Model Of Representative Democracy Research Articles

Household mobility and the political economy and welfare effects of local tax limits

I apply a Tiebout model of multiple local jurisdictions to study the political economy and welfare effects of state limitations on the taxing powers of local governments, investigating the effects of such restrictions on housing markets, community composition, and the types of expenditures undertaken by local governments. The Tiebout model in this paper is distinguished by voters choosing values of multiple local policy (tax and expenditure) instruments, a mixture of renters and owners residing in each community, and different degrees of household mobility. I characterize and provide sufficient conditions for voting equilibrium even with multiple policy instruments and varying housing tenure by developing a novel application of the Besley and Coate (1997) model of representative democracy. The different degrees of household mobility following the introduction of tax limits have significant impacts on equilibrium values, the predicted level of political support, and the welfare effects associated with these tax limits. In addition, almost none of the tax limits increase overall welfare, even though many gain majority support. The only case that is predicted to have majority support and increases welfare is when all households are mobile, head and income taxes have previously been constrained, and property taxes are then limited. These results accord well with the hypothesis of Vigdor (2001)—that much political support for tax limits comes from a desire by individuals to limit taxes in localities other than their own.

İTALYAN BEŞ YILDIZ HAREKETİ ÜZERİNE BİR DEĞERLENDİRME

İtalyan Beş Yıldız Hareketi Avrupa ve dünya siyaseti açısından ilginç bir vakadır. Temsili demokrasi modellerine karşı çıkan ve internet tabanlı bir doğrudan demokrasi idealine sahip olan hareket, İtalya’da yerel ve genel seçimlerde ciddi bir başarı elde etmiştir. Komedyen ve popüler blog yazarı Beppe Grillo tarafından sanal âlemde kurulan hareket kısa sayılabilecek bir süre içerisinde İtalyan siyasetinde önemli bir siyasal aktör olarak yerini almıştır. Kendini “geleneksel bir siyasal parti” olarak adlandırmayan bu hareket, siyasal yelpazenin farklı kesimlerinden oy almayı başarmış ve daha önce siyasete ilgi duymayan ve aktif katılmayanları siyasal aktivizme yönlendirmiştir. Çevrim içinde Grillo’nun kişisel bloğu etrafında sanal âlemde örgütlenen bu hareket, yine aynı şekilde meetup gibi dijital platformlar kullanarak çevrim dışına ve İtalyan meydanlarına yayılmıştır. İnternet hem örgütsel açıdan önemlidir hem de katılımcı doğrudan demokrasinin uygulanabileceği bir yer olarak görülür. Bu çalışmada İtalyan Beş Yıldız Hareketi’nin kişisel bir blogtan ulusal bir harekete ve siyasal partiye dönüşüm süreci ele alınmaktadır. Sistem ve parti karşıtı söylemi, sıra dışı seçim başarıları ve kendine has örgütsel yapısı hareketi incelenmeye değer kılmaktadır. Dağınık, merkezi olmayan protesto hareketlerinin birleşiminden iktidar partisi olabilmesi, tarihi, lideri, örgütsel yapısı, internetin ve çevrim içi uygulamaların bu süreçteki rolü irdelenmektedir.

WESTMINSTER MODEL OF THE PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM AND HISTORICAL FORMS OF ITS FEDERALIZATION

The article analyzes the historical transformation of the classical model of parliamentarism in the political systems of federal states of the republican form of government at the present stage of development and reveals the features of its functioning. In legal regulation, the mechanism of representative democracy today has varieties. The oldest, time-tested institution is the classical institution of parliamentarism of the Westminster system. But it has also undergone significant changes in connection with its use in states with a federal structure. The objects of the study are the historical forms of representative democracy in the federal states of the British Commonwealth (Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia and the Indian Union), the subject is the institution of the legislative power of the classical type and the forms of its transformation. The relevance of the topic is due to the search for optimal ways for various states to improve the legislative power in the system of separation of powers, the choice of the most effective legal means and methods of functioning of the parliamentary system. For the Russian Federation, despite the differences between the model of legislative power and the classical one, discussions about the political and legal composition of the legislative power are very important, this was noted by researchers when the constitutional reform of the Russian Federation in 2020 was being developed. Research methods are based on the principles of the dialectical approach, including deductive analysis from the standpoint of a formal legal definition of specific historical and legal facts. An important place is occupied by the method of diachronic and synchronous comparison in identifying the general and specific characteristics in the parliamentary systems of federal states, as well as the method of typology, that is, their comparison with the classical model. Based on the study of factual data and analytical studies, common features of the functioning of the legislative power in federal states that adopted the classical model of representative democracy have been identified. The work features of this system in connection with changes in political processes are indicated, the features of the manifestation of the crisis are revealed. Institutional and legal changes are identified in the course of solving current problems related to the distribution of functions of the upper and lower houses of parliament in the legislative process and the implementation of the procedure for monitoring the activities of the executive branch.

