Crisis Of Representative Democracy Research Articles

Discrepancy between theory and practice: Democratic recession or a crisis of state legitimacy?

ABSTRACT The discrepancy between democratic theory and practice is common to all democratic and quasi-democratic governments. Democratic recession manifests where there is an extreme discrepancy between normative democratic values and their practice – for instance where the state has flouted democratic normative rules (theory) and rendered major democratic institutions dysfunctional. This article posits that democratic recession can be seen in the 21st century as a reaction to at least four factors: 1) shifts in global geopolitics, 2) a crisis of representative democracy, 3) democratic silence, and 4) the rise of populism and post-truth framing. Indices of democracy do not, however, reveal the extent of the state’s role in undermining democratic institutions (ie, political parties, election monitoring bodies, parliaments, the media, civil society), due to a bias of liberal individualism. The outcome has been a crisis of state legitimacy, where citizens lose trust in the state rather than in democratic governance.

Capitalism at the roots: the crisis of representative democracy through the eyes of Belgian climate activists

ABSTRACT Recent climate activism has played a key role in denouncing the unsustainability of representative democracy. Previous research has investigated the attitudes of climate activists towards representative institutions along the conceptual distinction between ‘environmental’ and ‘ecological’ democracy. Yet, little attention has been paid to climate activists’ critique of capitalism and how it relates to demands for democratic reform. Our paper addresses this gap by conducting a mixed-method analysis of protest survey data collected in Belgium in 2019. Our findings show that activists display low levels of trust towards representative institutions, but still abide by the ideals of environmental democracy within the boundaries of existing institutions. At the same time, we observe a widespread critique of capitalism, signaling attraction towards the ideals of ecological democracy. Overall, our findings challenge the binary distinction between environmental versus ecological democracy, and raises normative questions about the role of environmental social movements in economic and democratic reform.

한국 대의민주주의 위기의 징후와 처방

This study is based on the assumption that the crisis of representative democracy in Korea is resulted from the incomplete function of institutions due to the accumulated problems coming out from the process of operation, not from the absence of democratic rules and institutions. The distrust of representative institutions, specially National Assembly, and the increasing degree of social conflict raise the risk of governability of the representative political system. The incomplete function of legislature and the delay of party development lead the administrative technocratdominant politics and strengthen the deformed presidency of power fusion instead of division of power, which again result in the paralysis of operating representative system. This malfunction of representative institutions also leads the increase of dependency on “the politics by other means,” such as judicialization of politics, abuse of political rhetorics, and quisi-partified media. As some immediate solutions, this study suggests the reform of candidate nomination system in parties, the recovery of presidential system by dividing power between administrative government and legislature, strengthening professional legislative assisting system, and the obligatory education of political science.

Prekarijat i demokratija: teze za promišljanje

The economic crisis of neoliberalism, the political crisis, and the crisis of representative democracy are fertile ground for socio-demagogic discourse and incredibly fertile ground for attracting the precariat. The precariat is a new social group that lives from today to tomorrow and whose main feature is uncertainty and precarity (primarily in the labor market, but also beyond). Capitalism and democracy are based on different principles. The logic of the relationship between capitalism and democracy is characterized by "tension." The question that arises is how to reconcile neoliberal capitalism and democracy, understood as a system based on the principles of freedom and equality? How do we reconcile democracy and significant social inequalities? What is the role of the precariat in this? With this in mind, the paper aims to open questions and possibilities of new angles of thinking about modern democracy, especially about the relationship between democracy and precariat, as a new social group on the historical scene of the XXI century. The paper deals with the relationship between democracy and capitalism and the relationship between the precariat and deliberative, radical and agonistic democracy, and left-wing populism.

Intergovernmentalism and the crisis of representative democracy: The case for creating a system of horizontally expanded and overlapping national democracies.

Technocratic intergovernmentalism has undermined the preconditions for its own success as a democratic project of transnational cooperation. It has triggered populist reactions within nation states and helped to discredit the intermediary institutions (parties and parliaments) that connect democratic will-formation and joint decision-making. This rise of populism and its alignment with nationalism, in consequence, hampers joint decision-making in the international realm. We argue that representative democracies can overcome the negative spiral between technocratic intergovernmentalism and nationalist populism by mutually granting their citizens the right to elect representatives not only in their domestic parliament, but also in the parliaments of ‘consociated democracies’. Such a system of horizontally expanded and overlapping national democracies can serve three functions: it re-empowers citizens in a world of cross-border flows, it curbs the self-destructive polarization of party systems and it facilitates cooperation among democracies within the European Union (EU) and beyond. Finally, we discuss three competing approaches: Liberal Multilateralism, Deliberative Transnationalism and Republican Intergovernmentalism. We point to common ground, but also show how our approach avoids their main pitfalls.

