Elitist Theories of Democracy and the Challenge to the Normative Ideal of Popular Self-Rule AbstractElitist theories of democracy fundamentally challenge the classical normative ideal of democracy as popular self-rule or government by the people, questioning whether broad citizen participation can meaningfully shape political decisions in complex modern societies. Emerging in the early 20th century as … Continue reading Critically analyze how elitist theories of democracy challenge the normative ideal of democracy as popular self-rule or ‘government by the people’.