Michael Saward
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199579389
- eISBN:
- 9780191722950
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199579389.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
In an era of disaffection from traditional political institutions and the rise of transnational politics, the need to rethink political representation – who speaks for whom and with what authority – ...
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In an era of disaffection from traditional political institutions and the rise of transnational politics, the need to rethink political representation – who speaks for whom and with what authority – has taken on a new and practical urgency. This book offers and defends an innovative approach to the topic, built around the straightforward but versatile idea of the ‘representative claim’. Representation is defined broadly as a dynamic process of claim‐making, and not solely an institutional fact deriving from election. The book shows how the idea of the representative claim provides critical purchase where conventional approaches reach their analytical limits. The elaboration of the representative claim is conducted against the background of a systematic critique of prominent existing theories. The crucial aesthetic, cultural and performative sides of representation are developed as part of its political dimension, and the key concepts are put to work in examinations of cases of non‐elective representation, political parties, and the representation of women and ‘nature’. Concluding with a detailed account of what can make representative claims democratically legitimate, the book shows how our ideas of democracy are disrupted and revised when we embrace the notion of representation as the making and reception of claims.Less
In an era of disaffection from traditional political institutions and the rise of transnational politics, the need to rethink political representation – who speaks for whom and with what authority – has taken on a new and practical urgency. This book offers and defends an innovative approach to the topic, built around the straightforward but versatile idea of the ‘representative claim’. Representation is defined broadly as a dynamic process of claim‐making, and not solely an institutional fact deriving from election. The book shows how the idea of the representative claim provides critical purchase where conventional approaches reach their analytical limits. The elaboration of the representative claim is conducted against the background of a systematic critique of prominent existing theories. The crucial aesthetic, cultural and performative sides of representation are developed as part of its political dimension, and the key concepts are put to work in examinations of cases of non‐elective representation, political parties, and the representation of women and ‘nature’. Concluding with a detailed account of what can make representative claims democratically legitimate, the book shows how our ideas of democracy are disrupted and revised when we embrace the notion of representation as the making and reception of claims.
Mark E. Warren
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199264995
- eISBN:
- 9780191603259
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199264996.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
The forms of representative democracy familiar to democratic theory are being overgrown by many new political forces that would appear to have democratic features. These include the rise of social ...
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The forms of representative democracy familiar to democratic theory are being overgrown by many new political forces that would appear to have democratic features. These include the rise of social movements, dramatic increases in the numbers and activities of civil society organizations, new forms of direct action, increasing use of referendums, devolution and de-concentration of decision-making and governance, stakeholder representation within bureaucracies, a growing use of the courts to press citizen interests, new experiments in deliberative democracy and collaborative governance, more vigorous public sphere debates about policies, public monitoring of government and corporate activities, new political uses of communication technologies, and small groups aggregated into networks that are now often global in scale. The first major transformation of democracy involved changes from pre-modern forms of local and direct democracy to modern forms of representative democracy. The question of whether these new changes so consequential that they amount to second major transformation of democracy is raised.Less
The forms of representative democracy familiar to democratic theory are being overgrown by many new political forces that would appear to have democratic features. These include the rise of social movements, dramatic increases in the numbers and activities of civil society organizations, new forms of direct action, increasing use of referendums, devolution and de-concentration of decision-making and governance, stakeholder representation within bureaucracies, a growing use of the courts to press citizen interests, new experiments in deliberative democracy and collaborative governance, more vigorous public sphere debates about policies, public monitoring of government and corporate activities, new political uses of communication technologies, and small groups aggregated into networks that are now often global in scale. The first major transformation of democracy involved changes from pre-modern forms of local and direct democracy to modern forms of representative democracy. The question of whether these new changes so consequential that they amount to second major transformation of democracy is raised.
Russell J. Dalton, Susan E. Scarrow, and Bruce E. Cain
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199264995
- eISBN:
- 9780191603259
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199264996.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter introduces this book’s examination of changing political institutions and practices in established democracies that provide citizens with access and participation opportunities. After ...