Intergovernmentalism and the crisis of representative democracy: The case for creating a system of horizontally expanded and overlapping national democracies

Intergovernmentalism and the crisis of representative democracy: The case for creating a system of horizontally expanded and overlapping national democracies

Resentment and Coping With the Democratic Dilemma

Resentment is a complex, multi-layered emotion, within which perceptions of unfairness and feelings of anger are central. When linked to politics, it has predominantly been associated with the alleged “crisis of representative democracy” and populism. However, recent studies have shown that resentment can intervene positively in people’s relations to politics and political institutions by facilitating certain types of political participation (Capelos & Demertzis, 2018). Despite this, the concept of resentment, and hence its role in contemporary representative democracy, is often poorly defined, with empirical investigations of its manifestation(s) remaining scarce. Borrowing a conceptualization of resentment as “resentful affectivity,” our article draws on the analysis of focus groups carried out in Belgium (2019–2020) with individuals where resentful affectivity is likely to be observed (i.e., contemporary movements of contestation such as the Yellow Vests, Youth for Climate, and individuals who occupy a socially disadvantaged position). We find that experiences of intense anger, fear, disappointment, and the unfairness of representative democracy, i.e., of how representative democracy works on the ground, coexist simultaneously with remaining hopes in the democratic system. We show how this complex blend of emotions confronts citizens with what we call a “democratic dilemma.” We document the different ways in which citizens cope with this dilemma and conclude by highlighting both the positive and negative ways in which resentment intervenes in the contemporary “crisis of representative democracy.”

Towards a Resilient and Equitable Society: A Transdisciplinary Perspective

Recurring crises have exposed time and again the inherent inequalities of our societies and their ill-equipped adjustment to an ever-changing environment. This paper attempts to address the challenge of creating a more resilient and equitable society by developing a feasible blueprint for it through a bottom-up, transdisciplinary approach and the use of activity models methodology. The starting point of our analysis consisted of the identification of five cross-field societal issues, tack ling which would create a more equitable and resilient future for society: dangers of private data extractions, carbon emission taxing, climate migration, public health affordability, and the crisis of representative democracy. By jointly engaging in transdisciplinary discussions and accommodating insights from diverse stakeholders we analyzed ways of dealing with each of the issues, resulting in the creation of six activity models pertaining to them. The last step consisted in their integration into a single blueprint, achieved by devising a learning cycle running through the core of our societal model. The learning cycle organizes decision-making by identifying the social needs of the citizens, prioritizing them, deciding on key investments, executing these and monitoring their results. It ensures, through the contribution of each activity model, an equitable and resilient development for society.

Публічний інтелектуал як освітній проект

The article reveals the role of education in ensuring the existence of a contemporary democratic system. Democratic governance is viewed through the prism of the crisis of representative democracy that arises in global world. The focus of the crisis forms a crisis of citizen participation in democratic governance. Among the various scenarios for overcoming this crisis, the emphasis is on a model of deliberative (“discussing”) democracy. Accordingly, a key role in the productive functioning of contemporary democracy belongs to public discourse. Public discourse has an internal contradiction. Its participants are guided by their own interests, but the productivity of the discourse is achieved only if it is subject to the requirements of the common good. Five criteria of the authenticity of the discourse that make it aimed at the common good are highlighted. The medium of discourse that ensures its authenticity is a public intellectual. It is proved that the main vocation of education in the contemporary democratic system is the production of a public intellectual as an effective social character. In this process, a key role belongs to humanitarian education, respectively organized.

Malatesta in Brexitland: Toward post-statist geographies of democracy

This paper aims to make a timely and original contribution to the long-standing debates regarding the interrelationships(s) between democracy, anarchism and the state in two key ways. The first is by exploring more fully the work of Errico Malatesta, particularly focused on critical discussions around 'the nation', 'federation' and 'democracy'. Cognisant of these Malatestian insights, the second part of the paper reflects a resurgent interest in anarchist geographies more generally, and foregrounds a contextual focus of the divisive politics associated with Britain's attempts to leave the European Union ('Brexit'). Here the paper argues for the need to recognise that the crisis of representative democracy is always social and spatial in nature. This is illustrated primarily by highlighting the importance the state places by repeatedly appealing to popular nationalist sentiments. In doing so, the state draws on a spatial mechanism of control, one which relies heavily on imagined and real geographical senses of sovereignty, territory and boundaries. Thinking though the implications that a more explicitly spatial reading of democracy, anarchism and the state presents, the paper concludes by considering how post-statist democratic futures might be better envisaged and enacted more fully.

