The article “Democracy: From the Normative Crisis to a New Paradigm” explores the profound causes of the chronic crisis afflicting modern democratic institutions. The author argues that the crisis is not only institutional but also fundamentally conceptual, exacerbated by the terminological ambiguity of key notions. A thesaurus is introduced, clearly distinguishing between normative and ideal definitions of concepts such as democracy, state, and the people (demos). The central thesis posits that the “normative crisis” and “original trauma” of democracy stem from the contradiction between the procedure of delegating power and the dominant “macro-habitus of survival” in society. Through an analysis of cultural reproduction mechanisms, it is demonstrated that electoral democracy systematically perpetuates a logic of stagnation, blocking the socialization of innovations and sustainable development. As a solution, the paradigm of “Transformational Democracy” is proposed — a two-stage model of managed political development. Its key element is the principle of voluntary self-selection of the electorate, designed to structurally elevate the level of political culture and create conditions for a transition to “Democracy_2” — the ideal of inalienable and constantly actualized popular sovereignty. The article charts a path from diagnosing a conceptual impasse to designing a strategic way forward.
normative crisis of democracy; democracy; habitus; culture; transformational democracy; electorate self-selection; sovereignty; delegation of power; sociocultural evolution; original trauma of democracy.
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