关键词: 认知民主, 治理绩效, 合法性, 认知能力

Abstract: In recent years, it has been witnessed an epistemic turn in the study of Western democracy. These studies, on the socalled epistemic democracy, have broken through the mainstream research paradigm of “epistemic abstinence” and begun to focus on the epistemic aspects of democracy, trying to prove the capacity of “the many” to make good decisions and seeking to justify democracy by reference to this capacity. In the nearly forty years since its emergence and development, it has roughly formed relatively mature research paths and models, and has found relatively powerful evidence of the epistemic properties of democracy, which to a certain extent has challenged the antiepistemic concept of democracy that has long existed in Western political theories. In reality, epistemic democracy has also responded to the widespread skepticism about the capacity of democracy in the Western society and thus has been attracting increasing attention, although this theory has always been at odds with the mainstream of democratic theories. In addition, epistemic democracy has also provided important reference and enlightenment for the study of democracy in China. 

Key words: epistemic democracy, governance performance, legitimacy, epistemic competence