Representative democracy: Difference between revisions
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'''Representative democracy''', also known as '''indirect democracy''' or '''electoral democracy''', is a [[types of democracy|type of democracy]] where elected delegates [[Representation (politics)|represent]] a group of people, in contrast to [[direct democracy]].<ref>{{cite web|date= 28 July 2005|access-date= 14 December 2007|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071213045132/http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/SARC/E-Democracy/Final_Report/Glossary.htm|archive-date= 13 December 2007|url= http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/SARC/E-Democracy/Final_Report/Glossary.htm|title= Victorian Electronic Democracy, Final Report – Glossary}}</ref> Nearly all modern [[Liberal democracy|Western-style democracies]] function as some type of representative democracy: for example, the [[United Kingdom]] (a [[unitary state|unitary]] [[parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[constitutional monarchy]]), [[Germany]] (a [[federal parliamentary republic]]), [[France]] (a unitary [[semi-presidential system|semi-presidential]] [[republic]]), and the [[United States]] (a federal [[Presidential system|presidential]] republic).<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last= Loeper|first=Antoine|year=2016|title= Cross-border externalities and cooperation among representative democracies|journal=European Economic Review|doi= 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2016.10.003|volume= 91|pages=180–208|hdl=10016/25180|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Unlike [[liberal democracy]], a representative democracy may have ''de facto'' multiparty and free and fair elections, but may not have a fully developed [[rule of law]] and additional individual and minority rights beyond the electoral sphere.<ref name="Lührmann 2018">{{Cite journal |last1=Lührmann |first1=Anna |last2=Tannenberg |first2=Marcus |last3=Lindberg |first3=Staffan I. |date=19 March 2018 |title=Regimes of the World (RoW): Opening New Avenues for the Comparative Study of Political Regimes |url=https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/1214/714 |journal=Politics and Governance |volume=6 |issue=1 |access-date=May 16, 2025 |pages=60–77 |issn=2183-2463 |doi=10.17645/pag.v6i1.1214 |doi-access=free |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250321135605/https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/1214/714 |archive-date=March 21, 2025 }}</ref> | '''Representative democracy''', also known as '''indirect democracy''' or '''electoral democracy''', is a [[types of democracy|type of democracy]] where elected delegates [[Representation (politics)|represent]] a group of people, in contrast to [[direct democracy]].<ref>{{cite web|date= 28 July 2005|access-date= 14 December 2007|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071213045132/http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/SARC/E-Democracy/Final_Report/Glossary.htm|archive-date= 13 December 2007|url= http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/SARC/E-Democracy/Final_Report/Glossary.htm|title= Victorian Electronic Democracy, Final Report – Glossary}}</ref> Nearly all modern [[Liberal democracy|Western-style democracies]] function as some type of representative democracy: for example, the [[United Kingdom]] (a [[unitary state|unitary]] [[parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[constitutional monarchy]]), [[Germany]] (a [[federal parliamentary republic]]), [[France]] (a unitary [[semi-presidential system|semi-presidential]] [[republic]]), and the [[United States]] (a federal [[Presidential system|presidential]] republic).<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last= Loeper|first=Antoine|year=2016|title= Cross-border externalities and cooperation among representative democracies|journal=European Economic Review|doi= 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2016.10.003|volume= 91|pages=180–208|hdl=10016/25180|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Unlike [[liberal democracy]], a representative democracy may have ''de facto'' multiparty and free and fair elections, but may not have a fully developed [[rule of law]] and additional individual and minority rights beyond the electoral sphere.<ref name="Lührmann 2018">{{Cite journal |last1=Lührmann |first1=Anna |last2=Tannenberg |first2=Marcus |last3=Lindberg |first3=Staffan I. |date=19 March 2018 |title=Regimes of the World (RoW): Opening New Avenues for the Comparative Study of Political Regimes |url=https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/1214/714 |journal=Politics and Governance |volume=6 |issue=1 |access-date=May 16, 2025 |pages=60–77 |issn=2183-2463 |doi=10.17645/pag.v6i1.1214 |doi-access=free |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250321135605/https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/1214/714 |archive-date=March 21, 2025 }}</ref> | ||
Representative democracy places power in the hands of representatives who are elected by the people. [[Political parties]] often become central to this form of democracy if [[electoral systems]] require or encourage voters to vote for political parties or for candidates associated with political parties (as opposed to voting for individual representatives).<ref>De Vos et al (2014) South African Constitutional Law | Representative democracy places power in the hands of representatives who are elected by the people. [[Political parties]] often become central to this form of democracy if [[electoral systems]] require or encourage voters to vote for political parties or for candidates associated with political parties (as opposed to voting for individual representatives).<ref>De Vos et al (2014). ''South African Constitutional Law in Context''. Oxford University Press.</ref> Some [[Political theories|political theorists]] (including [[Robert Dahl]], [[Gregory Houston]], and [[Ian Liebenberg]]) have described representative democracy as [[polyarchy]].<ref>Houston, G F (2001). ''Public Participation in Democratic Governance in South Africa''. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council HSRC Press.</ref><ref>Dahl, R A (2005). "Is international democracy possible? A critical view". in Sergio Fabbrini (editor): ''Democracy and Federalism in the European Union and the United States: Exploring post-national governance''. pp. 195–204 (Chapter 13). Abingdon on the Thames: Routledge.</ref> | ||