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This chapter introduces this book’s examination of changing political institutions and practices in established democracies that provide citizens with access and participation opportunities. After describing past waves of democratic reform, it argues that in recent years reformers have been calling for changes to improve elections and representative democracy, while at the same time pushing for new forms of direct democracy and an expansion of advocacy democracy. The analyses presented in this book focus on three key principles of democratic politics: access, transparency, and accountability. They consider changes in rules and behavior in each of these areas, and ask whether the observed changes add up to a transformed style of democracy.Less
This chapter introduces this book’s examination of changing political institutions and practices in established democracies that provide citizens with access and participation opportunities. After describing past waves of democratic reform, it argues that in recent years reformers have been calling for changes to improve elections and representative democracy, while at the same time pushing for new forms of direct democracy and an expansion of advocacy democracy. The analyses presented in this book focus on three key principles of democratic politics: access, transparency, and accountability. They consider changes in rules and behavior in each of these areas, and ask whether the observed changes add up to a transformed style of democracy.
Avner de‐Shalit
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199240388
- eISBN:
- 9780191599033
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199240388.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
What sort of democracy is more likely to sustain environment‐friendly policies? Unlike a number of recent works that have praised representative democracy as the optimal form of democracy for the ...
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What sort of democracy is more likely to sustain environment‐friendly policies? Unlike a number of recent works that have praised representative democracy as the optimal form of democracy for the environment, it is argued that the more deliberative and participatory the democracy the more environment friendly it will be. It is shown that many environmental activists support such conclusions.Less
What sort of democracy is more likely to sustain environment‐friendly policies? Unlike a number of recent works that have praised representative democracy as the optimal form of democracy for the environment, it is argued that the more deliberative and participatory the democracy the more environment friendly it will be. It is shown that many environmental activists support such conclusions.
Robert E. Goodin
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199256174
- eISBN:
- 9780191599354
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199256179.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This is the second of two chapters on preference democracy. It points out that theories of liberal democracy necessarily require systematic responsiveness to popular wishes, in ways that make them ...
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This is the second of two chapters on preference democracy. It points out that theories of liberal democracy necessarily require systematic responsiveness to popular wishes, in ways that make them fundamentally ‘preference‐respecting’, but that there are many different kinds of preferences and correspondingly many different ways of respecting them. Different models of democracy are better at providing certain sorts of respect for certain sorts of preferences than others, and which model of democracy liberal democrats want to adopt therefore depends on which sorts of preferences they want to accord which sort of respect. The central claim of this chapter is that the author's preferred model of ‘democratic deliberation within’ is preference‐respecting in the right way, and that it therefore deserves a key role in any larger system of democratic accountability. The different sections of the chapter are: Respecting Preferences, Not Just Recording Them; Permissible Paternalism; Assessing Alternative Models of Preference‐Respecting Democracy; The Virtues of Sporadic Assessments: Preference‐Respecting Arguments for Indirect Democracy; and Combining ‘Democratic Deliberation Within’ and Trustee‐style Representative Democracy.Less
This is the second of two chapters on preference democracy. It points out that theories of liberal democracy necessarily require systematic responsiveness to popular wishes, in ways that make them fundamentally ‘preference‐respecting’, but that there are many different kinds of preferences and correspondingly many different ways of respecting them. Different models of democracy are better at providing certain sorts of respect for certain sorts of preferences than others, and which model of democracy liberal democrats want to adopt therefore depends on which sorts of preferences they want to accord which sort of respect. The central claim of this chapter is that the author's preferred model of ‘democratic deliberation within’ is preference‐respecting in the right way, and that it therefore deserves a key role in any larger system of democratic accountability. The different sections of the chapter are: Respecting Preferences, Not Just Recording Them; Permissible Paternalism; Assessing Alternative Models of Preference‐Respecting Democracy; The Virtues of Sporadic Assessments: Preference‐Respecting Arguments for Indirect Democracy; and Combining ‘Democratic Deliberation Within’ and Trustee‐style Representative Democracy.
