Abstract:

Relations between globalisation and democracy are at the very least ambiguous, especially when they give rise to analyses that reduce the latter to a single “market democracy”. In fact democracy has two dimensions: it is at once procedure and culture. Globalisation no doubt favours the development of world democracy as procedure: free elections and alternating governments have become the political point of reference. But this form of government is merely an outwards indication of democracy, a necessary, but not sufficient, condition, whereas a genuine democratic culture is built on a “long timeframe” and cannot be limited to electoral terms. In this respect, the “world timeframe” considers democracy to be a permanent phenomenon, a “table of offerings à la carte” to be set before each individual. Globalisation tends to reduce democracy to a demand to be fulfilled immediately, which delegitimises the notion of democracy as the slow, particular, complex andcollective achievement of a nation.

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