Representative democracy can be organized in different ways including both [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] and [[presidential system]]s of [[form of government|government]]. Elected representatives typically form a [[legislature]] (such as a parliament or congress), which may be composed of a [[unicameralism|single chamber]] (unicameral), [[bicameralism|two chambers]] (bicameral), or [[Multicameralism|more than two chambers]] (multicameral). Where two or more chambers exist, their members are often elected in [[electoral system|different ways]]. | Representative democracy can be organized in different ways including both [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] and [[presidential system]]s of [[form of government|government]]. Elected representatives typically form a [[legislature]] (such as a parliament or congress), which may be composed of a [[unicameralism|single chamber]] (unicameral), [[bicameralism|two chambers]] (bicameral), or [[Multicameralism|more than two chambers]] (multicameral). Where two or more chambers exist, their members are often elected in [[electoral system|different ways]]. | ||
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*In some cases, a [[Bicameralism|bicameral legislature]] may have an "[[upper house]]" that is not directly elected, such as the [[Senate of Canada]], which was in turn modeled on the [[British House of Lords]]. | *In some cases, a [[Bicameralism|bicameral legislature]] may have an "[[upper house]]" that is not directly elected, such as the [[Senate of Canada]], which was in turn modeled on the [[British House of Lords]]. | ||
Some political theorists, such as [[Edmund Burke#Representative Democracy|Edmund Burke]], believe that part of the duty of a representative is not simply to follow the wishes of the electorate but also to use their own judgment in the exercise of their powers, even if their views are not reflective of those of a majority of voters.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke. Volume I|location=London|publisher=Henry G. Bohn| year=1854|pages= | Some political theorists, such as [[Edmund Burke#Representative Democracy|Edmund Burke]], believe that part of the duty of a representative is not simply to follow the wishes of the electorate but also to use their own judgment in the exercise of their powers, even if their views are not reflective of those of a majority of voters.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke. Volume I|location=London|publisher=Henry G. Bohn| year=1854|pages=446–448|quote=Certainly, Gentlemen, it ought to be the happiness and glory of a Representative, to live in the strictest union, the closest correspondence, and the most unreserved communication with his constituents. Their wishes ought to have great weight with him; their opinion, high respect; their business, unremitted attention. It is his duty to sacrifice his repose, his pleasures, his satisfactions, to theirs; and above all, ever, and in all cases, to prefer their interest to his own. But his unbiassed opinion, his mature judgment, his enlightened conscience, he ought not to sacrifice to you, to any man, or to any set of men living. These he does not derive from your pleasure; no, nor from the Law and the Constitution. They are a trust from Providence, for the abuse of which he is deeply answerable. Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.}}</ref> A representative who chooses to execute the wishes of their constituents acts as a delegate. If the representative chooses to use their best judgment and knowledge in making decisions, even when the constituents do not fully agree with the decision, then the representative acts as a trustee. | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
{{See also|Democratization}} | {{See also|Democratization}} | ||
The [[Roman Republic]] was the first known state in the [[Western world]] to have a representative government, despite taking the form of a direct government in the [[Roman assemblies]]. The Roman model of governance would inspire many political thinkers over the centuries,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Livy |last2=De Sélincourt |first2=A. |last3=Ogilvie |first3=R. M. |last4=Oakley |first4=S. P. |title = The early history of Rome: books I-V of The history of Rome from its foundations |publisher = Penguin Classics |year = 2002 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZHh7heON3sQC |isbn = 0-14-044809-8 |page = 34 }}</ref> and today's modern representative democracies imitate more the Roman than the Greek model, because it was a state in which supreme power was held by the people and their elected representatives, and which had an elected or nominated leader.<ref>Watson, 2005, p. 271</ref> Representative democracy is a form of democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives; as opposed to direct democracy, a form of democracy in which people vote on policy initiatives directly.<ref>{{cite book|author=Budge, Ian|chapter=Direct democracy|editor1=Clarke, Paul A.B. |editor2=Foweraker, Joe|title=Encyclopedia of Political Thought|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2001|isbn=978-0-415-19396-2|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=srzDCqnZkfUC&pg=PA224}}</ref> A [[Europe]]an [[medieval]] tradition of selecting representatives from the various [[estates of the realm|estates]] ([[social class|classes]], but not as we know them today) to advise/control [[monarch]]s led to relatively wide familiarity with representative systems inspired by Roman systems. | The [[Roman Republic]] was the first known state in the [[Western world]] to have a representative government, despite taking the form of a direct government in the [[Roman assemblies]]. The Roman model of governance would inspire many political thinkers over the centuries,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Livy |author1-link=Livy |last2=De Sélincourt |first2=A. |last3=Ogilvie |first3=R. M. |last4=Oakley |first4=S. P. |title = The early history of Rome: books I-V of The history of Rome from its foundations |publisher = Penguin Classics |year = 2002 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZHh7heON3sQC |isbn = 0-14-044809-8 |page = 34 }}</ref> and today's modern representative democracies imitate more the Roman than the Greek model, because it was a state in which supreme power was held by the people and their elected representatives, and which had an elected or nominated leader.