Dieter Fuchs and Hans‐Dieter Klingemann
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294733
- eISBN:
- 9780191599699
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294735.003.0014
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Begins with a brief review of the issues addressed at the outset of the book, and then summarizes the most important empirical findings regarding the first question—that of challenges to ...
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Begins with a brief review of the issues addressed at the outset of the book, and then summarizes the most important empirical findings regarding the first question—that of challenges to representative democracy. It then summarizes the evidence regarding the changing relationship between citizens and the state. It notes that there is little statistical evidence available for the period after 1990, and that therefore the findings do not support conclusions about developments after the end of the Cold War or about the effects of globalization. It concludes with some brief speculation about these new political conditions, and their possible impact on democratic legitimation.Less
Begins with a brief review of the issues addressed at the outset of the book, and then summarizes the most important empirical findings regarding the first question—that of challenges to representative democracy. It then summarizes the evidence regarding the changing relationship between citizens and the state. It notes that there is little statistical evidence available for the period after 1990, and that therefore the findings do not support conclusions about developments after the end of the Cold War or about the effects of globalization. It concludes with some brief speculation about these new political conditions, and their possible impact on democratic legitimation.
Dieter Fuchs and Hans‐Dieter Klingemann
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294733
- eISBN:
- 9780191599699
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294735.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Explains the issues raised by the two types of questions that the book sets out to address. The first is descriptive: has the citizen–state relationship in Western Europe changed over recent decades. ...
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Explains the issues raised by the two types of questions that the book sets out to address. The first is descriptive: has the citizen–state relationship in Western Europe changed over recent decades. The second is consequential and normative: is there evidence that such changes endanger representative democracy?Less
Explains the issues raised by the two types of questions that the book sets out to address. The first is descriptive: has the citizen–state relationship in Western Europe changed over recent decades. The second is consequential and normative: is there evidence that such changes endanger representative democracy?
Michael Saward
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199579389
- eISBN:
- 9780191722950
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199579389.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This concluding chapter reviews key points and steps back to consider what these new approaches and arguments, built around the claim‐based approach to representation, might mean for democratic ...
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This concluding chapter reviews key points and steps back to consider what these new approaches and arguments, built around the claim‐based approach to representation, might mean for democratic representation and ‘representative democracy’. The issue of how observers might judge the democratic character of representative claims is examined, not by offering an independent theory of legitimacy but by exploring the conditions under which certain constituencies and audiences may evaluate claims. The important distinctions between intended and actual audiences, and intended and actual constituencies, are used to define and defend the idea of an appropriate constituency for the democratic judgement of representative claims. The chapter further highlights ways in which received wisdom about representative democracy need to be revised, including assumptions about the contrasting nature of direct and representative democracy, and the importance of political representation outside as well as within the state.Less
This concluding chapter reviews key points and steps back to consider what these new approaches and arguments, built around the claim‐based approach to representation, might mean for democratic representation and ‘representative democracy’. The issue of how observers might judge the democratic character of representative claims is examined, not by offering an independent theory of legitimacy but by exploring the conditions under which certain constituencies and audiences may evaluate claims. The important distinctions between intended and actual audiences, and intended and actual constituencies, are used to define and defend the idea of an appropriate constituency for the democratic judgement of representative claims. The chapter further highlights ways in which received wisdom about representative democracy need to be revised, including assumptions about the contrasting nature of direct and representative democracy, and the importance of political representation outside as well as within the state.
Jack Hayward
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198280354
- eISBN:
- 9780191599422
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198280351.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
The conflict between representative and direct democracy over which is the more authentic reflection of public opinion poses the tension between competing political leaders and a purported will of ...
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The conflict between representative and direct democracy over which is the more authentic reflection of public opinion poses the tension between competing political leaders and a purported will of the people. The discredit of mediated party politics has led to increased recourse to referendums and to the emergence of social protest movements, notably extremists of left and right. The closed politics of the European Union, combined with the limited democratic legitimacy of its decision taking, have promoted a tendency towards demagogic unreality expressed through anti‐elitist populism.Less
The conflict between representative and direct democracy over which is the more authentic reflection of public opinion poses the tension between competing political leaders and a purported will of the people. The discredit of mediated party politics has led to increased recourse to referendums and to the emergence of social protest movements, notably extremists of left and right. The closed politics of the European Union, combined with the limited democratic legitimacy of its decision taking, have promoted a tendency towards demagogic unreality expressed through anti‐elitist populism.
