This course addresses the question of whether a democratic system of government is able to dissolve hegemonic structures of power (be they colonial, totalitarian, social or class structures). What would be the nature of such a system? How can democratic systems be strengthened from the perspective of human liberation and the dissolution of hegemonic structures, including those that are embedded in law and general policy? The course discusses the basis, mechanisms and modus operandi of democratic systems, and the potential which they hold for the realization of freedom for peoples, social groups and individuals. Prominent thinkers such as Gramsci, Habermas, and Zizek and others will be considered, in conjunction with rising democratic systems, national, ethnic liberation, and anti-discrimination movements.
