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Introduction: This article argues that, due to its characteristics, the republican citizenship model is the best alternative for promoting citizen participation in contemporary Western democracies. Objective: The purpose of the text is to analyze its advantages over other citizenship models, as well as to explain the reasons why it is considered the most appropriate approach for the theoretical and practical development of citizen participation. Method: For the elaboration of the article, the documentary research method and the argumentative analysis were used. First, the debate between the visions of representative democracy and participatory democracy is presented, to later examine the influence of the realist and idealist paradigms as political philosophical currents that underlie and sustain the main premises of each of these perspectives of democracy. Results: From the analysis, it is concluded that the republican citizenship model allows overcoming the representation-participation dichotomy, in addition to providing a more solid and congruent foundation for both the theory and the praxis of citizen involvement in public affairs., Introducción: En el presente artículo de reflexión se plantea que, por sus características, el modelo de ciudadanía republicana es la mejor alternativa para promover la participación ciudadana en las democracias occidentales contemporáneas. Objetivo: El propósito del texto es analizar las ventajas de la ciudadanía republicana respecto a otros modelos, así como explicar las razones por las que se le considera el enfoque más adecuado para el desarrollo teórico y práctico de la participación ciudadana. Método: Para su elaboración, se recurrió al método de investigación documental. En cuanto a la estructura del artículo, primero, se presenta el debate entre las visiones de democracia representativa y democracia participativa; posteriormente, se examina la influencia de los paradigmas realista e idealista como corrientes filosóficas políticas que subyacen y sustentan las principales premisas de ambas perspectivas de democracia. Al final, se describen los modelos de ciudadanía liberal, comunitarista y republicana, así como sus implicaciones para la participación ciudadana. Resultados: Del análisis realizado se concluye que el modelo de ciudadanía republicana permite superar la dicotomía representación-participación, además de brindar un cimiento más sólido y congruente tanto a la teoría como a la praxis del involucramiento ciudadano en los asuntos públicos.

Europeans, on average, are distrustful toward representative institutions. In recentdecades, to restore confidence in political institutions, several countries have imple-mented alternative decision-making processes. The literature has analyzed prefer-ences for these alternatives, such as direct democracy or technocracy, and their driv-ers. However, these analyses often treated these preferences in isolation, withoutconsidering that citizens might have more complex preferences involving multipleactors in the decision-making process. We test whether this complexity exists in anovel survey experiment where citizens are exposed to two different vignettes aboutdivisive policies in Italy. Our results indicate that, more than anything else, Italiancitizens prefer having their fellow citizens decide alone in referendums. However,they also favor consulting experts before Parliament’s decision. Furthermore, wedemonstrate that while instrumentality is still crucial in evaluating the fairness ofthe processes, certain decision-making processes make losers of the policy outcomeas satisfied as specific groups winners. These findings hold significant implicationsfor citizens’ policy evaluations, highlighting that the decision-making process mightinfluence their overall satisfaction with policies., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Is representative democracy in Europe becoming undermined by developments in public opinion? This dissertation addresses this overarching question, by studying the development over time of (i) ideological polarization; (ii) the degree to which vote choices are structured by political attitudes; and (iii) the degree to which parties are internally congruent in political opinion across levels. Public opinion is understood as the metaphorical ‘fabric’ of representative democracy, where conjectures to the fact of a fracturing dynamic are plausible and recurrent in academic and public debate. Thus, this thesis contributes with studies in three particular areas, regarding the interaction between political attitudes and the political system. The studies show that there have not been dramatic ruptures in these aspects of political opinion. Neither polarization, disintegration, nor incongruence are the most appropriate words to characterize developments in general. Some changes are taking place, in particular as attitudes on immigration are becoming more important in all aspects considered. Paper I studies political polarization in a qualified sense, focusing on ideological views among the electorates of European democracies. The paper presents a conceptualization and measurement of ideological polarization that is partly novel, and proceeds to investigate patterns across countries and time. Paper II studies the degree to which vote choices in contemporary European democracies are connected to political views, in particular left-right placements, among electorates in Europe. This degree is gradually declining in most cases, and attitudes on secondary dimensions are generally rising in importance. In particular, the left-right scale is subsuming more issues than before, while issue attitudes are becoming gradually more important for explaining vote choices independently as well. Paper III studies intra-party ideological congruence, focusing on the case of Sweden. Here, the f

Is representative democracy in Europe becoming undermined by developments in public opinion? This dissertation addresses this overarching question, by studying the development over time of (i) ideological polarization; (ii) the degree to which vote choices are structured by political attitudes; and (iii) the degree to which parties are internally congruent in political opinion across levels. Public opinion is understood as the metaphorical ‘fabric’ of representative democracy, where conjectures to the fact of a fracturing dynamic are plausible and recurrent in academic and public debate. Thus, this thesis contributes with studies in three particular areas, regarding the interaction between political attitudes and the political system. The studies show that there have not been dramatic ruptures in these aspects of political opinion. Neither polarization, disintegration, nor incongruence are the most appropriate words to characterize developments in general. Some changes are taking place, in particular as attitudes on immigration are becoming more important in all aspects considered. Paper I studies political polarization in a qualified sense, focusing on ideological views among the electorates of European democracies. The paper presents a conceptualization and measurement of ideological polarization that is partly novel, and proceeds to investigate patterns across countries and time. Paper II studies the degree to which vote choices in contemporary European democracies are connected to political views, in particular left-right placements, among electorates in Europe. This degree is gradually declining in most cases, and attitudes on secondary dimensions are generally rising in importance. In particular, the left-right scale is subsuming more issues than before, while issue attitudes are becoming gradually more important for explaining vote choices independently as well. Paper III studies intra-party ideological congruence, focusing on the case of Sweden. Here, the f

There is a growing body of empirical research on democracies with strong or weak deliberative and/or direct democratic features. But how do these features affect the performance of a country? How do participatory types of democracies differ considering system performance, democratic performance, and social performance? Which type is more successful? Although these questions are most crucial and pressing in democracy research, they remain mostly unexplored. Our explorative study is a start to fill this gap. It analyzes which participatory types of democracies perform better: countries with less or more deliberation, countries with less or more direct democratic elements, countries that score high or low on both features. Based on several datasets and applying different statistical tools, we show that the associations between these types of democracy and performance are multifaceted. The most important finding, however, is clear-cut. Democracies with strong deliberative as well as strong direct democratic features perform better than other democracies. Combining deliberation with direct democracy seems to be the optimal formula to guarantee high social, system, and democratic performance. However, many questions remain open and we discuss the need for future research.

