Resumo

MALDONADO MUNOZ, Mauricio. Democracy, Rights, and Majority Rule: an Assessment from Norberto Bobbio's Theory. Isonomía [online]. 2016, n.44, pp.127-162. ISSN 1405-0218.

Democracy as a form of government admits its division in at least two different moments: its old form and its modern form. A distinctive trait of the latter version -representative (modern) democracy- is the presence of representatives elected by popular vote. Given this, it is generally held that vote and majority rule are "typically democratic" mechanisms. However, neither vote nor majority rule are exclusive of democratic systems. Thus, defining how these two mechanisms should operate in a democratic system is one of the main problems of democratic theory in its relation with the study of fundamental rights. This article addresses the problems raised by these questions departing, mainly, from the theory of Norberto Bobbio.

Palavras-chave : democracy; liberalism; majority rule; rights; Norberto Bobbio.