Abstract

Democracy is one of the key terms of the globality debate, highlighting an old concept that is still captivating. In a global context, substantial differences appear between different systems in various countries that show diverse shapes in organizing democracies. Especially, the vulnerability of democratic processes to fall prey to populist agitators seems particularly high in a globalized world where the relationship and interaction between and within the political, social, and economic fields appear ever more opaque and complex. The democratic model is without doubt susceptible to criticism. Technological and communicative processes across the globe, as, for example, the means provided by Web 2.0, have an increasing impact on the constitution of modern democracies. Compared to nondemocratic and authoritarian regimes, democracy still seems to be the appropriate political model also for the globalized world.