Public deliberation can be conceptualized as a debate and discussion aimed at producing reasonable, well-informed opinions in which participants are willing to revise preferences in light of discussion, new information, and claims made by fellow participants. Social learning, defined as an individual and collective process involving the enduring acquisition or modification of cognitive constructs, is central in such a conceptualization. For the last years, participatory democracy has been studied and promoted in order to improve the efficacy and legitimacy of policy decisions made through representative democracy, especially at the local level. Despite these developments, representative councils or parliaments remain fundamental to transform the outputs of participatory democracy into concrete decisions. Yet, research on public deliberation in representative democracy is rarer. In this chapter, we look at the conditions of social learning within municipal councils, with the results of a thematic analysis of 17 semi-structured interviews with council presidents and general directors of 13 municipalities in the Brussels-Capital Region in Belgium. To conclude, next to theoretical and practical implications, we present the features of a new software supposed to foster social learning in public deliberation based on these results.

Inspired by the barriers to social integration between aboriginals and non-indigenous people in Taiwan, as well as the limitations of representation and participation in national politics, and extending to turn deeply to aboriginal identity recognition and related movements, this dissertation adopts liberalism as grand background and takes scholarly scientific theory constructivism to illustrate the meanings and applicability of discourse analysis method in order to investigate textual materials notably official documents including the Constitution and Acts, press releases as well as academic articles about how those materials describe indigenous peoples. Additionally, through the deployment of practical theories such as (post) colonialism, multiculturalism, representative democracy and deliberative democracy to interpret social and political facts in Taiwan. The author has found that the description of indigenous people in Taiwanese statute through the change from inequitable titles to relatively respectful takes into account the acceptability of aboriginals. The integration of indigenous Taiwanese in society is still persisting and causes troubles for the routine life of aboriginals. Furthermore, it has been observed that the recognition of aboriginal identity hinders the willingness and possibility of indigenous peoples to participate in national politics. Meanwhile, the national global status impact on indigenous peoples has been evident.

The article reflects on the crisis of representative democracy in Mexico, examining the democratization process that began in the second half of the 20th century, identifying the social contexts (economic boom and crisis, permanence of a hegemonic party, subnational authoritarianism, social movements and guerrillas) in which the political and electoral reforms were discussed and approved – the Mexican one is considered to be a “voted transition”, precisely because of the importance given to gradual institutional change and the impossibility of identifying a date or moment of breaking or rupture with the regime–, and also registering the incorporation in the Mexican Constitution of mechanisms of direct democracy as an alternative to avoid the sharpening of the protests for greater freedoms and political rights, institutionalize the conflict, correct the low legitimacy of the authorities and reduce the effects of the democratic deficit in the country., En el artículo se reflexiona sobre la crisis de la democracia representativa en México, examinando el proceso de democratización iniciado la segunda mitad del siglo XX, identificando los contextos sociales (bonanza y crisis económica, permanencia de un partido hegemónico, autoritarismos subnacionales, movimientos sociales y guerrillas) en los cuales se discutieron y aprobaron las reformas políticas y electorales –se considera que la mexicana es una “transición votada”, precisamente, por la importancia que se le ha dado al cambio institucional gradual y la imposibilidad de identificar una fecha o momento de quiebre o ruptura con el régimen–, y registrando, además, la incorporación en la Constitución mexicana de mecanismos de democracia directa como una alternativa para evitar la agudización de las protestas por mayores libertades y derechos políticos, institucionalizar el conflicto, subsanar la baja legitimidad de las autoridades y aminorar los efectos del déficit democrático en el país.

Is representative democracy in Europe becoming undermined by developments in public opinion? This dissertation addresses this overarching question, by studying the development over time of (i) ideological polarization; (ii) the degree to which vote choices are structured by political attitudes; and (iii) the degree to which parties are internally congruent in political opinion across levels. Public opinion is understood as the metaphorical ‘fabric’ of representative democracy, where conjectures to the fact of a fracturing dynamic are plausible and recurrent in academic and public debate. Thus, this thesis contributes with studies in three particular areas, regarding the interaction between political attitudes and the political system. The studies show that there have not been dramatic ruptures in these aspects of political opinion. Neither polarization, disintegration, nor incongruence are the most appropriate words to characterize developments in general. Some changes are taking place, in particular as attitudes on immigration are becoming more important in all aspects considered. Paper I studies political polarization in a qualified sense, focusing on ideological views among the electorates of European democracies. The paper presents a conceptualization and measurement of ideological polarization that is partly novel, and proceeds to investigate patterns across countries and time. Paper II studies the degree to which vote choices in contemporary European democracies are connected to political views, in particular left-right placements, among electorates in Europe. This degree is gradually declining in most cases, and attitudes on secondary dimensions are generally rising in importance. In particular, the left-right scale is subsuming more issues than before, while issue attitudes are becoming gradually more important for explaining vote choices independently as well. Paper III studies intra-party ideological congruence, focusing on the case of Sweden. Here, the f

The so-called "Citizens' Assemblies", varied experiences of the involvement of new forms of popular bodies and expressions of so-called "deliberative democracy", have already found application in several legal systems. Given their variety and their progressive spread in a global perspective, it seems appropriate to propose a reflection on this issue, starting with an attempt to systematise the phenomenon in order to establish the methods of composition, objectives, tasks and place of these bodies within the legal systems in which they have been implemented. Subsequently, a critical in-depth study will be proposed with systemic considerations on the compatibility, alternativeness and competitiveness between Citizens' Assemblies and traditional forms of direct and representative democracy: therefore, assessing the impact of these new tools on classic democratic mechanisms, whether they can actually be a viable alternative or addition to direct democracy mechanisms and whether they can be complementary instruments within the representative circuit.

The literature on deliberative mini-publics (DMPs) establishes a link between political dissatisfaction and support for DMPs. However, little is known about the sources of political dissatisfaction that trigger this support. Our research tackles this specific question and claims that citizen dissatisfaction is rooted in a position of ‘losers of representative democracy’, which leads citizens to be more open to reforms that move away from the representative model. Building on the literature on loser's consent, we focus on the effect of voting for a party not associated with the government and of descriptive and substantive (under)-representation in support of DMPs. We rely on a comparative survey conducted across fifteen Western European countries. Supporters of opposition parties and those who are badly represented, both descriptively and substantively, are more supportive of DMPs. These findings have important implications for understanding the public appeal for deliberative democracy instruments., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

In popular democratic conceptions, the right to candidacy and the right to vote are two sides of the same coin. Nonetheless, as the legislative analysis in this paper shows, their sets of right holders are not symmetrical in the extant practice of otherwise paradigmatically democratic countries. This fact is problematic as democratic legitimacy is, first and foremost, predicated upon the formal equality of citizens. As such, this stark asymmetry between the two most fundamental electoral rights demands a sound normative account, one which has been seriously neglected by electoral scholars. After outlining what the most plausible account would look like, the paper argues that, all other things being equal, countries currently have no way to comply with it. It normatively follows that the qualification bars for candidacy, which formally demarcate its set of rightsholders, should be lowered and expanded to match those currently in place for the right to vote., En el imaginario popular sobre la democracia, el derecho a ser elegido y el derecho al voto suelen ser considerados como dos caras de la misma moneda. Sin embargo, el análisis legislativo realizado demuestra que el conjunto de sus derechohabientes no es simétrico en las prácticas existentes incluso en los países que, por lo demás, son paradigmáticamente democráticos. Este hecho es problemático debido a que la legitimidad democrática está predicada de manera especial sobre la igualdad formal de los ciudadanos. Por ello, la marcada asimetría entre los dos derechos electorales más fundamentales exige un cimiento normativo sólido. La elaboración de este, no obstante, es un trabajo que ha quedado descuidado por la academia. Tras bosquejar cómo podría verse el cimiento normativo más plausible para justificar la asimetría, se argumenta que, en igualdad de condiciones, los países actualmente no tienen manera de cumplir con él. La consecuencia normativa de ello es que las restricciones formales al derecho a ser elegido, mismas que de facto definen el conjunto de sus derechohabientes, deberían aminorarse y expandirse de modo que empaten aquellas que limitan el derecho al voto.