<ref>Watson, 2005, p. 271</ref> Representative democracy is a form of democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives; as opposed to direct democracy, a form of democracy in which people vote on policy initiatives directly.<ref>{{cite book|author=Budge, Ian|chapter=Direct democracy|editor1=Clarke, Paul A.B. |editor2=Foweraker, Joe|title=Encyclopedia of Political Thought|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2001|isbn=978-0-415-19396-2|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=srzDCqnZkfUC&pg=PA224}}</ref> A [[Europe]]an [[medieval]] tradition of selecting representatives from the various [[estates of the realm|estates]] ([[social class|classes]], but not as we know them today) to advise/control [[monarch]]s led to relatively wide familiarity with representative systems inspired by Roman systems. | ||
In Britain, [[Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester|Simon de Montfort]] is remembered as one of the fathers of representative government for holding two famous parliaments.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jobson|first1=Adrian|title=The First English Revolution: Simon de Montfort, Henry III and the Barons' War|date=2012|publisher=Bloomsbury|isbn=978-1-84725-226-5|pages=173–4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9gHWamp-TLoC}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Simon de Montfort: The turning point for democracy that gets overlooked|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30849472|access-date=19 January 2015|publisher=BBC| postscript = none|date=19 January 2015}}; {{cite news|title=The January Parliament and how it defined Britain|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/11355822/The-January-Parliament-and-how-it-defined-Britain.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/11355822/The-January-Parliament-and-how-it-defined-Britain.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=28 January 2015|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=20 January 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> [[Oxford Parliament (1258)|The first]], in 1258, stripped the [[British king|king]] of unlimited authority and the second, in 1265, included [[Simon de Montfort's Parliament|ordinary citizens from the towns]].<ref name=dnb>{{cite DNB |last=Norgate |first=Kate |author-link=Kate Norgate |wstitle=Montfort, Simon of (1208?-1265)|volume=38 }}</ref> Later, in the 17th century, the [[Parliament of England]] implemented some of the ideas and systems of [[Liberal democracy#Origins|liberal democracy]], culminating in the [[Glorious Revolution]] and passage of the [[Bill of Rights 1689]].<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Kopstein|editor1-first=Jeffrey|editor2-last=Lichbach|editor2-first=Mark|editor3-last=Hanson|editor3-first=Stephen E.|title=Comparative Politics: Interests, Identities, and Institutions in a Changing Global Order|date=2014|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1139991384|pages=37–9|edition=4, revised|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L2jwAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA38|quote=Britain pioneered the system of liberal democracy that has now spread in one form or another to most of the world's countries}}</ref><ref name=refIIP>{{cite web|title=Constitutionalism: America & Beyond|url=http://www.ait.org.tw/infousa/zhtw/DOCS/Demopaper/dmpaper2.html|publisher=Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP), U.S. Department of State|access-date=30 October 2014|quote=The earliest, and perhaps greatest, victory for liberalism was achieved in England. The rising commercial class that had supported the Tudor monarchy in the 16th century led the revolutionary battle in the 17th and succeeded in establishing the supremacy of Parliament and, eventually, of the House of Commons. What emerged as the distinctive feature of modern constitutionalism was not the insistence on the idea that the king is subject to the law (although this concept is an essential attribute of all constitutionalism). This notion was already well established in the Middle Ages. What was distinctive was the establishment of effective means of political control whereby the rule of law might be enforced. Modern constitutionalism was born with the political requirement that representative government depended upon the consent of citizen subjects... However, as can be seen through provisions in the 1689 Bill of Rights, the English Revolution was fought not just to protect the rights of property (in the narrow sense) but to establish those liberties which liberals believed essential to human dignity and moral worth. The "rights of man" enumerated in the English Bill of Rights gradually were proclaimed beyond the boundaries of England, notably in the American Declaration of Independence of 1776 and in the French Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1789.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024130317/http://www.ait.org.tw/infousa/zhtw/DOCS/Demopaper/dmpaper2.html|archive-date=24 October 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Widening of the voting franchise took place through a series of [[Reform Acts]] in the 19th and 20th centuries. | In Britain, [[Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester|Simon de Montfort]] is remembered as one of the fathers of representative government for holding two famous parliaments.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jobson|first1=Adrian|title=The First English Revolution: Simon de Montfort, Henry III and the Barons' War|date=2012|publisher=Bloomsbury|isbn=978-1-84725-226-5|pages=173–4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9gHWamp-TLoC}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Simon de Montfort: The turning point for democracy that gets overlooked|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30849472|access-date=19 January 2015|publisher=BBC| postscript = none|date=19 January 2015}}; {{cite news|title=The January Parliament and how it defined Britain|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/11355822/The-January-Parliament-and-how-it-defined-Britain.