scholarly journals Full Transparency of Politicians' Actions Does Not Increase the Quality of Political Representation

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Stadelmann ◽  
Marco Portmann ◽  
Reiner Eichenberger
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Difference In Difference ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Voter Preferences ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Political Decision Making

AbstractWe identify the impact of transparency in political decision-making on the quality of political representation with a difference-in-difference strategy. The quality of political representation is measured by the observed divergence of parliamentary decisions from revealed voter preferences on identical issues. We show that full transparency of votes of individual politicians does not decrease divergence from voter preferences.

Discussion's Impact on Political Allocations: An Experimental Approach

2002 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam F. Simon ◽  
Tracy Sulkin
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Experimental Approach ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Political Decision Making

In this study, we unite two experimental traditions to examine the impact of discursive processes on political decision making. We directly manipulate the presence and timing of discussion in the “divide-the-dollar” game to assess the effects of discussion on participants' allocations and perceptions of the game's legitimacy. To investigate the influence of structure, we also manipulate the presence of a majority/minority cleavage among participants. The dependent measures in all instances are the players' allocations, the outcome of the game, and psychometric indicators of legitimacy perceptions. Results indicate that the presence of discussion can generate outcomes that are perceived as more equitable and fair in some circumstances—namely, when a cleavage is present. These findings establish the utility of this paradigm, as well as an important baseline for assessing the probable impacts of proposals to integrate deliberation into political decision making.

scholarly journals The British Academy Brian Barry Prize Essay: Representing the Future: The Interests of Future Persons in Representative Democracy

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andre Santos Campos
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Representative Democracy ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Distant Future ◽  
Special Cases ◽  
Political Decision Making ◽  
Prize Essay

Abstract As a reaction against contemporary democracy's inherent short-sightedness in solving problems that are likely to affect distant future generations, there has been a recent increase in proposals for different kinds of democratic representation of future persons. This article shows that even though there can be no such thing as political representation of future persons, the relevant affected interests of the as-yet unborn can still be taken into consideration in political decision making. This aim is achieved by focusing on the political representation of children as special cases of semi-future members of the class of the represented.

scholarly journals How design features affect evaluations of participatory platforms

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Serup Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Generation Time ◽  
Design Features ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Identity Verification ◽  
Information Availability ◽  
Prior Use ◽  
Conjoint Experiment ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Political Decision Making

Online participatory platforms are introduced to boost citizen involvement in political decision-making. However, the design features of these platforms vary considerably, and these are likely to affect how prospective users evaluate the usefulness of these platforms. Previous studies explored how prevalent different design features are and how they affect the success of platforms in terms of impact, but the attitudes of prospective users remain unclear. Since these evaluations affect the prospects for launching successful participatory platforms, it is imperative to assess what citizens want from such digital possibilities for participation. This study uses a conjoint experiment (n=1048) conducted in Finland that explore the impact of seven design features: Discussion possibilities; Interaction with politicians and experts; Information availability, Aim of participation; Identity verification; Anonymous participation and Accessibility. Furthermore, it is examined whether the effects differ across use of ICTs measured by generation, time online and prior use of participatory platforms. The results suggest that most design features have clear effects on evaluations, and that deliberative features have the strongest effects. Furthermore, the effects are relatively stable across prior use although the less experienced put a stronger emphasis on verification.

Reforming Canadian Democracy? Institutions and Ideology in the Reform Party Project

1994 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Laycock
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Public Life ◽  
Constitutional Reform ◽  
Federal System ◽  
Special Interests ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Reform Agenda ◽  
Political Decision Making

AbstractThis article considers connections between the ideological orientations of the Reform party of Canada and its proposals for reform of political representation. Particular attention is devoted to its advocacy of direct democracy, new models of representative behaviour and constitutional reform as means of democratizing Canadian politics. These proposals are discussed in relation to Reform's account of collusion between special interests, parties and interventionist governments in our federal system. Reform's preference for market-based over political decision-making is identified as a key foundation of their explanation and remedies for the crisis in Canadian democracy. A review of Reform's blending of older populist critiques with modern neo-conservative perspectives on this problem clarifies the party's distinctiveness and appeal. The Reform agenda emerges as one aiming to contract not just the power of special interests, but also the scope of democratic decision-making in public life.

scholarly journals Impact of globalization on the direct participation of citizens in local self-government in the Republic of Bulgaria

2021 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 07013
Author(s):  
Margarita Cheshmedzhieva ◽  
Vesela Mircheva ◽  
Galina Pisarska ◽  
Elena Haydushka
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Direct Participation ◽  
Legal Method ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Political Decision Making

Research background: The direct participation of citizens in political decision-making in the state is one of the ways to implement the public relations between the political state represented by the authorities of local self-government and administration. In addition to that, the civil society on behalf of the local inhabitants of the municipalities is also part of this process. Purpose of the article: This report aims to examine which forms of direct democracy are most often applied in the system of local self-government and what is the result of them in view of the economic independence of municipalities. The comparative study covers the periods before and after the signing of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in 1995 by the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as the periods before and after the accession of our country to the EU in 2007. These two events play a key role in the impact of globalization processes on the direct participation of citizens in local political decision making. Methods: The methodological tools, used in the research, include the comparative analysis and the comparative-legal method. Findings & Value added: The contribution of the research is expressed in tracking the trend in the application of various forms of direct participation of citizens in local government in the Republic of Bulgaria, in outlining the main shortcomings of legal regulations and factors, favoring or hindering the implementation of these forms, and in formulating proposals de lege ferenda to improve existing legislation.

On Political Representation

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
GEOFFREY BRENNAN ◽  
ALAN HAMLIN
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Essential Feature ◽  
Principal Agent ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Rational Actor ◽  
Political Decision Making

An essential feature of political representation is that a mediating assembly is set between the citizenry and political decision making. Representation involves indirect decision making or agency. Rational actor political theory often assumes representation in order to focus on problems of a principal–agent kind, but offers only relatively weak arguments for representation. We offer an alternative argument for representation that builds on our broader interpretation of rational actor political theory – an interpretation that emphasizes expressive considerations relative to instrumental considerations, and operates in a richer motivational setting. As well as providing an account of representation, we believe that our approach is capable of re-connecting rational actor political theory to many of the concerns of more traditional political theory.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document