A pluralist democracy is a political system where there is more than one center of power.
Modern democracies are by definition pluralist as they allow freedom of association; however, pluralism may exist without democracy.The Blackwell Dictionary of Political Science by F Bealey, 1999
In a pluralist democracy, individuals achieve positions of formal political authority by forming successful electoral coalitions.
Such coalitions are formed through a process of bargaining among political leaders and subleaders of the various organizations within the community. It is necessary to form electoral coalitions; this gives the organizational leaders the ability to present demands and articulate the viewpoints of their membership. Hamed Kazemzadeh, a pluralist from Canada, believes that pluralist democracy means a multitude of groups, not the people as a whole, can govern, direct, and manage societies as an ethic of respect for diversity.
See also Value pluralism
References
External links "The Political Theory of Pluralist Democracy", article by Claude J. Burtenshaw (The Western Political Quarterly, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Dec., 1968), pp. 577–587, University of Utah) "Pluralist Democracy", The Portfolio of Hamed Kazemzadeh Perso-Canadian Orientalist and Pluralist. "A Pluralist Democracy", by Göran Rosenberg (Eurozine, 27 November 2001) "Pluralist Model", by ThinkQuest Team 26466: Eric Barr, Taylor Rankin, and John Baird (A More Perfect Union project)