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/11355822/The-January-Parliament-and-how-it-defined-Britain.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=28 January 2015|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=20 January 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> [[Oxford Parliament (1258)|The first]], in 1258, stripped the [[British king|king]] of unlimited authority and the second, in 1265, included [[Simon de Montfort's Parliament|ordinary citizens from the towns]].<ref name=dnb>{{cite DNB |last=Norgate |first=Kate |author-link=Kate Norgate |wstitle=Montfort, Simon of (1208?-1265)|volume=38 }}</ref> Later, in the 17th century, the [[Parliament of England]] implemented some of the ideas and systems of [[Liberal democracy#Origins|liberal democracy]], culminating in the [[Glorious Revolution]] and passage of the [[Bill of Rights 1689]].<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Kopstein|editor1-first=Jeffrey|editor2-last=Lichbach|editor2-first=Mark|editor3-last=Hanson|editor3-first=Stephen E.|title=Comparative Politics: Interests, Identities, and Institutions in a Changing Global Order|date=2014|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1139991384|pages=37–9|edition=4, revised|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L2jwAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA38|quote=Britain pioneered the system of liberal democracy that has now spread in one form or another to most of the world's countries}}</ref><ref name=refIIP>{{cite web|title=Constitutionalism: America & Beyond|url=http://www.ait.org.tw/infousa/zhtw/DOCS/Demopaper/dmpaper2.html|publisher=Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP), U.S. Department of State|access-date=30 October 2014|quote=The earliest, and perhaps greatest, victory for liberalism was achieved in England. The rising commercial class that had supported the Tudor monarchy in the 16th century led the revolutionary battle in the 17th and succeeded in establishing the supremacy of Parliament and, eventually, of the House of Commons. What emerged as the distinctive feature of modern constitutionalism was not the insistence on the idea that the king is subject to the law (although this concept is an essential attribute of all constitutionalism). This notion was already well established in the Middle Ages. What was distinctive was the establishment of effective means of political control whereby the rule of law might be enforced. Modern constitutionalism was born with the political requirement that representative government depended upon the consent of citizen subjects... However, as can be seen through provisions in the 1689 Bill of Rights, the English Revolution was fought not just to protect the rights of property (in the narrow sense) but to establish those liberties which liberals believed essential to human dignity and moral worth. The "rights of man" enumerated in the English Bill of Rights gradually were proclaimed beyond the boundaries of England, notably in the American Declaration of Independence of 1776 and in the French Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1789.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024130317/http://www.ait.org.tw/infousa/zhtw/DOCS/Demopaper/dmpaper2.html|archive-date=24 October 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Widening of the voting franchise took place through a series of [[Reform Acts]] in the 19th and 20th centuries. | ||
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==Research on representation ''per se''== | ==Research on representation ''per se''== | ||
{{Further|Representation (politics)}} | {{Further|Representation (politics)}} | ||
Separate but related, and very large, bodies of research in [[political philosophy]] and [[social science]] investigate how and how well elected representatives, such as legislators, represent the interests or preferences of one or another constituency. The [[empirical research]] shows that representative systems tend to be biased towards the representation of more affluent classes to the detriment of the population at large.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jacobs |first1=Lawrence R. |last2=Page |first2=Benjamin I. |title=Who Influences U.S. Foreign Policy? |journal=American Political Science Review |date=February 2005 |volume=99 |issue=1 |pages=107–123 |doi=10.1017/S000305540505152X |s2cid=154481971 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bernauer |first1=Julian |last2=Giger |first2=Nathalie |last3=Rosset |first3=Jan |title=Mind the gap: Do proportional electoral systems foster a more equal representation of women and men, poor and rich? |journal=International Political Science Review |date=January 2015 |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=78–98 |doi=10.1177/0192512113498830 |s2cid=145633250 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gilens |first1=Martin |last2=Page |first2=Benjamin I. |title=Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens |journal=Perspectives on Politics |date=September 2014 |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=564–581 |doi=10.1017/S1537592714001595 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Carnes |first1=Nicholas |title=White-Collar Government: The Hidden Role of Class in Economic Policy Making |date=2013 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-08728-3 }}{{page needed|date=March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Carnes |first1=Nicholas |last2=Lupu |first2=Noam |title=Rethinking the Comparative Perspective on Class and Representation: Evidence from Latin America |journal=American Journal of Political Science |date=January 2015 |volume=59 |issue=1 |pages=1–18 |doi=10.1111/ajps.12112 |url=https://figshare.com/articles/online_resource/Rethinking_the_Comparative_Perspective_on_Class_and_Representation_Evidence_from_Latin_America/26125930 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Giger |first1=Nathalie |last2=Rosset |first2=Jan |last3=Bernauer |first3=Julian |title=The Poor Political Representation of the Poor in a Comparative Perspective |journal=Representation |date=April 2012 |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=47–61 |doi=10.1080/00344893.2012.653238 |s2cid=154081733 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Peters |first1=Yvette |last2=Ensink |first2=Sander J. |title=Differential