Technology and democracy: the who and how in decision-making. The cases of Estonia and Catalonia

This paper focusses on the use of technology to improve democracy, comparing the cases of Estonia and Catalonia. Both examples are closely related in their use of technology to further democratize the decision-making processes, but have opposite starting points. Estonia’s internet voting system is an offshoot of the comprehensive e-governance system developed by the Estonian government. It is meant to make it more convenient for people to vote and, thus, easier for them to take part in elections. In Catalonia, the online participation system Decidim, initially set up in the city of Barcelona, represents a bottom-up project that emerged from the 15 May protests and aims to make the representative democratic system more direct and participatory. In our comparison we approach both paradigmatic cases from a theoretical reflection on the ideal types of democracy in relation to how decisions are made and by whom. Both projects have evolved and integrated new features that draw them together. First, internet voting is able to reach wider portions of society and digitally transform the Public Administration. Second, online participation platforms increase the potential for collecting citizens’ proposals and enriching discussions. These features make them more like a mixed model which, in the current model of representative democracy, creates spaces for a more direct and deliberative democracy.

Democracia paritaria e impacto de género en las políticas públicas: análisis del caso de la Comunidad Autónoma Vasca

El modelo de democracia representativa previsto en la Constitución de 1978 adolece de un cierto déficit en el sentido que impide a las mujeres lograr la necesaria participación en condiciones de igualdad en los centros de toma de decisión política. A los efectos de corregir la fallida representación de las mujeres, la Ley 4/2005, de 18 de febrero, para la Igualdad de Mujeres y Hombres incorpora la necesidad de respetar la paridad. El trabajo analiza los efectos que tiene el mandato de la paridad en el ámbito autonómico vasco. Se trata de determinar si la mayor presencia de mujeres en el Parlamento y en el Gobierno autonómico se ha reflejado en políticas públicas capaces de transformar esta sociedad en una más igualitaria. Y para precisar si la presencia de mujeres en puestos de decisión política va más allá de una mera participación formal se ha llamado la atención sobre los siguientes 2 indicadores: la evaluación del impacto de género de las políticas públicas autonómicas; y, las iniciativas parlamentarias y gubernamentales impulsadas en materia de igualdad.

Is It Interests, Ideas or Institutions? Explaining Elected Representatives' Positions Toward Democratic Innovations in 15 European Countries

In response to the alleged legitimacy crisis, representative democracies have in recent years witnessed increased demands for democratic innovations aimed at giving citizens a more direct say in decision-making. Such initiatives, however, often rock the foundations of the model of representative democracy which assumes a more indirect link between citizens and political decisions, and which puts political power more firmly in the hands of elected representatives. In this paper, we study how these elected members of parliament (MPs) –who are key actors in representative democracy, yet potentially see their role reduced in deliberative or participatory models of democracy– think about democratic innovations. We study to what extent and why they support two common types of democratic innovations, namely referendums and deliberative events. While it is generally assumed that MPs’ positions towards these initiatives are driven by their ideological predispositions, we propose and test a comprehensive framework which considers the role played by 3 ‘I’s’: ideas, interests and institutions. Using original data from the PARTIREP MP survey, this paper maps variations in MPs’ preferences for democratic innovations across 15 European countries, and shows that these variations can be explained by differences in MPs’ ideological (left/right) views, legitimacy perceptions and role conceptions, their strategic position in government or opposition, and their electoral incentives. The 3I framework predicts MPs’ support for both types of innovations, but more strongly so for referendums than for deliberative events.

El gobierno y la administración local ante la globalización y la crisis de representación

El fenómeno de la globalización implica importantes cambios en el modo de actuar de las instituciones y en la distribución del poder público, haciéndose necesario un fortalecimiento del rol de la ciudadanía en el modelo de democracia representativa. Este estudio se centra en el análisis del papel que el Gobierno y la Administración Local deben desempeñar en el contexto expuesto. La reforma de la Administración Local es común a diferentes países europeos, sin embargo, en el caso español, el poder del nivel de gobierno más próximo a la sociedad parece haberse debilitado. El modo más efectivo para avanzar en calidad democrática es desde abajo hacia arriba, donde los principios de subsidiariedad y proximidad adquieren mayor protagonismo. La cercanía entre autoridades y ciudadanía mejora los problemas de representación política, a la vez que es compatible con la capacidad para dar respuesta a demandadas globales.

