User:Zraerobertson/Choose an Article


 * 1) Participatory Democracy: Though this Wikipedia page does challenge some traditional notions of popular sovereignty and participation, it seems to adhere to an Americanized version of electoral democracy and is notably lacking information on the lottocratic system. More specifically, the 21st century section of the article which provides examples of participatory democracy could benefit from the addition of information on the Paris Climate Convention and the UK Citizens' Assembly. Credible references for this section are available in Claire Mellier and Rich Wilson's “Getting Climate Citizens’ Assemblies Right” piece. The Athenian Democracy section also seems to be missing important information on the role of the lottocratic system in electing representatives, a topic that is thoroughly discussed in Bernard Manin's book The Principles of Representative Government. The strengths section of the article may benefit from additional arguments for greater participation provided by modern authors who reconsider what popular sovereignty and consent look like; potential sources in favor of a more participatory system include Open Democracy and Against Elections: The Case for Democracy. More generally, the article appears to be well-written, but I wonder what structural changes would be required to include more information on the lottocratic system-- would this be too far of a shift from the original intent of the article, or what readers traditionally consider to be participatory democracy?
 * 2) Against Democracy: The article is stub class-- it provides very little information about Brennan's arguments, particularly the specific epistocratic solutions that he offers. I think I could add significantly to this article by expounding on the solutions he offers to correct misinformed voting, which is perhaps the portion of the book that is most infamous. The New Yorker, Johns Hopkins, and Princeton have reviewed the book and could provide additional information to add to the reception portion of the Wikipedia page. If I chose to edit this article, I would have to be careful to remain unbiased given the polarizing nature of Brennan's work and his historical amnesia.
 * 3) David Van Reybrouck: This article mentions Against Elections: the Case for Democracy in passing, noting only that it advocates for sortition. I think the article could benefit tremendously from additional information on his political theory. For example, including his ideation on the dissatisfaction of technocrats and populists could provide a better picture of his overall message as his solution attempts to appease various historically frustrated groups. His book would likely be my main reference, but I wonder if it is worth adding additional information to this Wikipedia page or if I should begin a new page just describing his book. I will have to look further into how much of a nonfiction book is permitted to be summarized and what criteria is used to create a book page if the author page already exists. Regardless, a wealth of information could be added to this page about Van Reybrouck's lottocratic alternative.