Is representative democracy in Europe becoming undermined by developments in public opinion? This dissertation addresses this overarching question, by studying the development over time of (i) ideological polarization; (ii) the degree to which vote choices are structured by political attitudes; and (iii) the degree to which parties are internally congruent in political opinion across levels. Public opinion is understood as the metaphorical ‘fabric’ of representative democracy, where conjectures to the fact of a fracturing dynamic are plausible and recurrent in academic and public debate. Thus, this thesis contributes with studies in three particular areas, regarding the interaction between political attitudes and the political system. The studies show that there have not been dramatic ruptures in these aspects of political opinion. Neither polarization, disintegration, nor incongruence are the most appropriate words to characterize developments in general. Some changes are taking place, in particular as attitudes on immigration are becoming more important in all aspects considered. Paper I studies political polarization in a qualified sense, focusing on ideological views among the electorates of European democracies. The paper presents a conceptualization and measurement of ideological polarization that is partly novel, and proceeds to investigate patterns across countries and time. Paper II studies the degree to which vote choices in contemporary European democracies are connected to political views, in particular left-right placements, among electorates in Europe. This degree is gradually declining in most cases, and attitudes on secondary dimensions are generally rising in importance. In particular, the left-right scale is subsuming more issues than before, while issue attitudes are becoming gradually more important for explaining vote choices independently as well. Paper III studies intra-party ideological congruence, focusing on the case of Sweden. Here, the f

This reflection on populism proposes an analysis of the idea of the people throughout history and of the operation of its ideological conversion for purposes of conquest, legitimization, and reproduction of power. A process similar to that of the ideological reconstruction of reality. The populist narrative is an anti-liberal narrative that depreciates the mediation of representative instances since it identifies these instances with the confiscation of the sovereign power of the people by the elites. The unifying power of social heterogeneity is guaranteed by a charismatic figure who interprets popular sentiment and is equivalent to the traditional figure of the monarch, who embodies and interprets the idea of people-nation. Populism (or neo populism) can be from the right or from the left, but both are affirmed by opposition to the liberal matrix of representative democracy., Esta reflexión sobre el populismo propone una análisis de la idea de pueblo a lo largo de la historia y de la operación de su conversión ideológica con fines de conquista, de legitimación y de reproducción del poder. Un proceso igual al de la reconstrucción ideológica de la realidad. La narrativa populista es antiliberal y desprecia la mediación de las instancias representativas, ya que las identifica con la confiscación del poder soberano del pueblo por las élites. El poder unificador de la heterogeneidad social es garantizado por una figura carismática que interpreta el sentimiento popular, equivalente a la figura tradicional del monarca, que encarna, representa e interpreta la idea de pueblo-nación. El populismo (o el neopopulismo) puede ser de derecha o de izquierda, pero ambos se afirman, sobre todo, en la oposición a la matriz liberal de la democracia representativa.

The article reflects on the crisis of representative democracy in Mexico, examining the democratization process that began in the second half of the 20th century, identifying the social contexts (economic boom and crisis, permanence of a hegemonic party, subnational authoritarianism, social movements and guerrillas) in which the political and electoral reforms were discussed and approved – the Mexican one is considered to be a “voted transition”, precisely because of the importance given to gradual institutional change and the impossibility of identifying a date or moment of breaking or rupture with the regime–, and also registering the incorporation in the Mexican Constitution of mechanisms of direct democracy as an alternative to avoid the sharpening of the protests for greater freedoms and political rights, institutionalize the conflict, correct the low legitimacy of the authorities and reduce the effects of the democratic deficit in the country., En el artículo se reflexiona sobre la crisis de la democracia representativa en México, examinando el proceso de democratización iniciado la segunda mitad del siglo XX, identificando los contextos sociales (bonanza y crisis económica, permanencia de un partido hegemónico, autoritarismos subnacionales, movimientos sociales y guerrillas) en los cuales se discutieron y aprobaron las reformas políticas y electorales –se considera que la mexicana es una “transición votada”, precisamente, por la importancia que se le ha dado al cambio institucional gradual y la imposibilidad de identificar una fecha o momento de quiebre o ruptura con el régimen–, y registrando, además, la incorporación en la Constitución mexicana de mecanismos de democracia directa como una alternativa para evitar la agudización de las protestas por mayores libertades y derechos políticos, institucionalizar el conflicto, subsanar la baja legitimidad de las autoridades y aminorar los efectos del déficit democrático en el país.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the level of conict in the media between the government and the opposition at dierent time periods, and specically regarding EU policies. Opposition towards policy is a crucial ingredient in democratic systems of government that do not only allow the people to send dierent personalities to represent them in government, but rather dierent policy agendas that are, in the end, implemented in their name. To what extent can readers of one Swedish quality newspaper take part in a policy debate over EU policy? The thesis aims to answer this question by specically utilizing the cartel party thesis, in which mainstream parties cooperate to limit policy competition, and iIt proceeds by operationalizing ‘opposition’ and researching 1 092 days of Dagens Nyheter, spread over six half-year periods. I use political claims-making as method to identify relevant articles. Across the investigated time-period I identied just 45 expressions of opposition regarding EU policy, leading to the conclusion that it is all but dead, which has implications for the state of democracy in the EU.

Inspired by the barriers to social integration between aboriginals and non-indigenous people in Taiwan, as well as the limitations of representation and participation in national politics, and extending to turn deeply to aboriginal identity recognition and related movements, this dissertation adopts liberalism as grand background and takes scholarly scientific theory constructivism to illustrate the meanings and applicability of discourse analysis method in order to investigate textual materials notably official documents including the Constitution and Acts, press releases as well as academic articles about how those materials describe indigenous peoples. Additionally, through the deployment of practical theories such as (post) colonialism, multiculturalism, representative democracy and deliberative democracy to interpret social and political facts in Taiwan. The author has found that the description of indigenous people in Taiwanese statute through the change from inequitable titles to relatively respectful takes into account the acceptability of aboriginals. The integration of indigenous Taiwanese in society is still persisting and causes troubles for the routine life of aboriginals. Furthermore, it has been observed that the recognition of aboriginal identity hinders the willingness and possibility of indigenous peoples to participate in national politics. Meanwhile, the national global status impact on indigenous peoples has been evident.