Berthold Rittberger
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199273423
- eISBN:
- 9780191602764
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199273421.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
The conclusion discusses the broader implications of the book’s findings for the ‘state’ of parliamentary democracy in the EU and the prospects for parliamentary democracy in other international ...
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The conclusion discusses the broader implications of the book’s findings for the ‘state’ of parliamentary democracy in the EU and the prospects for parliamentary democracy in other international organizations. Are concerns for democracy in international polities linked to the degree to which national governments transfer sovereignty to international organizations? Under what conditions can we expect parliamentary institutions to arise and develop outside the EU?Less
The conclusion discusses the broader implications of the book’s findings for the ‘state’ of parliamentary democracy in the EU and the prospects for parliamentary democracy in other international organizations. Are concerns for democracy in international polities linked to the degree to which national governments transfer sovereignty to international organizations? Under what conditions can we expect parliamentary institutions to arise and develop outside the EU?
Hans-Dieter Klingemann and Dieter Fuchs (eds)
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294733
- eISBN:
- 9780191599699
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294735.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This book is the first in the ‘Beliefs in government’ series, and examines the general consensus that the relationship between citizens and the state in Western European societies have undergone a ...
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This book is the first in the ‘Beliefs in government’ series, and examines the general consensus that the relationship between citizens and the state in Western European societies have undergone a fundamental change over the last few decades, to the detriment of representative democracy. Addressing the problem from the citizen's perspective, it identifies the ten fundamental components of the view that representative democracy is under threat, and then proceeds to test them empirically against the dataset supplied by the Beliefs in Government research project. The results are startling. They refute the idea that citizens in Western Europe have withdrawn support from their democracies, but show exactly how the citizen–state relationship has changed over recent years. Traditional forms of expression have clearly declined, but others have evolved in their place. Citizens have become more critical towards politicians and political parties, and they are prepared to use non‐institutionalized forms of political action to pursue their goals and interests.Less
This book is the first in the ‘Beliefs in government’ series, and examines the general consensus that the relationship between citizens and the state in Western European societies have undergone a fundamental change over the last few decades, to the detriment of representative democracy. Addressing the problem from the citizen's perspective, it identifies the ten fundamental components of the view that representative democracy is under threat, and then proceeds to test them empirically against the dataset supplied by the Beliefs in Government research project. The results are startling. They refute the idea that citizens in Western Europe have withdrawn support from their democracies, but show exactly how the citizen–state relationship has changed over recent years. Traditional forms of expression have clearly declined, but others have evolved in their place. Citizens have become more critical towards politicians and political parties, and they are prepared to use non‐institutionalized forms of political action to pursue their goals and interests.
Robert E. Goodin
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199547944
- eISBN:
- 9780191720116
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199547944.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Theory
In recent years, democratic theory has taken a deliberative turn. Instead of merely casting the occasional ballot, deliberative democrats want citizens to reason together. They embrace ‘talk as a ...
