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polyarchy  

Definition

  • Polyarchy, or rule by many, is a representative democracy in which all social classes and demographic groups regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or gender have roughly equal political access and power within the government. The concept was developed within political science by Robert A. Dahl in a series of publications that began with his 1956 work, A Preface to Democracy and was later refined in his 1971 book, Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition. [Source: The Encyclopedia of Political Science; Polyarchy]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/polyarchy

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