The European Parliament is configured as an essential element of the representative democracy at the European level. Its functions have been widen since it has been shaped as a co-legislator, on an equal footing with the Council. This institution, which represents the European citizens, constitutes the essence of the democratic value on which the European Union is based. The European Parliament, which fulfills important functions, both from a legislative and control point of view, concretes the above-mentioned representative democracy at the Union level, which is combined with certain elements of direct democracy in order to achieve higher levels of democratization. The future of European democracy needs to maintain the same level of representative democracy improving other aspects such as the promotion of local democracy and the connection with European citizens., El Parlamento Europeo se configura como elemento necesario de la democracia representativa en el nivel europeo, habiendo sido objeto de un progresivo reforzamiento en sus funciones, hasta situarse como colegislador, en pie de igualdad con el Consejo. Esta institución, que representa a los ciudadanos europeos, constituye la esencia del valor democrático en el que se asienta la Unión Europea. El Parlamento Europeo, que cumple importantes funciones, tanto desde el punto de vista legislativo, como de control, viene a materializar dicha democracia representativa en el ámbito de la Unión, sin perjuicio de ser combinada con ciertos elementos de democracia directa, en aras de alcanzar mayores cotas de democratización. El futuro de la democracia europea pasa por seguir manteniendo el mismo nivel de democracia representativa, pero mejorando otros aspectos como es la potenciación de la democracia de proximidad y la conexión con los ciudadanos europeos.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic and the unlawful aggression against Ukraine, the Conference on the future of Europe was launched in 2021 and delivered its final report on May 9th 2022. The European Parliament, the Commission and the Council committed themselves to follow up the recommendations contained in that report. This editorial comment discusses the reasons behind this commitment, but also on the blind spots it has left, and the uncertainties raised by how the European institutions are fulfilling its mandate., A pesar de las dificultades generadas por la pandemia y la agresión a Ucrania, la Conferencia sobre el Futuro de Europa lanzada en 2021 terminó sus trabajos presentando el 9 de mayo de 2022 un Informe final, al que las instituciones se comprometieron a dar seguimiento. La presente editorial reflexiona sobre las razones que se encuentran tras este seguimiento de la Conferencia, pero también sobre los ángulos muertos que esta ha dejado y las incógnitas futuras que abre la forma en que Parlamento, Comisión y Consejo están cumpliendo su mandato.

I contend that parliamentary representative democracy betrays what must be democratic about democratic citizenship – its directness. I examine this betrayal to consider what makes democratic citizenship democratic, what is direct about direct democracy, and how it may provide a means to (re)democratize democracy. To do so, I engage the conundrums about citizenship Aristotle posed in the Politics. For millennia, theorists have used Aristotle’s dislike of democracy and related misrepresentations to dismiss direct democracy as impossible for large states. Moreover, the problems he raised have roiled political theory ever since because they established two issues that indicate how profoundly democracy troubles citizenship. The first concerns what it means for “the people” to remain sovereign even when most delegate the political powers of their citizenship to others. The second concerns the historical capacity of democracy to transform the political by disrupting entrenched power and legalized inequality. If so, democracy must somehow institutionalize disruption as a resource to keep it vigorous. I examine how the provocations of sovereignty, equality, and disruption democratize citizenship. These problems are unresolvable in a democracy. Their tensions are necessary to mobilize democratization, as Athenian democracy shows. Attempts to resolve them – such as republican representative democracy – destroy its energies.&nbsp

Do nativists differ from other citizens in their attitudes towards democracy? In this article it is demonstrated that nativism goes hand in hand with preferences for a type of democracy where the interests of the natives should prevail, even at the cost of diminished minority rights, checks and balances, and other constraints on executive power. Liberal representative democracy is not for nativists. It is also shown that nativists seem to believe that the end justifies the means when it comes to different forms of decision making, and that this opportunistic trait usually translates into support for more direct democracy and scepticism towards representative democracy, because nativists tend to believe that they are in the majority (even if they are not). This article concludes that this tendency may in fact be a blessing of sorts, as it keeps nativists from supporting alternatives to democracy.

This thematic issue, "Varieties of Technocratic Populism around the World", investigates ideological origins of technocratic populism and situates it among other types of populism. It is composed of 11 articles that bring together 18 scholars from around the world with a wide variety of perspectives. Technocratic populism is an output-oriented populism that directly links voters to leaders via expertise. It emerges as a response to a crisis of governance, reproaches mainstream parties for it and offers solutions that challenge traditional left-right divisions in politics. New leaders combine populism with technocracy: They offer expertise, often harnessed in business, but also a direct, personalized link to 'ordinary' citizens. Above all, they politicize expertise to gain legitimacy. Technocratic populism primarily responds to frustrations of the electorate with poor governance, not to nativist grievances or to the plight of the most vulnerable citizens. In a new social contract, it is expected that voters renounce politics and political parties and that they turn into spectators who observe how technocratic elites adopt solutions that benefit the 'ordinary people'. Technocratic populism is a growing challenge to pluralistic forms of representative democracy and calls for further scholarly attention.

Resentment is a complex, multi-layered emotion, within which perceptions of unfairness and feelings of anger are central. When linked to politics, it has predominantly been associated with the alleged "crisis of representative democracy" and populism. However, recent studies have shown that resentment can intervene positively in people's relations to politics and political institutions by facilitating certain types of political participation (Capelos & Demertzis, 2018). Despite this, the concept of resentment, and hence its role in contemporary representative democracy, is often poorly defined, with empirical investigations of its manifestation(s) remaining scarce. Borrowing a conceptualization of resentment as "resentful affectivity", our article draws on the analysis of focus groups carried out in Belgium (2019–2020) with individuals where resentful affectivity is likely to be observed (i.e., contemporary movements of contestation such as the Yellow Vests, Youth for Climate, and individuals who occupy a socially disadvantaged position). We find that experiences of intense anger, fear, disappointment, and the unfairness of representative democracy, i.e., of how representative democracy works on the ground, coexist simultaneously with remaining hopes in the democratic system. We show how this complex blend of emotions confronts citizens with what we call a "democratic dilemma". We document the different ways in which citizens cope with this dilemma and conclude by highlighting both the positive and negative ways in which resentment intervenes in the contemporary "crisis of representative democracy".