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In recent years, democratic theory has taken a deliberative turn. Instead of merely casting the occasional ballot, deliberative democrats want citizens to reason together. They embrace ‘talk as a decision procedure’. But of course thousands or millions of people cannot realistically talk to one another all at once. When putting their theories into practice, deliberative democrats therefore tend to focus on ‘mini-publics’, usually of a couple dozen to a couple hundred people. The central question then is how to connect micro-deliberations in mini-publics to the political decision-making processes of the larger society. This book surveys these new deliberative mechanisms, asking how they work and what we can properly expect of them. Much though they have to offer, they cannot deliver all that deliberative democrats hope. Talk, this book concludes, is good as discovery procedure but not as a decision procedure. The recommended slogan is, ‘first talk, then vote’. Micro-deliberative mechanisms should supplement, not supplant, representative democracy. This book shows how to adapt our thinking about those familiar institutions to take full advantage of deliberative inputs. That involves rethinking who should get a say, how we hold people accountable, how we sequence deliberative moments and what the roles of parties and legislatures can be in that.Less
In recent years, democratic theory has taken a deliberative turn. Instead of merely casting the occasional ballot, deliberative democrats want citizens to reason together. They embrace ‘talk as a decision procedure’. But of course thousands or millions of people cannot realistically talk to one another all at once. When putting their theories into practice, deliberative democrats therefore tend to focus on ‘mini-publics’, usually of a couple dozen to a couple hundred people. The central question then is how to connect micro-deliberations in mini-publics to the political decision-making processes of the larger society. This book surveys these new deliberative mechanisms, asking how they work and what we can properly expect of them. Much though they have to offer, they cannot deliver all that deliberative democrats hope. Talk, this book concludes, is good as discovery procedure but not as a decision procedure. The recommended slogan is, ‘first talk, then vote’. Micro-deliberative mechanisms should supplement, not supplant, representative democracy. This book shows how to adapt our thinking about those familiar institutions to take full advantage of deliberative inputs. That involves rethinking who should get a say, how we hold people accountable, how we sequence deliberative moments and what the roles of parties and legislatures can be in that.
Robert E. Goodin
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199547944
- eISBN:
- 9780191720116
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199547944.003.0013
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Theory
In any large and complex community, deliberation cannot realistically take place in the agora (or its electronic equivalent), with everyone potentially affected by the decision taking an active part ...
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In any large and complex community, deliberation cannot realistically take place in the agora (or its electronic equivalent), with everyone potentially affected by the decision taking an active part in all the deliberations. Deliberative democracy, in such a world, simply has to work on and through our inherited institutions of representative democracy. Revisioning those institutions through a deliberative lens, we can think of them as constituting a ‘deliberative system’, with different parts of the deliberative task being allocated to each. Political parties play a key (but non-exclusive role) in all that. The public sphere can best be connected to that process through networked accountability mechanisms.Less
In any large and complex community, deliberation cannot realistically take place in the agora (or its electronic equivalent), with everyone potentially affected by the decision taking an active part in all the deliberations. Deliberative democracy, in such a world, simply has to work on and through our inherited institutions of representative democracy. Revisioning those institutions through a deliberative lens, we can think of them as constituting a ‘deliberative system’, with different parts of the deliberative task being allocated to each. Political parties play a key (but non-exclusive role) in all that. The public sphere can best be connected to that process through networked accountability mechanisms.
Anne Phillips
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294153
- eISBN:
- 9780191600098
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294158.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter addresses three issues. The first is whether the arguments for ensuring equal or proportionate representation by gender and ethnicity in legislative assemblies should also apply to ...
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This chapter addresses three issues. The first is whether the arguments for ensuring equal or proportionate representation by gender and ethnicity in legislative assemblies should also apply to social class. The second is whether focusing on the institutions of representative democracy blocks more ambitious proposals for extending democratic participation, for example, those put forward in arguments for associational or associative democracy. The third is whether the case for an equal representation of women and proportionate representation of ethnic minority groups should also apply to appointed bodies like quangos or the judiciary. The chapter concludes that the case for a politics of presence is strongest when allied to some of these larger ambitions.Less
This chapter addresses three issues. The first is whether the arguments for ensuring equal or proportionate representation by gender and ethnicity in legislative assemblies should also apply to social class. The second is whether focusing on the institutions of representative democracy blocks more ambitious proposals for extending democratic participation, for example, those put forward in arguments for associational or associative democracy. The third is whether the case for an equal representation of women and proportionate representation of ethnic minority groups should also apply to appointed bodies like quangos or the judiciary. The chapter concludes that the case for a politics of presence is strongest when allied to some of these larger ambitions.
Michael D. McDonald and Ian Budge
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199286720
- eISBN:
- 9780191603327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199286728.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter lays out the general questions as described in the overview. Is it really satisfactory to have ‘democracy with qualifiers’ (majoritarian, consensus, and so on) each justified in their ...
