Duties in Intercultural Democratisation

Over recent decades, democratic theorists have debated how to address increasing citizen disengagement and dissatisfaction, aiming to transform the social contract. A key issue is the lack of focus on the relationship between rights and duties in democratic theory. This presentation explores a forthcoming book on reconceptualizing duty within democratic theory, expanding the traditional rights-based approach. Historically, duty was politically imposed in pre-modern societies and downplayed by modern liberal political theory, which has prioritized rights, often viewed as symbolic, exclusionary, and entangled with imperialism and colonialism. The book critiques this emphasis on rights at the expense of duty, arguing that modern contractarian theories overlook the relational ontology of individuals within society. It highlights how duty has been neglected in modern democratic theory and develops a critical, intercultural perspective on democracy that integrates subjectivity, agency, and relationality—referred to as "dialogical ontology." Postcolonial and decolonial theories, particularly those inspired by M.K. Gandhi, are central to this rethinking of duty. Gandhi's vision of democracy, which stands in contrast to the imperialist social contract model, offers a framework to reassess the relationships between individuals, collectives, and society. His ideas challenge the traditional liberal approach and encourage a critical examination of the interplay between democracy, liberalism, and colonialism. The book proposes two key contributions: (a) reframing duty as a foundational category for political subjectivity, enabling a more agentic democratic theory, and (b) emphasizing the duty of democratic theory to engage with postcolonial critiques, creating a more inclusive and relational democratic framework.