People-Based Democracy

A rhetorical term emphasizing that ultimate sovereignty resides with "the people" as an undifferentiated whole, often used to contrast with "elite-based" or "property-based" systems. It can be a genuine call for populist empowerment or an empty slogan used by authoritarian regimes to claim legitimacy while suppressing actual popular will. Its meaning is entirely dependent on who gets to define "the people."

Example: Populist movements on both the left and right claim to champion People-Based Democracy against a "corrupt elite." However, in practice, this can lead to majoritarian tyranny, as seen when a leader, claiming a direct connection to "the real people," bypasses institutional checks and balances, arguing they are obstructing the people's will.

by Dumu The Void February 5, 2026

Psychology of Democracy

The study of how human psychology shapes and is shaped by democratic systems—how citizens think about politics, how they make voting decisions, how they relate to representatives, and how they respond to democratic outcomes. Democracy assumes rational citizens who inform themselves, deliberate carefully, and choose leaders based on policy. Psychology reveals something messier: voters are emotional, tribal, and woefully uninformed; they vote for identity more than policy, for feelings more than facts, for who they are more than what they want. The psychology of democracy explains why campaigns focus on emotions (fear, hope, anger), why negative ads work (we're wired to attend to threats), and why democracies often elect people who don't represent their interests (identity trumps policy). It's the study of how a system designed for rational actors manages to function with irrational ones—or doesn't.

Example: "He studied the psychology of democracy after an election that baffled him. How could so many vote against their interests? The psychology answered: they weren't voting their interests; they were voting their identities. The candidate who lost was right on policy but wrong on tribe. Democracy wasn't broken; it was just human."

by Dumu The Void February 16, 2026

Sociology of Democracy

The study of how democratic systems function as social structures—how they organize participation, distribute power, and manage conflict among diverse populations. Democracy is not just a set of rules; it's a social system with classes, interest groups, social movements, and the millions of interactions that make collective decisions possible. The sociology of democracy examines how different groups participate (or don't), how power is actually exercised (beyond formal offices), and how social inequality shapes political outcomes. It also examines the social conditions that make democracy possible—a degree of equality, a shared sense of citizenship, institutions that mediate conflict—and what happens when those conditions erode. Democracy is a social achievement, not a natural state; the sociology shows how it's built and how it breaks.

Example: "He studied the sociology of democracy as his country polarized, watching how social groups became political tribes, how institutions lost legitimacy, how shared facts dissolved into competing narratives. Democracy wasn't failing because of bad leaders; it was failing because the social fabric had torn. Until the society healed, the democracy wouldn't."

by Dumu The Void February 16, 2026