In recent years, the number of local referendums in Sweden has increased. Referendumsallow citizens to influence specific political issues directly, and the instrument is advisory todecision-makers. At the same time, referendums have become a complex issue in manySwedish municipalities. They pose a fundamental challenge to local democracy - to deal withtwo legitimate popular wills representing two different ideals of democracy. However, there is little empirical evidence on how municipal politicians deal with thischallenge in local decision-making. This study aims to examine how we can understand therole of referendums in this context. In order to do so, the study focuses on referendums in thefield of infrastructure in two municipalities, the sale of the municipally-owned energycompany Öresundskraft in Helsingborg and decommissioning of Västerås airport in Västerås.Empirical evidence was compiled from mainly public documents in order to perform aqualitative content analysis; interviews were also conducted with a total of ten municipalpoliticians to reinforce the findings of the processes. The study utilizes a general frameworkwith theoretical ideas on governance, policy analysis and direct democracy to deepen ourunderstanding of these processes. The results of the study show that in both cases, the respective referendum has been given adecisive role. The municipal politicians seem to have chosen to stop the politicalproposal/decision after the referendum's result based on turnout and the clear result that thecitizens did not want to sell/decommission. Furthermore, the results also illustrate that allmunicipal politicians, in general, think it is important to involve citizens but in differentways. Some politicians had a more positive view of the instrument and some much less so inthe two cases. They underline that a referendum may be more or less appropriate in certainissues or circumstances. At the same time, the majority maintain the idea of referendums as acomplem

Most researchers and democracy theorists who define what democracy is or should be, agree that civic participation is the core of a democracy. Without citizen participation, there would be no democracy. The broad participation in political processes symbolizes the idea of political equality. A high level of political participation among citizens is usually seen as a sign that democracy is functioning satisfactorily. Unfortunately, today's political reality, on the other hand, shows that actual democracy does not reflect the democratic ideal models. The economic and social gaps in society largely explain how participatory activity is distributed among the citizens. The purpose of this master's thesis, which is a case study, has been to study the political equality in the e-proposal process within Linköping municipality. This means that the socio- economic representativeness among the proposers has been studied between the years 2016 and 2021. Furthermore, the geographical spread of the proposals has been studied between the years 2016 and 2018, together with the political priority areas of the proposers. A web survey was conducted to gather information on the proposers’ socio-economic conditions. In total, the survey was answered by 207 respondents. This survey has contributed to either verifying or falsifying the research hypothesis. The hypothesis states that it is mainly socio-economically resourceful individuals who submit Linköping proposals. In summary, the study shows that it has been particularly resourceful individuals who have submitted Linköping proposals. Furthermore, the proposals are intended to be implemented in areas where the socio- economic standard is relatively high. The study has also shown that the proponents to a large extent (80.9 percent) have requested initiatives that relate to urban planning issues and culture and leisure. Finally, the results of the study illustrate that the approvals mainly refer to socio- economically strong areas.

Government formation in multiparty systems requires election winners to strike deals to form a coalition government. Do voters respond and how do they respond to coalition government deals? This paper examines the short-term consequences of coalition government formation on voters in European democracies relying on survey panel data and original content analysis of coalition agreements. It tests theoretical expectations that deal with both the actual and perceived ideological shifts parties make when joining coalition deals as well as the effect of a much simpler heuristic cue based on preferences. The findings indicate that coalition deals have consequences on party preferences, but voter perceptions play a much stronger effect than the actual content of coalition deals. These results have important implications for our understanding of public opinion and provide important insights into the current difficulties and challenges of government formation and representative democracy.

There has been significant attention paid to explaining and understanding the impact of the UK's vote to leave the EU on UK politics and its constitution. There has also been criticism of the political campaigning, from both the "leave" and "remain" sides, and of people's understanding of what they were voting for. There has been limited discussion, though, of how to improve the quality of campaign deliberation, which is fundamental to the legitimacy of both representative and direct democratic processes. Using the UK’s vote on EU membership as a case study, this article examines the importance of the law to regulate and improve deliberation prior to direct public votes on specific policy issues. It also considers options for changes to the law and for its implementation, using the current provisions about false statements in electoral law as a starting point. The article argues that the quality of deliberation during UK referendum campaigns needs to improve and that legal regulation should be developed. There are, however, significant challenges in drafting legislation that appropriately defines and limits the use of misleading statements, and at the same time avoids excessive restriction of free speech, or an excessively political role for regulatory bodies and the courts. Given the nature of political campaigning and the challenges in reducing the use of misleading statements by political actors through legal regulation, increased deliberative opportunities for citizens are proposed as a complementary, perhaps more effective means to positively enhance deliberation in political campaigns. Whatever approach is taken, direct democracy needs to be combined effectively with representative democracy, based on a common underlying principle of the importance of deliberation, and not treated as a separate part of a state's democracy.

Democratic representation is crucial in a representative democracy. To elect representatives there are several different electoral systems. In the United Kingdom a majority system, the First past the post system, is used. This study aims to investigate how the First past the post system affects the democratic representation in the British parliament. Specifically, its focus is on how the democratic representation of the British political parties is affected. This research is carried out by conducting a case study with the British parliament and the First past the post system as the studied case. The study is done by using textual analysis as the chosen method, where various texts are used as material to be able to reach a result. The results showed several aspects of the First past the post system that affected the democratic representation regarding political parties. It suggested that theories such as Duverger’s law are applicable to the party representation in the British parliament, indicating that the First past the post system favours a two-party system where the representation of the other parties is flawed resulting in negatively skewed democratic representation.

I contend that parliamentary representative democracy betrays what must be democratic about democratic citizenship – its directness. I examine this betrayal to consider what makes democratic citizenship democratic, what is direct about direct democracy, and how it may provide a means to (re)democratize democracy. To do so, I engage the conundrums about citizenship Aristotle posed in the Politics. For millennia, theorists have used Aristotle’s dislike of democracy and related misrepresentations to dismiss direct democracy as impossible for large states. Moreover, the problems he raised have roiled political theory ever since because they established two issues that indicate how profoundly democracy troubles citizenship. The first concerns what it means for “the people” to remain sovereign even when most delegate the political powers of their citizenship to others. The second concerns the historical capacity of democracy to transform the political by disrupting entrenched power and legalized inequality. If so, democracy must somehow institutionalize disruption as a resource to keep it vigorous. I examine how the provocations of sovereignty, equality, and disruption democratize citizenship. These problems are unresolvable in a democracy. Their tensions are necessary to mobilize democratization, as Athenian democracy shows. Attempts to resolve them – such as republican representative democracy – destroy its energies.&nbsp

Inclusion in local policy processes through citizen dialogue has been depicted as both the solution to many democratic challenges and a democratic problem in itself. Nevertheless, it has been widely adopted throughout Europe. The hierarchically flat, co-governing setup of these instruments can be expected to clash with representative-heavy political cultures, such as that in Sweden, which raises questions about what role they end up having in this context and whether they complement representative democracy. By conducting a comparative study of two rural Swedish municipalities, we confirmed that traditional, hierarchical governance indeed dominates the studied processes. Our results also suggest that, due to skewed participation and unclear input handling, the studied instrument does not appear to constitute a viable complementary democratic institution in terms of representation. Instead, we argue that, conducted in this way, it may potentially fill a range of different purposes without aspiring to fully complement representative democracy.