Green republicanism and a ‘Just Transition’ from the tyranny of economic growth

ABSTRACT The conjoining of civic republicanism and green politics is a new but timely response to understanding and navigating a path through and beyond our turbulent times. A green republican analysis our contemporary condition – climate breakdown, rising inequality, the crisis of representative democracy – sees the structural and ideological imperative (tyranny) of endless economic growth as one root cause. From a green republican perspective economic growth has now passed a threshold where it has become a threat, both to the sustainability/longevity of the polity, but also common goods and human flourishing. This paper identifies and analyses key components of the growth imperative, such as debt-based consumerism and non-democratic workplaces, as well as more widely discussed requirements of growth to externalise ecological and social costs, and growth’s dependence on cheap and secure sources of fossil resources. It argues that these components of growth pose serious risks to liberty as nondomination, the securing and protecting of common goods, rough equality and securing the ecological conditions for the republic. Therefore, these ‘green’ concerns should be also concerns for republicans. The paper looks at one recent strategy that has been proposed to help move societies beyond climate breakdown and carbon-addiction – namely the ‘Just Transition’ discourse and set of policy proposals. The paper offers a green republican account of the Just Transition strategy for a post-or low carbon economy in which equality, justice and democratic participation are central.

Critical citizenship at work: the intriguing combination of democratic and epistocratic criticism of representation in French public opinion

The crisis of representative democracy has been at the core of extensive research in contemporary political science. However, empirical works have mostly highlighted sceptical attitudes, and few studies have focused on critical citizens’ aspirations. This article explores the combined support for random selection and skills-testing of decision-makers in French public opinion. Drawing on data from the CEVIPOF 2017 French electoral survey, it discusses: (1) the level of concern and support for such institutional changes; (2) the intriguing convergence of both top-down and bottom-up criticism of the representative system; (3) the impact of education and (4) the impact of political preferences on attitudes towards random selection and skills-testing of representatives. We find that education has a negative effect on both variables, and that classical political variables (Left–Right scale) have a nonlinear impact. The stronger impact on variables is provided by critical citizenship types, defined by satisfaction/dissatisfaction with current democracy and aspirations for change.

Weak democracies under pressure, 1918 and 1989 in comparison

The article is concerned with the recent crisis of representative democracy. It analyses especially the features and conditions of the democratic decay in East-Central Europe. The method of the study consists mainly in a thorough interpretation of different data from the field of social, political and economic transitions during and after the 1990s. Additionally, the article examines the fate of democratic regimes in the interwar period and the causes of its weakness. The population’s expectations towards political transformations was a major driving factor of politics in both periods of time in East-Central Europe. The article tries to answer the question how to deal successfully with the democracy crises in the region. The stabilisation of democratic polities would need both a strong social policy on the basis of an economic catch up with the West and a careful handling of the fears of “globalization”.

Democratic Stress and Political Institutions: Drives of Reforms of Bicameralism in Times of Crisis

ABSTRACT Traditional patterns of political participation and party representation in Europe have been put to the test by the so-called crisis of representative democracy: mainstream parties have been perceived as more unfit to govern; the level of electoral participation has decreased; and voters have shown increasing dissatisfaction with representative institutions. In several cases, these changes have pushed governing elites to (seek to) redefine the ‘rules’ of the political process, in response to the challenges posed by new party contesters. In particular, in different European countries political actors have stressed the need to undermine the role of second chambers as veto players. This article focuses on both successful and failed attempts of reforms of bicameralism between 2006 and 2016 in seven EU countries (Belgium; Germany; Ireland; Italy; Romania; Spain; UK). It tries (1) to understand if political elites in Europe have pursued parliamentary reforms as a reaction to ‘democratic stress’ and (2) to single out the circumstances of success and failures. A discussion of the detectable trends of institutional reforms during democratic crises and some tentative explanations are finally provided.

