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The promise of representative democracy: deliberative responsiveness

Author

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  • Claudia Landwehr

    (Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany)

  • Armin Schäfer

    (Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany)

Abstract

In the eyes of its citizens, liberal democracy is connected to at least three promises – the promises of autonomy, equality and rationality. To what extent citizens can view these promises as being fulfilled will affect political trust and support for democracy. The rise of populism and trends towards technocratic government have rightly been interpreted as arising from a gap between normative aspirations and institutional and practical realities. Does this mean that we should adjust our ideals to reality, or that we should strive to bring realities closer to the ideal? Self-proclaimed “realists” argue that democratic ideals are unattainable and that we should therefore settle for a second-best alternative, such as a competitive oligarchy. Against this position, we point out that deliberative democracy offers an attractive ideal for successful representation that can inform democratic innovation. However, deliberative democracy also remains institutionally underdetermined and needs to develop better criteria that enable us to determine if, how and under what conditions the attempt to fulfil democracy’s promises succeeds in practice. In this paper, we suggest a criterion of deliberative responsiveness as a measure for representative democracy’s success in fulfilling promises of autonomy, equality, and rationality. We go on to show in what respects these promises tend to be broken in contemporary representative democracies and discuss strategies for institutional reform that have potential to counteract these problems.

Suggested Citation

  • Claudia Landwehr & Armin Schäfer, 2023. "The promise of representative democracy: deliberative responsiveness," Working Papers 2309, Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz.
    • Handle: RePEc:jgu:wpaper:2309
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    File URL: https://download.uni-mainz.de/RePEc/pdf/Discussion_Paper_2309.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lever, Annabelle, 2010. "Compulsory Voting: A Critical Perspective," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 40(4), pages 897-915, October.
    2. Claudia Landwehr, 2015. "Democratic Meta-Deliberation: Towards Reflective Institutional Design," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 63, pages 38-54, April.
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