Democratology

The study of democracy—particularly liberal democracy—using the critical tools of Sovietology. Democratology examines how elections, parliaments, and constitutions function as rituals of legitimation, often producing outcomes that serve elite interests despite popular participation. It analyzes voter suppression, gerrymandering, media bias, and campaign finance as the functional equivalent of one‑party state control—different mechanisms, same effect of limiting meaningful choice. Democratology does not reject democracy but insists on studying how actually‑existing democracies manage to reproduce inequality and elite rule under the banner of popular sovereignty.

Example: “Her democratology of US elections revealed that despite millions of votes, the outcome was determined by a handful of ‘swing’ districts where both parties colluded to keep viable third parties off the ballot.”

by Abzugal April 2, 2026