Inclusion in local policy processes through citizen dialogue has been depicted as both the solution to many democratic challenges and a democratic problem in itself. Nevertheless, it has been widely adopted throughout Europe. The hierarchically flat, co-governing setup of these instruments can be expected to clash with representative-heavy political cultures, such as that in Sweden, which raises questions about what role they end up having in this context and whether they complement representative democracy. By conducting a comparative study of two rural Swedish municipalities, we confirmed that traditional, hierarchical governance indeed dominates the studied processes. Our results also suggest that, due to skewed participation and unclear input handling, the studied instrument does not appear to constitute a viable complementary democratic institution in terms of representation. Instead, we argue that, conducted in this way, it may potentially fill a range of different purposes without aspiring to fully complement representative democracy.

In Perú, the Congress of the Republic, unlike other countries, modified its regulations so that as long as there are serious circumstances that avoid face to face sessions in the chamber, the development of virtual plenary sessions can be arranged and the other parliamentary bodies, facilitating breadthly MPs to intervene, speak and debate from wherever they are; but, depriving the personal right to vote of each MP by allowing the parliamentary group leaders to “transfer” the votes of the MPs that compose them, which caused a judgment of the Constitutional Court to guarantee their personal, direct and non-delegable character. Since a necessary comparative perspective, this article focuses on and discusses several problems that impact the exercise of the MPs’ fundamental rights that occurred in the virtual functioning of the Congress of the Republic of Perú in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as in other Parliaments in Latin America and in the world., En el Perú, el Congreso de la República, a diferencia de otros países, optó por modificar su reglamento para que mientras existan circunstancias graves que impidan las sesiones presenciales en el hemiciclo se pueda disponer el desarrollo de sesiones virtuales del pleno y los demás órganos parlamentarios, facilitando con amplitud que los congresistas intervengan, hagan uso de la palabra y debatan desde el lugar donde se encuentren; pero, privando el derecho personal de voto de cada congresista al permitir que los portavoces de los grupos parlamentarios “trasladen” los votos de los congresistas que los componen, lo que provocó una decisión del Tribunal Constitucional para garantizar su carácter personal, directo e indelegable. Desde una perspectiva necesariamente comparada, este artículo trata y discute varios problemas que inciden en el ejercicio de los derechos fundamentales de los parlamentarios ocurridos en el funcionamiento virtual del Congreso de la República del Perú en los tiempos de la pandemia del COVID-19, así como en otros Parlamentos en Latinoamérica y en el mundo.

This Paper is a review of the historical development of the concept of political participation. It will explore the evolution of this category from pre-modern times to the advent of the digital revolution, assessing its impact on the systems of legitimacy, mobilisation strategies and legal axioms that have dominated each era. It aims to familiarise the reader with historiographical and political science studies on political participation, while suggesting interpretative channels for thinking about the future of representative democracies in the 21st century., Este Documento de Trabajo consiste en una revisión sobre el desarrollo histórico del concepto de participación política. Explorará la evolución de dicha categoría desde tiempos premodernos hasta la llegada de la revolución digital, evaluando su incidencia en los sistemas de legitimidad, las estrategias de movilización y los axiomas jurídicos que han dominado en cada época. Su objetivo es familiarizar al lector con los estudios historiográficos y politológicos sobre la participación política, a la par que sugiere cauces interpretativos para pensar el futuro de las democracias representativas del siglo XXI.

This is an applied theory course covering topics in the political economy of democratic countries. This course examines political institutions from a rational choice perspective. The now burgeoning rational choice literature on legislatures, bureaucracies, courts, and elections constitutes the chief focus. Some focus will be placed on institutions from a comparative and/or international perspective.

This Paper is a review of the historical development of the concept of political participation. It will explore the evolution of this category from pre-modern times to the advent of the digital revolution, assessing its impact on the systems of legitimacy, mobilisation strategies and legal axioms that have dominated each era. It aims to familiarise the reader with historiographical and political science studies on political participation, while suggesting interpretative channels for thinking about the future of representative democracies in the 21st century., Este Documento de Trabajo consiste en una revisión sobre el desarrollo histórico del concepto de participación política. Explorará la evolución de dicha categoría desde tiempos premodernos hasta la llegada de la revolución digital, evaluando su incidencia en los sistemas de legitimidad, las estrategias de movilización y los axiomas jurídicos que han dominado en cada época. Su objetivo es familiarizar al lector con los estudios historiográficos y politológicos sobre la participación política, a la par que sugiere cauces interpretativos para pensar el futuro de las democracias representativas del siglo XXI.

This article investigates the complex balance between political mediation and epistemic mediation within representative democracy. The proposed path develops starting from the concept of “complex sovereignty”, which has a long and articulated history behind it but is also used in the most recent analyses of political authority. The aim is to make this concept more complex by trying to include not only the dynamics of political mediation but also epistemic ones through the pluralization of the concept of people and time, as well as of the concept of competence. In the last part of the article, the arguments put forward will be discussed within a more general theoretical scheme that identifies complexity as the distinctive feature of democracy

In recent years, the number of local referendums in Sweden has increased. Referendumsallow citizens to influence specific political issues directly, and the instrument is advisory todecision-makers. At the same time, referendums have become a complex issue in manySwedish municipalities. They pose a fundamental challenge to local democracy - to deal withtwo legitimate popular wills representing two different ideals of democracy. However, there is little empirical evidence on how municipal politicians deal with thischallenge in local decision-making. This study aims to examine how we can understand therole of referendums in this context. In order to do so, the study focuses on referendums in thefield of infrastructure in two municipalities, the sale of the municipally-owned energycompany Öresundskraft in Helsingborg and decommissioning of Västerås airport in Västerås.Empirical evidence was compiled from mainly public documents in order to perform aqualitative content analysis; interviews were also conducted with a total of ten municipalpoliticians to reinforce the findings of the processes. The study utilizes a general frameworkwith theoretical ideas on governance, policy analysis and direct democracy to deepen ourunderstanding of these processes. The results of the study show that in both cases, the respective referendum has been given adecisive role. The municipal politicians seem to have chosen to stop the politicalproposal/decision after the referendum's result based on turnout and the clear result that thecitizens did not want to sell/decommission. Furthermore, the results also illustrate that allmunicipal politicians, in general, think it is important to involve citizens but in differentways. Some politicians had a more positive view of the instrument and some much less so inthe two cases. They underline that a referendum may be more or less appropriate in certainissues or circumstances. At the same time, the majority maintain the idea of referendums as acomplem

Most researchers and democracy theorists who define what democracy is or should be, agree that civic participation is the core of a democracy. Without citizen participation, there would be no democracy. The broad participation in political processes symbolizes the idea of political equality. A high level of political participation among citizens is usually seen as a sign that democracy is functioning satisfactorily. Unfortunately, today's political reality, on the other hand, shows that actual democracy does not reflect the democratic ideal models. The economic and social gaps in society largely explain how participatory activity is distributed among the citizens. The purpose of this master's thesis, which is a case study, has been to study the political equality in the e-proposal process within Linköping municipality. This means that the socio- economic representativeness among the proposers has been studied between the years 2016 and 2021. Furthermore, the geographical spread of the proposals has been studied between the years 2016 and 2018, together with the political priority areas of the proposers. A web survey was conducted to gather information on the proposers’ socio-economic conditions. In total, the survey was answered by 207 respondents. This survey has contributed to either verifying or falsifying the research hypothesis. The hypothesis states that it is mainly socio-economically resourceful individuals who submit Linköping proposals. In summary, the study shows that it has been particularly resourceful individuals who have submitted Linköping proposals. Furthermore, the proposals are intended to be implemented in areas where the socio- economic standard is relatively high. The study has also shown that the proponents to a large extent (80.9 percent) have requested initiatives that relate to urban planning issues and culture and leisure. Finally, the results of the study illustrate that the approvals mainly refer to socio- economically strong areas.