Responsiveness in Europe: The Effects of Preference Difference and Electoral Participation |journal=West European Politics |date=4 May 2015 |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=577–600 |doi=10.1080/01402382.2014.973260 |s2cid=153452076 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schakel |first1=Wouter |last2=Burgoon |first2=Brian |last3=Hakhverdian |first3=Armen |title=Real but Unequal Representation in Welfare State Reform |journal=Politics & Society |date=March 2020 |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=131–163 |doi=10.1177/0032329219897984 |s2cid=214235967 |doi-access=free |hdl=1887/138869 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> | Separate but related, and very large, bodies of research in [[political philosophy]] and [[social science]] investigate how and how well elected representatives, such as legislators, represent the interests or preferences of one or another constituency. The [[empirical research]] shows that representative systems tend to be biased towards the representation of more affluent classes to the detriment of the population at large.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jacobs |first1=Lawrence R. |last2=Page |first2=Benjamin I. |title=Who Influences U.S. Foreign Policy? |journal=American Political Science Review |date=February 2005 |volume=99 |issue=1 |pages=107–123 |doi=10.1017/S000305540505152X |s2cid=154481971 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bernauer |first1=Julian |last2=Giger |first2=Nathalie |last3=Rosset |first3=Jan |title=Mind the gap: Do proportional electoral systems foster a more equal representation of women and men, poor and rich? |journal=International Political Science Review |date=January 2015 |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=78–98 |doi=10.1177/0192512113498830 |s2cid=145633250 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gilens |first1=Martin |last2=Page |first2=Benjamin I. |title=Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens |journal=Perspectives on Politics |date=September 2014 |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=564–581 |doi=10.1017/S1537592714001595 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Carnes |first1=Nicholas |title=White-Collar Government: The Hidden Role of Class in Economic Policy Making |date=2013 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-08728-3 }}{{page needed|date=March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Carnes |first1=Nicholas |last2=Lupu |first2=Noam |title=Rethinking the Comparative Perspective on Class and Representation: Evidence from Latin America |journal=American Journal of Political Science |date=January 2015 |volume=59 |issue=1 |pages=1–18 |doi=10.1111/ajps.12112 |url=https://figshare.com/articles/online_resource/Rethinking_the_Comparative_Perspective_on_Class_and_Representation_Evidence_from_Latin_America/26125930 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Giger |first1=Nathalie |last2=Rosset |first2=Jan |last3=Bernauer |first3=Julian |title=The Poor Political Representation of the Poor in a Comparative Perspective |journal=Representation |date=April 2012 |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=47–61 |doi=10.1080/00344893.2012.653238 |s2cid=154081733 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Peters |first1=Yvette |last2=Ensink |first2=Sander J. |title=Differential Responsiveness in Europe: The Effects of Preference Difference and Electoral Participation |journal=West European Politics |date=4 May 2015 |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=577–600 |doi=10.1080/01402382.2014.973260 |s2cid=153452076 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schakel |first1=Wouter |last2=Burgoon |first2=Brian |last3=Hakhverdian |first3=Armen |title=Real but Unequal Representation in Welfare State Reform |journal=Politics & Society |date=March 2020 |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=131–163 |doi=10.1177/0032329219897984 |s2cid=214235967 |doi-access=free |hdl=1887/138869 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|date=October 2025}} | ||
==Criticisms== | ==Criticisms== | ||
In his book ''[[Political Parties (book)|Political Parties]]'', written in 1911, [[Robert Michels]] argues that most representative systems deteriorate towards an [[oligarchy]] or [[particracy]]. This is known as the [[iron law of oligarchy]].<ref>Zur Soziologie des Parteiwesens in der modernen Demokratie. Untersuchungen über die oligarchischen Tendenzen des Gruppenlebens (1911, 1925; 1970). Translated as ''Sociologia del partito politico nella democrazia moderna : studi sulle tendenze oligarchiche degli aggregati politici'', from the German original by Dr. Alfredo Polledro, revised and expanded (1912). Translated, from the Italian, by Eden and Cedar Paul as ''Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy' | In his book ''[[Political Parties (book)|Political Parties]]'', written in 1911, [[Robert Michels]] argues that most representative systems deteriorate towards an [[oligarchy]] or [[particracy]]. This is known as the [[iron law of oligarchy]].<ref>Zur Soziologie des Parteiwesens in der modernen Demokratie. Untersuchungen über die oligarchischen Tendenzen des Gruppenlebens (1911, 1925; 1970). Translated as ''Sociologia del partito politico nella democrazia moderna : studi sulle tendenze oligarchiche degli aggregati politici'', from the German original by Dr. Alfredo Polledro, revised and expanded (1912). Translated, from the Italian, by Eden and Cedar Paul as ''Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy'' (Hearst's International Library Co., 1915; Free Press, 1949; Dover Publications, 1959); republished with an introduction by Seymour Martin Lipset (Crowell-Collier, 1962; Transaction Publishers, 1999, {{ISBN|0-7658-0469-7}}); translated in French by S. Jankélévitch, ''Les partis politiques. Essai sur les tendances oligarchiques des démocraties'', Brussels, Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles, 2009 ({{ISBN|978-2-8004-1443-0}}).</ref> | ||
