Agency and Power: Rethinking Democracy’s Building Blocks
Saturday, September 5, 8:00 am to 9:30 am
2026 APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition — Boston, MA | Register here
In-person | Full Paper Panel
Participants:
- (Chair) Jeff Spinner-Halev, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
- (Discussant) Natasha Piano, UCLA
- (Discussant) Jacob Garrett, University of Genova
Session Description:
Democratic theory has long moved between two poles: the individual citizen as the locus of democratic legitimacy and the collective structures that shape political outcomes. This panel explores the dynamic interplay between individual agency and group power, arguing that democracy cannot be understood—or sustained—without theorizing their reciprocal relationship.
Steven Klein directly addresses the tension between individualistic and collectivist accounts of democracy. He proposes a dynamic model of agency, where groups structure individual choices in the short term, while individuals reshape groups over time. This intertemporal perspective challenges static evaluations of democratic procedures, showing why institutional design must account for evolving group dynamics and their influence on individual autonomy.
Jeff Spinner Halev situates this relationship within the urgent task of rebuilding democratic capacity amid authoritarian resurgence. Democratic theory currently has too much focus on getting the correct democratic concept or concepts in place, but democracy is as much a practice as it is an ideal. To understand democratic practice, democratic theory needs to focus on associations—labor unions, universities, professional bodies—that mediate power between citizens and the state, amplifying individual voices while pursuing their own interests. Moreover, rebuilding the administrative state means prioritizing certain values over others, something that democratic theorists are especially bad at doing. Spinner-Halev argues that democratic renewal depends on leveraging these groups without subordinating individual agency, requiring a pluralist framework that balances equality with stability, liberty, and security.
Jen Forestal extends this analysis to institutional design, contending that decentralization alone cannot secure democracy. Distributing power widely matters, but dispositions—the norms and practices that govern how individuals and groups wield power—are equally critical. Through cases of “bad civil society” and free riding, Forestal identifies conditions under which groups foster democratic respect rather than exclusion, emphasizing the need for inclusive, rule acknowledging associations that enable individuals to act democratically within collective contexts.
Avia Pasternak examines expatriate voting rights through the lens of shared responsibility, contending that legal enfranchisement binds nonresident citizens to the collective authorization of state action. Far from being an unearned privilege, diaspora participation reflects an ethical imperative: individuals bear responsibility for the group’s decisions and thus have duties to vote well and dissent from wrongdoing.
Together, these papers reconceptualize democracy as a relational practice, where individual agency and group power are not competing principles but mutually constitutive forces. By integrating normative theory with institutional analysis, the panel offers a framework for understanding—and designing—democratic systems that empower individuals through groups while preventing domination by either. This approach illuminates pressing questions about representation, participation, and power in an era of democratic fragility.
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