Aproximación a la vinculación entre la economía creativa y la crisis de la democracia representativa

A partir de la teoría de la acción creativa de Joas, que presenta un carácter novedoso y que rescata la noción de creatividad como un tema esencial de la teoría sociológica, este artículo se propone como objetivo analizar si el sistema económico global ha comercializado y desustancializado la creatividad, vaciándola de sentido y colaborando, de este modo, en la profundización de la crisis de las democracias representativas y de sus valores. Para ello, previamente, se definirán e interrelacionarán los conceptos de “crisis”, “democracia representativa” y “creatividad”. Se comprobará que la economía creativa ha generado nuevas desigualdades entre ricos y pobres y entre los Estados creativos y los no creativos, agrandado la brecha entre el mercado y el Estado, entre la política y la economía, entre el capitalismo y la democracia representativa. E incluso ha activado las contradicciones propias del capitalismo, esto es, ha profundizado en la crisis, la decadencia y el colapso de la democracia. En este sentido, la creatividad no puede verse hoy únicamente como una tabla de salvación de las múltiples dificultades e incertidumbres que asolan a las democracias representativas. Es también, y conviene no olvidarlo, una fuente de intensificación de esos mismos problemas, al tiempo que generadora de otros nuevos, no previstos.

CRISIS OF REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY IN SPAIN

The article examines the crisis of representative democracy in Spain, which is characterized by the growth of the population’s critical attitudes towards politicians and political institutions and the decline of the latter’s influence. Special attention is given to the reorganization of the party system, manifesting in the weakening of traditional parties’ influence and strengthening of newcomer parties challenging old elites. Political modernization is not a straightforward process, and can yield results different from the initiators’ expectations

Kryzys demokracji w Bośni i Hercegowinie. Czy demokracja bezpośrednia jest odpowiedzią?

On the example of Bosnia and Herzegovina the goal of text is to rethink the consequences of application of the direct democracy mechanisms in the context of deeply divided societies. So the question is: How would mechanisms of direct democracy function in an ethnically divided society which has not reached a consensus on the basic values of the political community? It was felt that direct democracy could help to overcome national divisions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and emphasized that the existing model of consociational democracy was not only incapable of offering the solution for their country, but was a source of new divisions. The first part of the text will endeavor to outline the general causes of the crisis of representative democracy. The state of democracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be shown in the second part. The final part will feature the analysis of the structure of political decision-making in order to ascertain which political option, left or right, actually benefits from direct democracy. In spite of a number of questions that arise from the potential implementation of direct democracy in Bosnian-Herzegovinian circumstances, the text will lead to conclusion that this type of democracy should not be completely discarded and that on the certain issues it can be a useful addition to the parliamentary democracy.

Entfremdung in der Schule der Demokratie? Informationen und Beteiligungsmöglichkeiten bei lokalen Planungen aus Sicht von Bürgern und Politikern

ZParl Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen , Seite 326 - 348

More Government with the People: The Crisis of Representative Democracy and Options for Reform in Germany

Throughout the world, there is debate about how democratic systems should adapt to the demands of their increasingly emancipated citizenries. More than ever, people desire to take part in the creation of their life circumstances. The demand for participation is paired with a growing discontent with the political elites. This article looks at the challenges in the context of Germany's system of government, discussing the leading debates of democratic reform in the EU's largest member state with some incidental remarks on other countries. Specifically, the study analyzes two core components of representative democracy—the electoral process and the parliamentary decision-making procedure—and shows how they should be reformed to ensure political stability in the long run. As a measure for the analysis, the author develops a system of four preconditions, on which successful democratic government depends: Responsiveness and political leadership on the side of the elected representatives; preparedness for participation and acceptance on the part of the represented. The article shows that optimizing democracy on the basis of these pillars is not just advisable as a matter of political prudence. In fact, Germany's constitution, the Basic Law, contains a normative expectation towards the political elites that they continuously improve democracy and ensure its appropriate functioning.

Borgerinddragelse som opdragelse til repræsentativt demokrati

The purpose of the article is to discuss whether decreasing con dence in politicians, political parties and governments and falling electoral participation should be seen as expressions of a crisis of representative democracy. Although it does point out elements that re ect a disjunction between the classical argument for representative democracy – legitimacy and e ectiveness – the article rejects this perception. e article argues, however, that there are good reasons for supplementing representative democracy with deliberative processes as a means of keeping a democratic culture vibrant and enhancing the public’s understanding of the character, aims, and conditions of representative democracy.