Representative democracies which are stable have been analysed by [[Adolf Gasser]] and compared to the unstable representative democracies in his book ''Gemeindefreiheit als Rettung Europas'' which was published in 1943 and a second edition in 1947.<ref>Gemeindefreiheit als Rettung Europas. Grundlinien einer ethischen Geschichtsauffassung. Verlag Bücherfreunde, Basel 1947. In 1983 republished under: "Gemeindefreiheit – kommunale Selbstverwaltung" (Adolf Gasser/Franz-Ludwig Knemeyer), in de reeks "Studien zur Soziologie", Nymphenburger, München, 1983.</ref> Adolf Gasser stated the following requirements for a representative democracy in order to remain stable, unaffected by the iron law of oligarchy: | Representative democracies which are stable have been analysed by [[Adolf Gasser]] and compared to the unstable representative democracies in his book ''Gemeindefreiheit als Rettung Europas'' which was published in 1943 and a second edition in 1947.<ref>Gemeindefreiheit als Rettung Europas. Grundlinien einer ethischen Geschichtsauffassung. Verlag Bücherfreunde, Basel 1947. In 1983 republished under: "Gemeindefreiheit – kommunale Selbstverwaltung" (Adolf Gasser/Franz-Ludwig Knemeyer), in de reeks "Studien zur Soziologie", Nymphenburger, München, 1983.</ref> Adolf Gasser stated the following requirements for a representative democracy in order to remain stable, unaffected by the iron law of oligarchy: | ||
* Society has to be built up from bottom to top. As a consequence, society is built up by people, who are free and have the power to defend themselves with weapons. | * Society has to be built up from bottom to top. As a consequence, society is built up by people, who are free and have the power to defend themselves with weapons. | ||
| Line 56: | Line 56: | ||
The system of [[Sortition|stochocracy]] has been proposed as an improved system compared to the system of representative democracy, where representatives are elected. Stochocracy aims to at least reduce this degradation by having all representatives appointed by [[lottery]] instead of by voting. Therefore, this system is also called lottocracy. The system was proposed by the writer Roger de Sizif in 1998 in his book ''La Stochocratie''. Choosing officeholders by lot was also the standard practice in ancient [[Athenian democracy]]<ref>{{cite book| others = Josiah Ober, Robert Wallace, Paul Cartledge, Cynthia Farrar| title = Origins of Democracy in Ancient Greece| edition = 1st| date = 15 October 2008| isbn = 978-0520258099| pages = 17,105| chapter = 1,5}}</ref> and in [[History of India|ancient India]]. The rationale behind this practice was to avoid [[lobbying]] and [[electioneering]] by economic oligarchs. | The system of [[Sortition|stochocracy]] has been proposed as an improved system compared to the system of representative democracy, where representatives are elected. Stochocracy aims to at least reduce this degradation by having all representatives appointed by [[lottery]] instead of by voting. Therefore, this system is also called lottocracy. The system was proposed by the writer Roger de Sizif in 1998 in his book ''La Stochocratie''. Choosing officeholders by lot was also the standard practice in ancient [[Athenian democracy]]<ref>{{cite book| others = Josiah Ober, Robert Wallace, Paul Cartledge, Cynthia Farrar| title = Origins of Democracy in Ancient Greece| edition = 1st| date = 15 October 2008| isbn = 978-0520258099| pages = 17,105| chapter = 1,5}}</ref> and in [[History of India|ancient India]]. The rationale behind this practice was to avoid [[lobbying]] and [[electioneering]] by economic oligarchs. | ||
The system of [[deliberative democracy]] is a mix between a majority-ruled system and a consensus-based system. It allows for representative democracies or direct democracies to coexist with its system of governance, providing an initial advantage.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bohman|first=James|year=1997|title=Deliberative Democracy|url=http://www.sze.hu/~smuk/Nyilvanossag_torvenyek_CEE/Szakirodalom/Deliberat%C3%ADv% | The system of [[deliberative democracy]] is a mix between a majority-ruled system and a consensus-based system. It allows for representative democracies or direct democracies to coexist with its system of governance, providing an initial advantage.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bohman|first=James|year=1997|title=Deliberative Democracy|url=http://www.sze.hu/~smuk/Nyilvanossag_torvenyek_CEE/Szakirodalom/Deliberat%C3%ADv%20demokr%C3%A1cia/deliberative%20democracy%20book.pdf#page=72|publisher=MIT Press|archive-date=1 July 2015|access-date=28 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701204247/http://www.sze.hu/~smuk/Nyilvanossag_torvenyek_CEE/Szakirodalom/Deliberat%C3%ADv%20demokr%C3%A1cia/deliberative%20democracy%20book.pdf#page=72|url-status=dead}}</ref> | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Latest revision as of 22:12, 18 November 2025
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Democracy Template:Politics series sidebar Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy or electoral democracy, is a type of democracy where elected delegates represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy.[1] Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of representative democracy: for example, the United Kingdom (a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy), Germany (a federal parliamentary republic), France (a unitary semi-presidential republic), and the United States (a federal presidential republic).[2] Unlike liberal democracy, a representative democracy may have de facto multiparty and free and fair elections, but may not have a fully developed rule of law and additional individual and minority rights beyond the electoral sphere.[3]
Representative democracy places power in the hands of representatives who are elected by the people. Political parties often become central to this form of democracy if electoral systems require or encourage voters to vote for political parties or for candidates associated with political parties (as opposed to voting for individual representatives).[4] Some political theorists (including Robert Dahl, Gregory Houston, and Ian Liebenberg) have described representative democracy as polyarchy.[5][6]
Representative democracy can be organized in different ways including both parliamentary and presidential systems of government. Elected representatives typically form a legislature (such as a parliament or congress), which may be composed of a single chamber (unicameral), two chambers (bicameral), or more than two chambers (multicameral). Where two or more chambers exist, their members are often elected in different ways.