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This chapter lays out the general questions as described in the overview. Is it really satisfactory to have ‘democracy with qualifiers’ (majoritarian, consensus, and so on) each justified in their own terms? A unifying median mandate approach is proposed which also gives a guarantee of a necessary connection between popular preferences and public policy, which no other account of representative democracy provides.Less
This chapter lays out the general questions as described in the overview. Is it really satisfactory to have ‘democracy with qualifiers’ (majoritarian, consensus, and so on) each justified in their own terms? A unifying median mandate approach is proposed which also gives a guarantee of a necessary connection between popular preferences and public policy, which no other account of representative democracy provides.
Bruce E. Cain, Russell J. Dalton, and Susan E. Scarrow (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199264995
- eISBN:
- 9780191603259
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199264996.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This book examines how established democracies have responded to citizen demands for greater access, transparency, and accountability. In a series of coordinated chapters, a team of international ...
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This book examines how established democracies have responded to citizen demands for greater access, transparency, and accountability. In a series of coordinated chapters, a team of international collaborators assesses the extent of institutional reform in contemporary democracies, and evaluates how the core actors of representative democracy are responding to the new structures. Different sections examine change in electoral institutions and practices, and in citizen input and influence through non-electoral institutions such as courts, bureaucracies, and Freedom of Information laws. Concluding chapters put the observed changes in theoretical perspective, and ask whether they constitute a transformation of democracy.Less
This book examines how established democracies have responded to citizen demands for greater access, transparency, and accountability. In a series of coordinated chapters, a team of international collaborators assesses the extent of institutional reform in contemporary democracies, and evaluates how the core actors of representative democracy are responding to the new structures. Different sections examine change in electoral institutions and practices, and in citizen input and influence through non-electoral institutions such as courts, bureaucracies, and Freedom of Information laws. Concluding chapters put the observed changes in theoretical perspective, and ask whether they constitute a transformation of democracy.
Giandomenico Majone
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199274307
- eISBN:
- 9780191603310
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199274304.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
Critics of globalization argue that economic integration threatens democracy and national sovereignty by restricting the range of public goods political leaders can offer to their voters. However, ...
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Critics of globalization argue that economic integration threatens democracy and national sovereignty by restricting the range of public goods political leaders can offer to their voters. However, the experience of the EU shows that it is possible to integrate economically without eliminating either national sovereignty or the welfare state. This is not to say that the welfare state is not facing serious challenges, but these are largely endogeneous (unfavorable demographic trends, growing popular resistance to high levels of taxation, etc.). In the EU, the problem is not a diminution of democracy at the national level, but a democratic deficit at the supranational level. Representative democracy can only flourish at national level, but supranational institutions can improve its quality by disciplining the discretion of national governments.Less
Critics of globalization argue that economic integration threatens democracy and national sovereignty by restricting the range of public goods political leaders can offer to their voters. However, the experience of the EU shows that it is possible to integrate economically without eliminating either national sovereignty or the welfare state. This is not to say that the welfare state is not facing serious challenges, but these are largely endogeneous (unfavorable demographic trends, growing popular resistance to high levels of taxation, etc.). In the EU, the problem is not a diminution of democracy at the national level, but a democratic deficit at the supranational level. Representative democracy can only flourish at national level, but supranational institutions can improve its quality by disciplining the discretion of national governments.
Kaare Strøm
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199253098
- eISBN:
- 9780191599026
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199253099.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Examines whether the behaviour of parties in cabinet formation and in control of the executive branch have changed over time. The evidence indicates that parties remain entrenched in the core of the ...
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Examines whether the behaviour of parties in cabinet formation and in control of the executive branch have changed over time. The evidence indicates that parties remain entrenched in the core of the executives studied, but party control seems to wane the further we move from this institution. The chapter concludes by examining the implications such changes have on the primacy of parties in government, arguing that among the several alternatives to representative democracy, pluralist democracy seems to be the most likely alternative to party government.Less
Examines whether the behaviour of parties in cabinet formation and in control of the executive branch have changed over time. The evidence indicates that parties remain entrenched in the core of the executives studied, but party control seems to wane the further we move from this institution. The chapter concludes by examining the implications such changes have on the primacy of parties in government, arguing that among the several alternatives to representative democracy, pluralist democracy seems to be the most likely alternative to party government.
