Finding the middle way: the formation of democracy and the conflict of authority and autonomy

Abstract

This thesis aims to find a place where in the conflict of autonomy and authority there is a place for a democratic state to exist. The possibility of a democratic state that could have legitimate authority over its subjects is through consent of the subjects. I claim that individuals in a given neutral state in which there is no sign of a political body that has legitimate authority, will form a body that carries properties of a democratic state. I argue that if there is a possibility for the subjects to refrain from democratic participation, democratic participation can be considered as a way of expressing consent that would enable the state hold legitimate power and impose institutional obligations to its subjects.