Between Aesthetics and Politics: Socially Engaged Art on the Internet

The author discusses the changes in the model of democracy that have occurred since the Internet began. The hierarchical model of representative democracy is replaced on the Web by participatory democracy. On the example of Siksa and Bread Resolution (Rozdzielczość Chleba), the author shows up the transformations of the model of literary communication on the Internet. She also indicates ethic role engaged art takes in the contemporary society. Artists that produce socially engaged art do it in the name of those who do not exist in public space, those whose voice is not heard and who cannot defend themselves. Nevertheless, the author comes to the conclusion that the real democratic revolution can only take place outside the Web.

Demand of direct democracy

The growing demand for referendum challenges the traditional model of representative democracy. In this paper we study under which conditions voters prefer a system of representative democracy to direct democracy. In direct democracies voters choose a policy among two alternatives, under uncertainty about which policy better fits the realized state of the world; in representative democracies voters select a candidate who, once elected, chooses a policy having observed which is the realized state of the world. Voters and politicians' payoffs depend on a common component which is positive only if the policy fits the state of the world, and on a private ideological bias towards one of the policies. In direct democracies voters are uncertain about the future state of the world, while in representative democracies they are uncertain about the degree of ideological bias of the candidates, even if they know towards which policy each candidate is biased. We show that representative democracy is preferred if (i) the majority of voters are pragmatic (the common component prevails), and (ii) society is ideologically polarized, meaning that the majority of voters are ideological (the private component prevails), but the median voter is pragmatic. Direct democracy is the preferred instrument for collective choices in societies in which the majority of voters and the median voter are ideological, implying that the majority of voters have the same ideological bias, as, for instance, it occurs when the populist rhetoric of people against the elite succeeds.

Towards a Populist Local Democracy? The Consequences of Populist Radical Right Local Government Leadership in Western Europe

ABSTRACT A crisis of representation has precipitated a surge in support for populist radical right (PRR) parties that challenge the existing model of representative democracy. Simultaneously, institutional reforms across Western Europe have sought to improve the input-legitimacy of local democracy with a proliferation of direct and participatory democratic methods. This paper investigates the extent to which PRR parties advance a populist democratic agenda when in leadership of the executive at the local level of government. Previous work on the subject of PRR parties in power has neglected the sub-national perspective, despite the increasing congruence between populist demands for a more direct linkage of politics to the people and this institutional environment. An exploration of three cases of PRR party-led local government in Italy, Austria and Switzerland enables a comparison of their governing behaviour, its ideological content and democratic consequences, through qualitative content analysis of referendums, policies and council resolutions. This paper finds they do little to promote popular sovereignty through participatory forms of governance at the expense of representative democracy in local government. However, when in local government environments with higher executive autonomy, PRR parties emphasise a more direct (plebiscitarian) linkage between the executive and the ‘people’, who are increasingly represented in nativist terms.

Democracia, representación y participación ciudadana, a la búsqueda de un equilibrio que la Constitución no logró

