Modern societies often claim to be democracies in order to enjoy greater legitimacy. Still, to understand the concept of democracy and how to justify it, the definition of it as self-determined is not sufficient. A complex understanding has to take into account ideas of rule of law as well as human rights. Sometimes these three concepts compete with each other – particularly in societies with a pluralistic approach to what "the good life" should be, such as societies which are made up of distinct cultural backgrounds.
This e-book presents a concept of democracy that encompasses at the same time the ideas of rule of law, human rights and self-determination. It contains the main lectures of the XXVI World Congress of Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy, hosted by the Internationale Vereinigung für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Brazil) in July 2013.