Powers of representatives
Representatives are elected by the public, as in national elections for the national legislature.[2] Elected representatives may hold the power to select other representatives, presidents, or other officers of the government or of the legislature, as the prime minister in the latter case.
The power of representatives is usually curtailed by a constitution (as in a constitutional democracy or a constitutional monarchy) or other measures to balance representative power:[7]
- An independent judiciary, which may have the power to declare legislative acts unconstitutional (e.g. constitutional court, supreme court).
- The constitution may also provide for some deliberative democracy (e.g., Royal Commissions) or direct popular measures (e.g., initiative, referendum, recall elections). However, these are not always binding and usually require some legislative action—legal power usually remains firmly with representatives. Template:Where
- In some cases, a bicameral legislature may have an "upper house" that is not directly elected, such as the Senate of Canada, which was in turn modeled on the British House of Lords.
Some political theorists, such as Edmund Burke, believe that part of the duty of a representative is not simply to follow the wishes of the electorate but also to use their own judgment in the exercise of their powers, even if their views are not reflective of those of a majority of voters.[8] A representative who chooses to execute the wishes of their constituents acts as a delegate. If the representative chooses to use their best judgment and knowledge in making decisions, even when the constituents do not fully agree with the decision, then the representative acts as a trustee.
History
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The Roman Republic was the first known state in the Western world to have a representative government, despite taking the form of a direct government in the Roman assemblies. The Roman model of governance would inspire many political thinkers over the centuries,[9] and today's modern representative democracies imitate more the Roman than the Greek model, because it was a state in which supreme power was held by the people and their elected representatives, and which had an elected or nominated leader.[10] Representative democracy is a form of democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives; as opposed to direct democracy, a form of democracy in which people vote on policy initiatives directly.[11] A European medieval tradition of selecting representatives from the various estates (classes, but not as we know them today) to advise/control monarchs led to relatively wide familiarity with representative systems inspired by Roman systems.
In Britain, Simon de Montfort is remembered as one of the fathers of representative government for holding two famous parliaments.[12][13] The first, in 1258, stripped the king of unlimited authority and the second, in 1265, included ordinary citizens from the towns.[14] Later, in the 17th century, the Parliament of England implemented some of the ideas and systems of liberal democracy, culminating in the Glorious Revolution and passage of the Bill of Rights 1689.[15][16] Widening of the voting franchise took place through a series of Reform Acts in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The American Revolution led to the creation of a new Constitution of the United States in 1787, with a national legislature based partly on direct elections of representatives every two years, and thus responsible to the electorate for continuance in office. Senators were not directly elected by the people until the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913. Women, men who owned no property, and Black people, and others not originally given voting rights, in most states eventually gained the vote through changes in state and federal law in the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. Until it was repealed by the Fourteenth Amendment following the Civil War, the Three-Fifths Compromise gave a disproportionate representation of slave states in the House of Representatives relative to the voters in free states.[17][18]
In 1789, Revolutionary France adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and, although short-lived, the National Convention was elected by all males in 1792.[19] Universal male suffrage was re-established in France in the wake of the French Revolution of 1848.[20]
Representative democracy came into general favour particularly in post-industrial revolution nation states where large numbers of citizens evinced interest in politics, but where technology and population figures remained unsuited to direct democracy.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Many historians credit the Reform Act 1832 with launching modern representative democracy in the United Kingdom.[21][22]
Globally, a majority of governments in the world are representative democracies, including constitutional monarchies and republics with strong representative branches.[23]
Research on representation per se
Script error: No such module "labelled list hatnote". Separate but related, and very large, bodies of research in political philosophy and social science investigate how and how well elected representatives, such as legislators, represent the interests or preferences of one or another constituency. The empirical research shows that representative systems tend to be biased towards the representation of more affluent classes to the detriment of the population at large.[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]Template:Excessive citations inline
Criticisms
In his book Political Parties, written in 1911, Robert Michels argues that most representative systems deteriorate towards an oligarchy or particracy. This is known as the iron law of oligarchy.[32] Representative democracies which are stable have been analysed by Adolf Gasser and compared to the unstable representative democracies in his book Gemeindefreiheit als Rettung Europas which was published in 1943 and a second edition in 1947.[33] Adolf Gasser stated the following requirements for a representative democracy in order to remain stable, unaffected by the iron law of oligarchy:
- Society has to be built up from bottom to top. As a consequence, society is built up by people, who are free and have the power to defend themselves with weapons.