Metropolitan governance studies have traditionally focused on factors such as effectiveness and efficiency in the provision of public goods and services. Yet, we have recently seen the resurgence of debates around metropolitan democratic governance at the same time as the consolidation of new structures of metropolitan government have occurred in several European countries. In spite of that, there is still an important knowledge gap about metropolitan models of government and metropolitan electoral systems. Through the comparative analysis of metropolitan governments in the United Kingdom, France and Germany we identify four main models: metropolitan presidentialism, localist metropolitan parliamentarism, consolidated metropolitan parliamentarism, and full metropolitan government. Moreover, the comparative analysis shows not only the influence of the respective local institutional contexts in the metropolitan government and electoral systems, but also how these reforms are opportunities to introduce innovative institutional designs., Los estudios de gobernanza metropolitana se han centrado tradicionalmente en factores como la eficacia y eficiencia en la provisión de bienes y servicios. Sin embargo, en paralelo a la consolidación de nuevas estructuras de gobierno metropolitano en diversos países europeos, recientemente hemos podido observar el resurgimiento de los debates entorno a la gobernanza democrática de las metrópolis. A pesar de ello, persiste un importante vacío de conocimiento sobre los modelos de gobierno multinivel y sistemas electorales metropolitanos. A partir del análisis comparado de gobiernos metropolitanos del Reino Unido, Francia y Alemania identificamos cuatro grandes modelos: el presidencialismo metropolitano, el parlamentarismo metropolitano localista, el parlamentarismo metropolitano consolidado y el gobierno metropolitano integral. Además, el análisis comparado nos permite observar no solo la influencia de los respectivos contextos institucionales locales en los modelos de gobierno y sistemas electorales metropolitanos sino también cómo estas reformas son oportunidades para introducir diseños institucionales innovadores.

This article introduces the institution of the revocation of the political mandate and the change of vision and paradigm that it may entail by including it in constitutional systems. It analyzes the institution in the different constitutions that include it, although it focuses on the constitutions of Latin America, differentiating the treatment given to this institution in traditional Latin American constitutionalism, as well as in the New Latin American Constitutionalism. There is a substantial difference between the two: the inclusion of the revocation of the mandate as an instrument of participatory democracy, or its inclusion as a way of understanding the political system of a country, where citizens once again have a direct voice with respect to the actions of their political representatives, introducing a rethinking of the imperative mandate., En el presente artículo se introduce la institución de la revocación del mandato político y el cambio de visión y paradigma que la misma puede suponer al incluirla en los sistemas constitucionales. Se analiza la institución en las distintas constituciones que la recogen, si bien se detiene en las constituciones de Latinoamérica diferenciando el tratamiento que se da a dicha institución en el constitucionalismo latinoamericano tradicional, así como en el Nuevo Constitucionalismo Latinoamericano. Existe entre ambos una diferencia sustancial: la inclusión de la revocación del mandato como un instrumento de democracia participativa, o su inclusión como una forma de entender el sistema político de un país, donde los ciudadanos vuelven a tener voz directa respecto las actuaciones de sus representantes políticos, introduciéndose replanteamientos sobre el mandato imperativo.

Metropolitan governance studies have traditionally focused on factors such as effectiveness and efficiency in the provision of public goods and services. Yet, we have recently seen the resurgence of debates around metropolitan democratic governance at the same time as the consolidation of new structures of metropolitan government have occurred in several European countries. In spite of that, there is still an important knowledge gap about metropolitan models of government and metropolitan electoral systems. Through the comparative analysis of metropolitan governments in the United Kingdom, France and Germany we identify four main models: metropolitan presidentialism, localist metropolitan parliamentarism, consolidated metropolitan parliamentarism, and full metropolitan government. Moreover, the comparative analysis shows not only the influence of the respective local institutional contexts in the metropolitan government and electoral systems, but also how these reforms are opportunities to introduce innovative institutional designs., Los estudios de gobernanza metropolitana se han centrado tradicionalmente en factores como la eficacia y eficiencia en la provisión de bienes y servicios. Sin embargo, en paralelo a la consolidación de nuevas estructuras de gobierno metropolitano en diversos países europeos, recientemente hemos podido observar el resurgimiento de los debates entorno a la gobernanza democrática de las metrópolis. A pesar de ello, persiste un importante vacío de conocimiento sobre los modelos de gobierno multinivel y sistemas electorales metropolitanos. A partir del análisis comparado de gobiernos metropolitanos del Reino Unido, Francia y Alemania identificamos cuatro grandes modelos: el presidencialismo metropolitano, el parlamentarismo metropolitano localista, el parlamentarismo metropolitano consolidado y el gobierno metropolitano integral. Además, el análisis comparado nos permite observar no solo la influencia de los respectivos contextos institucionales locales en los modelos de gobierno y sistemas electorales metropolitanos sino también cómo estas reformas son oportunidades para introducir diseños institucionales innovadores.

This is an applied theory course covering topics in the political economy of democratic countries. This course examines political institutions from a rational choice perspective. The now burgeoning rational choice literature on legislatures, bureaucracies, courts, and elections constitutes the chief focus. Some focus will be placed on institutions from a comparative and/or international perspective.

Inclusion in local policy processes through citizen dialogue has been depicted as both the solution to many democratic challenges and a democratic problem in itself. Nevertheless, it has been widely adopted throughout Europe. The hierarchically flat, co-governing setup of these instruments can be expected to clash with representative-heavy political cultures, such as that in Sweden, which raises questions about what role they end up having in this context and whether they complement representative democracy. By conducting a comparative study of two rural Swedish municipalities, we confirmed that traditional, hierarchical governance indeed dominates the studied processes. Our results also suggest that, due to skewed participation and unclear input handling, the studied instrument does not appear to constitute a viable complementary democratic institution in terms of representation. Instead, we argue that, conducted in this way, it may potentially fill a range of different purposes without aspiring to fully complement representative democracy.

Inclusion in local policy processes through citizen dialogue has been depicted as both the solution to many democratic challenges and a democratic problem in itself. Nevertheless, it has been widely adopted throughout Europe. The hierarchically flat, co-governing setup of these instruments can be expected to clash with representative-heavy political cultures, such as that in Sweden, which raises questions about what role they end up having in this context and whether they complement representative democracy. By conducting a comparative study of two rural Swedish municipalities, we confirmed that traditional, hierarchical governance indeed dominates the studied processes. Our results also suggest that, due to skewed participation and unclear input handling, the studied instrument does not appear to constitute a viable complementary democratic institution in terms of representation. Instead, we argue that, conducted in this way, it may potentially fill a range of different purposes without aspiring to fully complement representative democracy.

