美国革命时期民主概念的演变  

Transformation of the Concept of Democracy in Revolutionary America

作　　者：李剑鸣[1,2] 

机构地区：[1]南开大学世界近现代史研究中心,300071 [2]北京大学历史学系研究员

出　　处：《历史研究》2007年第1期130-157,共28页Historical Research

基　　金：教育部人文社会科学重点研究基地重大项目“世界近现代史上的政治民主化问题”〈04JJD770001〉的阶段性成果.

摘　　要：美国革命时期,关于“民主”的界定和评价是复杂多样的,其中既反映了古典政体理论和殖民地时期民主概念的影响,又呈现出新的演变方向。当时人对民主的理解很不一致,对民主的价值评判也存在尖锐的分歧。这种基于不同的民主定义而产生的意见交锋,推动了对新型政体的探索,促成了“代表制民主”概念的出现。“代表制民主”的概念既是美国人对革命时期政体实验的观察和总结,也是民主政治“精英化”和精英政治“民主化”这一双向过程的产物。它对古代民主的原则和机制均做了改造,吸收了许多贵族制和君主制的因素。但这与其说意味着“反民主派”的得势,毋宁说是“民主派”的胜利。Democracy was defined and evaluated in various ways in the United States during the revolutionary era,reflecting the influences of classical theories of government and the concept of democracy in the colonial period while showing new trends of development.Understanding and value judgments of democracy differed and even contradicted one another sharply,bringing about debates that promoted explorations into new forms of government and gave rise to the concept of“representative democracy.”This concept represents Americans' observation and summing-up of their experiments in government during the revolution,and was a product of the two-way process that was at the same time the“elitization”of democratic politics and the“democratization”of elite politics.While it reformed the principles and mechanisms of ancient democracies,absorbing elements from aristocratic and monarchical systems,this did not mean the ascendancy of“anti- democratic”forces but rather indicated the triumph of democracy.

关 键 词：混合政体 纯粹的民主 代表制民主 民主化 

分 类 号：K712[历史地理—历史学]