Political Science I / Democracy and Polyarchy
Practice question · Select all that apply

Which are true of Dahl's concept of polyarchy?

Hints
  1. Three describe the concept; one collapses the distinction it was built to make.
  2. Nineteenth-century Britain scored high on one and very low on the other.
Show the answer
  • A. It was introduced to avoid calling real regimes democracies
  • C. A regime can score high on one dimension and low on the other
  • D. It has two dimensions, contestation and inclusiveness
Why

The fourth destroys the point. Dahl introduced polyarchy because democracy is an ideal no state has reached, and because the two dimensions move independently: high contestation with a tiny electorate, or wide suffrage with no real competition, are both real historical arrangements and neither is democracy.

Read the lesson: Democracy and Polyarchy →

Practise Democracy and Polyarchy

The app has 5 more questions on this lesson, and keeps your place in the course. Political Science I is free to start.

More questions on Democracy and Polyarchy