Inclusion in local policy processes through citizen dialogue has been depicted as both the solution to many democratic challenges and a democratic problem in itself. Nevertheless, it has been widely adopted throughout Europe. The hierarchically flat, co-governing setup of these instruments can be expected to clash with representative-heavy political cultures, such as that in Sweden, which raises questions about what role they end up having in this context and whether they complement representative democracy. By conducting a comparative study of two rural Swedish municipalities, we confirmed that traditional, hierarchical governance indeed dominates the studied processes. Our results also suggest that, due to skewed participation and unclear input handling, the studied instrument does not appear to constitute a viable complementary democratic institution in terms of representation. Instead, we argue that, conducted in this way, it may potentially fill a range of different purposes without aspiring to fully complement representative democracy.

Democratic representation is crucial in a representative democracy. To elect representatives there are several different electoral systems. In the United Kingdom a majority system, the First past the post system, is used. This study aims to investigate how the First past the post system affects the democratic representation in the British parliament. Specifically, its focus is on how the democratic representation of the British political parties is affected. This research is carried out by conducting a case study with the British parliament and the First past the post system as the studied case. The study is done by using textual analysis as the chosen method, where various texts are used as material to be able to reach a result. The results showed several aspects of the First past the post system that affected the democratic representation regarding political parties. It suggested that theories such as Duverger’s law are applicable to the party representation in the British parliament, indicating that the First past the post system favours a two-party system where the representation of the other parties is flawed resulting in negatively skewed democratic representation.

This paper provides a critical analysis of the premises and arguments put forward by the Ius Constitutionale Commune en America Latina project to ground the image of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights as an agent of democratic transformation. It highlights three critical aspects: 1. the profile of the Court is constructed by legal scholars relying on self-validation and selfreferentiality, 2. that image validates the idea that lawyers and the judiciary are agents of transformation ruling over local spaces from above, thereby discarding people as the central subjects of change and democratization, and 3. the concept of representative democracy becomes a device that secures the self-validating dynamics of the image of the Court as democracy builder, Este artículo analiza críticamente las premisas y argumentos del proyecto Ius Constitutionale Commune en América Latina que perfilan a la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos como un agente de transformación democrática. El artículo plantea tres críticas en concreto: la imagen de la Corte es una construcción llevada a cabo por los abogados y jueces que adolece de problemas de autorreferencialidad y autovalidación; 2. En la medida que dicha construcción valida la idea de que los abogados y jueces son agentes de transformación, también descarta perspectivas que sitúan a los individuos como los sujetos que lideran la democratización de sus ámbitos locales; 3. el concepto de democracia representativa que fundamenta la imagen de la Corte como agente de transformación democrática es una herramienta de auto-validación de la labor de esta última

This paper provides a critical analysis of the premises and arguments put forward by the Ius Constitutionale Commune en America Latina project to ground the image of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights as an agent of democratic transformation. It highlights three critical aspects: 1. the profile of the Court is constructed by legal scholars relying on self-validation and selfreferentiality, 2. that image validates the idea that lawyers and the judiciary are agents of transformation ruling over local spaces from above, thereby discarding people as the central subjects of change and democratization, and 3. the concept of representative democracy becomes a device that secures the self-validating dynamics of the image of the Court as democracy builder, Este artículo analiza críticamente las premisas y argumentos del proyecto Ius Constitutionale Commune en América Latina que perfilan a la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos como un agente de transformación democrática. El artículo plantea tres críticas en concreto: la imagen de la Corte es una construcción llevada a cabo por los abogados y jueces que adolece de problemas de autorreferencialidad y autovalidación; 2. En la medida que dicha construcción valida la idea de que los abogados y jueces son agentes de transformación, también descarta perspectivas que sitúan a los individuos como los sujetos que lideran la democratización de sus ámbitos locales; 3. el concepto de democracia representativa que fundamenta la imagen de la Corte como agente de transformación democrática es una herramienta de auto-validación de la labor de esta última

Es un hecho que las democracias actuales viven una crisis de representación como consecuencia del paulatino descrédito en el que han caído la política y la actuación de algunos políticos. Este descrédito ha conducido, por una parte, a la aparición de movimientos populistas cuyo discurso trata de obtener réditos del descontento ciudadano y, por otra, a la búsqueda de formas complementarias de representación de los intereses de la ciudadanía. Al mismo tiempo, ha llevado al planteamiento de varios interrogantes que precisan respuesta. El primero está relacionado con el papel del Estado que, si bien continúa siendo el protagonista de la escena pública y de poder, se encuentra seriamente comprometido por movimientos como la globalización y sus múltiples caras. El segundo interrogante es el papel que juega la ciudadanía en el proceso de regeneración democrática y como protagonista de una forma de democracia participativa que devuelva la política a la noble actuación de gestión de lo público. Este artículo es una reflexión sobre los interrogantes planteados., It is a fact that today’s democracies are experiencing a crisis of representation as a result of the gradual discrediting into which the policies and actions of some politicians have fallen. This discrediting has led, on the one hand, to the emergence of populist movements whose discourse seeks to make a profit from citizen discontent and, on the other, to the search for complementary forms of representation of the interests of the citizenry. At the same time, it has raised a number of questions that need to be answered. The first relates to the role of the State, which, while continuing to be the protagonist of the public and power scene, is seriously involved in movements such as globalization and its multiple faces. The second question is the role that citizens play in the process of democratic regeneration and as the protagonist of a form of participatory democracy that returns politics to the noble performance of public management. This article is a reflection on the questions raised.

This paper provides a critical analysis of the premises and arguments put forward by the Ius Constitutionale Commune en America Latina project to ground the image of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights as an agent of democratic transformation. It highlights three critical aspects: 1. the profile of the Court is constructed by legal scholars relying on self-validation and self-referentiality, 2. that image validates the idea that lawyers and the judiciary are agents of transformation ruling over local spaces from above, thereby discarding people as the central subjects of change and democratization, and 3. the concept of representative democracy becomes a device that secures the self-validating dynamics of the image of the Court as democracy builder., Este artículo analiza críticamente las premisas y argumentos del proyecto Ius Constitutionale Commune en América Latina que perfilan a la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos como un agente de transformación democrática. El artículo plantea tres críticas en concreto: la imagen de la Corte es una construcción llevada a cabo por los abogados y jueces que adolece de problemas de autorreferencialidad y autovalidación; 2. En la medida que dicha construcción valida la idea de que los abogados y jueces son agentes de transformación, también descarta perspectivas que sitúan a los individuos como los sujetos que lideran la democratización de sus ámbitos locales; 3. el concepto de democracia representativa que fundamenta la imagen de la Corte como agente de transformación democrática es una herramienta de auto-validación de la labor de esta última.