Multilateral Democracy: The “Original Position”

Abstract

This chapter formulates the methodological basis upon which one can determine basic principles of democracy in the multilateral realm.¹ Following the general idea of multilateral democracy outlined in Part I, the normative framework of demoicracy as multilateral democracy is developed on the basis of a membership structure of liberal democratic statespeoples. As explored in Part I, the theory starts within the context of liberal democratic peoples engaged in the mutual realization of rights, freedoms, and life chances for their citizens while seeking to preserve a maximum of independence and self-government as democratic self-determination requires.² Liberal peoples may seek to achieve the aforementioned goals through the creation of common institutions, the procedural connection of separate institutions, and the safeguarding of autonomy in specific areas of policy making.