Resumen:A la hora de regular el modelo de democracia y los mecanismos de participaciónciudadana, la Constitución de 1978 fue conformista y prudente. Estableció un modelo de democracia representativa basado en la posibilidad de elegir representantes cada cuatro años, pero sin especiales fórmulas de control y exigencias de responsabilidad política hacia ellos. Por lo demás, estableció una regulación restrictiva de los instrumentos de democracia directa y semidirecta, en especial del referéndum y de la iniciativa legislativa popular.Cuatro décadas después, las exigencias ciudadanas se han intensificado, generándose un cierto déficit de confianza entre electores y representantes. El trabajo analiza los principales déficits de la Constitución de 1978 en la materia, realizando varias propuestas para mejorar la calidad democrática, que en buena parte implican una amplia reforma constitucional: eliminar las restricciones constitucionales del referéndum y la iniciativa popular, incorporar vías de exigencia de responsabilidad y rendición de cuentas, limitar los mandatos del presidente, asegurar la democracia interna de los partidos políticos, eliminar algunas prerrogativas de los parlamentarios, entre otros.Abstract:When regulating the model of democracy and the mechanisms of citizen participation, the Constitution of 1978 was conformist and prudent. It established a model of representative democracy based on the possibility of electing representatives every four years, but without special formulas of control and demands of political responsibility towards them. Moreover, it established a restrictive regulation of the instruments of direct and semi-direct democracy, especially the referendum and popular legislative initiative. Four decades later, citizen demands have intensified, generating a certain lack of trust between voters and representatives. The paper analyzes the main deficits of the 1978 Constitution in the matter, making several proposals to improve the democratic quality, which in large part imply a broad constitutional reform: eliminate the constitutional restrictions of the referendum and popular initiative, incorporate channels of exigency of responsibility and accountability, limiting the president’s mandates, ensuring the internal democracy of political parties, eliminating some prerogatives of parliamentarians, among others. Summary:1. Representative democracy, direct democracy institutions, and citizen participation in Spanish Constitution: context and conditioning factors. 2. Some citizen participation institutions. 2.1. Referendum. 2.2. Popular initiative of Law. 2.3. The open council. 2.4. Participation in Administration. 2.5. The jury and others. 3. Four decades later, a crisis of confidence? 4. The task of democratic regeneration: good governance, participation, trust. 5. Development and legal reforms. 6. A task always pending: constitutional reform. 7. Conclusions

Non-Conventional Instruments and Supervision of Environmental Policies

Instead of pigovian taxes, environmental policies favor targeted subsidies on specific technologies as well as other non-conventional instruments, such as the introduction of green clauses in public procurement. We investigate potential political economy reasons for such a choice of instruments, marked by: use of differentiated and targeted instruments; which cover a limited share of emissions; associated with very high shadow environmental prices in the subsidized sectors; and simultaneous absence, or near-absence, of widespread pricing of nuisances. Within the framework of Maskin-Tirole s model of representative democracy (2004), this type of configuration can arise rationally, as equilibrium of the political decision-making process. The corresponding context is one where decision-makers, highly interested in re-election, are obliged to take long-term environmental challenges into consideration, the public being dependent of the information given by these sectors to understand the policies that are implemented. This suggests different ways to improve the governance of environmental policies. JEL Codes: H23, Q58. Keywords: Pigovian Taxes, Environmental Subsidies, Accountability.

Do They Really Know? On Party Representatives’ Knowledge of the Extent to Which Their Parties Make Election Pledges

The assumption that representatives hold knowledge about their parties’ programmes underlies models of representative democracy. However, representatives’ party knowledge is rarely discussed in theoretical detail, nor is it often systematically empirically investigated. This article takes the first steps and discusses what type of knowledge of their parties representatives need and what knowledge they actually have. Specific focus is given to parties’ election pledge‐making. By comparing the number of parties’ pledges in Swedish election manifestos to Swedish party representatives’ perceptions of the extent to which parties make pledges, the article presents empirical evidence indicating low levels of knowledge. Knowledge is higher among top‐level politicians and politicians who trust parties to generally keep their pledges, but the main conclusion is that research should not assume detailed knowledge of pledge‐making in manifestos among elected representatives, which has not previously been shown in systematic studies.

Enhancing policy innovation by redesigning representative democracy

Policy innovation is a key aspect of public innovation, which has been largely overlooked. Political leadership, competition and collaboration are key drivers of policy innovation. It is a barrier in traditional models of representative democracy that they provide weak conditions for collaboration. Two Danish case studies indicate that collaboration between politicians and relevant and affected stakeholders can promote policy innovation, but also that a redesign of representative democracy is needed in order to establish a productive combination of political leadership, competition and collaboration in political life.

Who governs?: presidents, public opinion, and manipulation

America's model of representational government rests on the premise that elected officials respond to the opinions of citizens. This is a myth, however, say James N. Druckman and Lawrence R. Jacobs. In Who Governs?, Druckman and Jacobs combine existing research with novel data from US presidential archives to show that presidents make policy by largely ignoring the views of most citizens in favor of affluent and well-connected political insiders. Presidents treat the public as pliable, priming it to focus on personality traits and often ignoring it on issues that fail to become salient. Melding big debates about democratic theory with existing research on American politics and innovative use of the archives of three modern presidents - Johnson, Nixon, and Reagan - Druckman and Jacobs deploy lively and insightful analysis to show that the conventional model of representative democracy bears little resemblance to the actual practice of American politics. The authors conclude by arguing that polyarchy and the promotion of accelerated citizen mobilization and elite competition can improve democratic responsiveness. An incisive study of American politics and the flaws of representative government, this book will be warmly welcomed by readers interested in US politics, public opinion, democratic theory, and the fecklessness of American leadership and decision-making.