- These free people join or form local communities. These local communities are independent, which includes financial independence, and they are free to determine their own rules.
- Local communities join into a higher unit, e.g. a canton.
- There is no hierarchical bureaucracy.
- There is competition between these local communities, e.g. on services delivered or on taxes.
A drawback to this type of government is that elected officials are not required to fulfill promises made before their election and are able to promote their own self-interests once elected, providing an incohesive system of governance.[34] Legislators are also under scrutiny as the system of majority-won legislators voting for issues for the large group of people fosters inequality among the marginalized.[35]
Proponents of direct democracy criticize representative democracy due to its inherent structure. As the fundamental basis of representative democracy is non inclusive system, in which representatives turn into an elite class that works behind closed doors, as well as the criticizing the elector system as being driven by a capitalistic and authoritarian system.[36][37]
The V-Dem Institute classifies electoral democracies as the bare minimum of democracies, describing them as being governments that are "de-facto accountable to citizens through periodic elections", but are not liberal democracies and lack further entrenched individual and minority rights beyond the electoral sphere. Basic representative democracies may not possess a fully developed rule of law, legislative and judicial oversight of the executive branch, protections against the "tyranny of the majority", and only minimal fulfillment of Robert Dahl's institutional prerequisites for democracy.[3]
Proposed solutions
The system of stochocracy has been proposed as an improved system compared to the system of representative democracy, where representatives are elected. Stochocracy aims to at least reduce this degradation by having all representatives appointed by lottery instead of by voting. Therefore, this system is also called lottocracy. The system was proposed by the writer Roger de Sizif in 1998 in his book La Stochocratie. Choosing officeholders by lot was also the standard practice in ancient Athenian democracy[38] and in ancient India. The rationale behind this practice was to avoid lobbying and electioneering by economic oligarchs.
The system of deliberative democracy is a mix between a majority-ruled system and a consensus-based system. It allows for representative democracies or direct democracies to coexist with its system of governance, providing an initial advantage.[39]
See also
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References
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ De Vos et al (2014). South African Constitutional Law in Context. Oxford University Press.
- ↑ Houston, G F (2001). Public Participation in Democratic Governance in South Africa. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council HSRC Press.
- ↑ Dahl, R A (2005). "Is international democracy possible? A critical view". in Sergio Fabbrini (editor): Democracy and Federalism in the European Union and the United States: Exploring post-national governance. pp. 195–204 (Chapter 13). Abingdon on the Thames: Routledge.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Watson, 2005, p. 271
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- ↑ Template:Cite DNB
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ "We Hold These Truths to be Self-evident;" An Interdisciplinary Analysis of the Roots of Racism & slavery in America Kenneth N. Addison; Introduction P. xxii
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Eric J. Evans, The Forging of the Modern State: Early Industrial Britain, 1783–1870 (2nd ed. 1996) p. 229
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Zur Soziologie des Parteiwesens in der modernen Demokratie. Untersuchungen über die oligarchischen Tendenzen des Gruppenlebens (1911, 1925; 1970). Translated as Sociologia del partito politico nella democrazia moderna : studi sulle tendenze oligarchiche degli aggregati politici, from the German original by Dr. Alfredo Polledro, revised and expanded (1912). Translated, from the Italian, by Eden and Cedar Paul as Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy (Hearst's International Library Co., 1915; Free Press, 1949; Dover Publications, 1959); republished with an introduction by Seymour Martin Lipset (Crowell-Collier, 1962; Transaction Publishers, 1999, Template:ISBN); translated in French by S. Jankélévitch, Les partis politiques. Essai sur les tendances oligarchiques des démocraties, Brussels, Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles, 2009 (Template:ISBN).
- ↑ Gemeindefreiheit als Rettung Europas. Grundlinien einer ethischen Geschichtsauffassung. Verlag Bücherfreunde, Basel 1947. In 1983 republished under: "Gemeindefreiheit – kommunale Selbstverwaltung" (Adolf Gasser/Franz-Ludwig Knemeyer), in de reeks "Studien zur Soziologie", Nymphenburger, München, 1983.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
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