Better rather than more democracy? : citizens' perceptions of direct vs. representative democracy in a comparative perspective

english

2013

volume 6, issue 1

Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

In the light of increasing claims for a more accountable political representation on the background of what is perceived a crisis of representative democracy, this discussion paper examines citizens' perceptions of direct vs. representative democracy. It first provides a historical contextualisation by exploring the evolution of the process of reintroduction of direct democracy in modern era as a complement to representative democracy, and the dynamics of comparative global trends in increase of implementation of instruments of direct democracy. These "path dependence" aspects are then correlated in a detailed comment on a recent comparative study of citizens' perceptions of direct democracy that demonstrated complex idiosyncrasies of particular European polities, but also important common characteristics i.e. the prevailing support for direct democracy in all considered Western states and the interdependence of citizens' perceptions of direct and representative democracy, as well as the decisive impact of the political representatives' attitude toward direct democracy on citizens' perceptions of the latter.

20.12.2023