ON-LINE POLITICS AND VOTING: OVERCOMING THE DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT

The advance of digital technology in the field of politics in the last 20 years has raised the expectations about enhancing the potentials of the long dominant model of representative democracy. The need to reinvigorate the overall political process was talked about since the first signs of decline in the civic engagement in the second half of the past century. In the meantime, technological gadgets, and, especially the great versatility of Internet applicability have indeed contributed for better communication between the political elites and their people and for sharing the information on the unprecedented level. Yet, the key challenge still seems barely touched: how to provide meaningful participation of the politically awakened individuals in the decision-making processes within the states. In the article we offer a brief survey of the European and USA achievements in the field of e-voting and Internet-voting in order to show how the political, technical and security concerns are still prevailing in the debates thus undermining the trust in the new modes of casting the votes. Also, we present the results of the survey done with 120 students in the Republic of Macedonia and their considerations about the eventual Internet voting in the country. Applying the descriptive and analytical methods we would argue that the immense possibilities for using Internet in politics are far from being exploited, so the initial miscalculation and failures should not discourage the communities from observing new pathways for improving the unavoidable digital component of democracy.

Small fish swimming in the shape of a shark: why politicians join political parties in the Pacific Islands

Political parties are ubiquitous features of contemporary models of representative democracy and are widely believed to be integral to transition, and yet persistently democratic Pacific Island countries tend to have ‘weakly’ institutionalised parties – some have none at all – that have little influence on the mobilisation of voters during elections. Party theory largely assumes that politicians form parties to win elections: the author asks why, given the commonly cited irrelevance of party politics in much of the Pacific, politicians join political parties at all. Drawing on 96 biographical accounts – including 72 in-depth interviews –he interprets the explanations politicians give for joining, leaving and changing parties. The author identifies three narratives. The first accords with an augmented rational actor model, the second with a responsible parties model and the third points to intrinsic motivations that are largely overlooked in the existing literature. The author concludes that a comprehensive account must include all three interpretations.

Przejrzystość politkyki informacji publicznej w Norwegii jako wzór dla państw Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej

Norway – a northern country with a huge territory and proportionately small population, with impressive resources, is a graceful example of the use of new technologies in the process of building an open and transparent information society. In Scandinavia, doctrine of open government was born, and the very first legislative regulations of access to public information was implemented. It’s Norway, as one of three countries, alongside with the United Kingdom and the United States, where the first time in the history technological web – the Internet – linked international community. Norway was taken as a example to diagnose the transition of modern societies from the model of representative democracy to the model of information democracy, as well as a shift from the public attitude of access request – requiring the involvement of citizen, to an attitude of free publication. Finally, in this country one can observe one of the most advanced e-government and e-voting systems. Hence, countries in the Central and Eastern Europe should closely monitor solutions and learn from them.

Failing Political Representation or a Change in Kind? Models of Representation and Empirical Trends in Europe

This article reviews Peter Mair’s argument on the failure of political parties and the subsequent failure of representative democracy in Europe. It develops a conceptual framework to test the validity of Mair’s argument against competing interpretations of the development of representative democracy. It identifies three ideal typical models of representative democracy that seem to have succeeded each other over time: cleavage-based democracy, competitive democracy, and audience democracy. The article proposes specific empirical hypotheses for political parties and voters in each of these periods and provides empirical evidence to test the validity of these hypotheses. It concludes with a discussion of the results, evaluating whether the changes that occurred indicate failure of representative democracy or rather the emergence of a different form of representative democracy.

Party loyalty and electoral dealignment

Representative democracy is party democracy. Parties vote together in the legislative arena; party labels act as information shortcuts in the electoral arena, tying together co-partisan legislators’ re-election prospects. But the utility of party labels is weakened by waning party identifications in the electorate. Partisan dealignment therefore risks undercutting party loyalty on the part of backbenchers. Combining district-level data on electoral volatility and new data from the PARTIREP survey of legislators in 15 advanced industrial democracies, it is demonstrated that party loyalty is lowest where partisan dealignment is strongest – even after accounting for backbenchers’ policy preferences, whether they represent the ruling party or the opposition, and their campaign strategies. Our results have important implications for the sustainability of current models of representative democracy.