Craig T. Borowiak
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199778256
- eISBN:
- 9780199919086
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199778256.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory, International Relations and Politics
This chapter uses the eighteenth-century ratification debates between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists to reflect upon competing accountability tendencies inherent in representative democracy. ...
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This chapter uses the eighteenth-century ratification debates between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists to reflect upon competing accountability tendencies inherent in representative democracy. Both sets of authors conceived of electoral accountability mechanisms as part of a politics of control designed to manage the various gaps separating representatives from citizens. However, they had different understandings of what such a politics should entail. Counterintuitively, the Federalists believed that expanding the distances between citizens and representatives could actually enhance the accountability of government. The Anti-Federalists, by contrast, placed greater emphasis upon the pacifying effects accountability institutions can have upon citizens. They believed republican accountability depends on the active participation of diverse citizens, a form of participation that is undermined when government grows distant. Drawn together, these competing visions illustrate numerous pitfalls of institutional design and how republican appeals to accountability can be made to serve conflicting agendas. They demonstrate the need to balance the effects accountability institutions have on government with the effects they have on citizens.Less
This chapter uses the eighteenth-century ratification debates between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists to reflect upon competing accountability tendencies inherent in representative democracy. Both sets of authors conceived of electoral accountability mechanisms as part of a politics of control designed to manage the various gaps separating representatives from citizens. However, they had different understandings of what such a politics should entail. Counterintuitively, the Federalists believed that expanding the distances between citizens and representatives could actually enhance the accountability of government. The Anti-Federalists, by contrast, placed greater emphasis upon the pacifying effects accountability institutions can have upon citizens. They believed republican accountability depends on the active participation of diverse citizens, a form of participation that is undermined when government grows distant. Drawn together, these competing visions illustrate numerous pitfalls of institutional design and how republican appeals to accountability can be made to serve conflicting agendas. They demonstrate the need to balance the effects accountability institutions have on government with the effects they have on citizens.
Pippa Norris
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295686
- eISBN:
- 9780191600043
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198295685.003.0013
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This concluding chapter considers four common claims that are made concerning the consequences of any erosion of confidence in the institutions of representative democracy and. the growth of critical ...
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This concluding chapter considers four common claims that are made concerning the consequences of any erosion of confidence in the institutions of representative democracy and. the growth of critical citizens.First, growing cynicism about government may deter conventional political participation, thus discouraging electoral turnout, political activism, and civic engagement; second, alienation with the regime may affect protest politics, fostering unconventional activism, support for anti‐state extremist movements, and even occasional incidents of urban terrorism; third, a deep reservoir of public trust is generally thought to encourage voluntary compliance with the law, thus enhancing the ability of governments to pass and implement effective legislation and raise revenues, without the need for coercion; and lastly, growing tensions between ideal and reality may undermine the stability of regimes, increasing the pressures for political reform in established democracies and hindering the consolidation process in newer democracies. A critical examination is made of support for and against these claims, and the implications for strengthening transitional, consolidating, and established democracies are considered.Less
This concluding chapter considers four common claims that are made concerning the consequences of any erosion of confidence in the institutions of representative democracy and. the growth of critical citizens.
First, growing cynicism about government may deter conventional political participation, thus discouraging electoral turnout, political activism, and civic engagement; second, alienation with the regime may affect protest politics, fostering unconventional activism, support for anti‐state extremist movements, and even occasional incidents of urban terrorism; third, a deep reservoir of public trust is generally thought to encourage voluntary compliance with the law, thus enhancing the ability of governments to pass and implement effective legislation and raise revenues, without the need for coercion; and lastly, growing tensions between ideal and reality may undermine the stability of regimes, increasing the pressures for political reform in established democracies and hindering the consolidation process in newer democracies. A critical examination is made of support for and against these claims, and the implications for strengthening transitional, consolidating, and established democracies are considered.
