Demokratie ohne Menschenrechte? Das Problem der normativen Unbestimmtheit von Demokratien nach Platon, Lefort und Arendt

Abstract

Since Plato’s critique of the infinite and uncontrolled power of the demos, one of the strongest arguments against democracies until today has been that they are morally and epistemically undetermined. Against this background, the article presents two counter-interpretations. Firstly, it argues with Claude Lefort that the democratic uncertainty of power, knowledge, and rights allows each individual to contest any form of domination, and that this indefinite process of contestation is rooted historically in the expression of human rights. Secondly, it argues with Hannah Arendt that the undetermined character of democracy is an effect of sharing and dividing power in an open and non-restricted manner. Thus it is a fundamental right of each human being to be empowered to act in concert with others sharing forms of non-exclusive, democratic practices, since it allows individuals to be part of a common world. Following Lefort and Arendt, it is the very character of democratic practices as undetermined interactions that binds democracies to the fundamental human rights of freedom and equality.