of Political Science)
- Publisher
- Observatório Político
- Issue
- 24
- Pages
- 79–99
- Publication date
- 2 January 2026
- Language
- PT