Democracy and Political Participation

• Legitimacy: refers to the right of an individual or body to be recognised and have the right to exercise power 
• Power: refers to the ability of an individ or body to force others to do something they might not otherwise do 
• Authority: means the 'right to exercise power' deriving from tradition, election of charisma 

• 'right to govern' and 'make laws' which will be enforced & likely to be obeyed:
• a regimed may be legitimate because its gov is widely recognised but some regimes may be disputed
• can refer to degree to which a body or gov can be justified in exercising power 
• in democratic world, legitimacy conferred by election 
• British gov lacks legitimacy as it is elected on a minority of the national vote 
• legitimacy closely related to authority 

evidence that people consent to being governed in a certain way:

• by free elections
• good turnouts
• lack of popular dissent 
• clear demonstrations of support for government 
• by an explicit referendum to adopt a particular constituion 

• an enjoyment of rights 
• enjoyment of civil liberties 
• certain duties & obligations 
• duty to be politically active 

-any system of gov where people have access to independent info and influence gov decisions -also gov makes itself accountable  -features of a modern democracy:

• regular, free & fair elections
• right for different beliefs to be tolerated
• high degree of freedom for individuals and groups 
• access to independent info
• rule of law - all are equal under law 
• gov operates on broad interests of people 
• gov accountable 
• peaceful transition from 1 gov to the next 

• people themselves make decisions - through referendums
• people directly consulted on pol decisions - consultative democracy
• people take initiative in making pol change 

• people elect representatives 
• elected reps make decisions on behalf of the people 
• pol parties that represent different views 
• associations and pressure groups rep different sections of society, interests & causes
• representative assemblies that express the will of the people and sections of society 

• through MPS, represent constituents 
• most MPs represent a party 
• parties have a representative function 
• pressure groups represent interests & causes
• HofC represents national interest
• HofL vehicle for representation as many peers rep sections of society 

• multiple parties and pol associations are allowed to operate
• different pol beliefs tolerate & allowed to flourish 
• many sources of indep info 
• power dispersed among diff indiv's, bodies & institutions 

• individ liberties respected & protected
• strong constitution that limits power of gov
• gov features stong internal checks & balances
• high level of pol toleration 

• most people do not have time to be continually involved so people do it on their behalf
• reps have more knowlegde & expertise than population 
• reps can be made accountable for decisions
• demands of people may be incoherent & contradictory 
• people can react emotionally & irrationally 
• reps can educate public 
• different sections of society & various pol causes best represented by elected reps 

• difficult to make reps accountable inbetween elections 
• may vote in their way of their own pol career advance
• may favour parties policies over constituents 
• too much pol conflict 
• idea of electoral mandate flawed in the sense that votes are only presented w/ a manifesto which must be accepted or rejected 

• purest form of democ 
• sig decisions strengthened if they recieve direct consent of the people - gives legitimacy 
• referendums can educate 
• people can participate more directly 
• constitutional changes can be 'entrenched' trhough a ref
• when gov is decided, consulting people can solve conflict 

• issues may be too complex for everyday person to understand
• may vote irrationally/emotionally
• people to busy to vote, lack of turnout 
• if too many 'voter fatigue'
• voters may loose respect for institutions asking them to vote too often 
• may encourage 'tyranny of the majority' 
• low turnout, result may lack legitimacy 
• close ref may result in unsatisfactory conc 

• 1975: whether or not UK should remain in the EU - yes 
• 1997: whether to introd a devolved gov in Scotland - yes 
• 1997: whether to give Scottish Parl power to vary level of income tax - yes 
• 1997: whether to introd devolved assemb in Wales - yes 
• 1998: LDN to adopt elected mayor - yes 
• 1998: Northern Ireland to approve Belfast Agreement to introd a devolved gov - yes 
• 2004: northeast Eng to introd an elected regional assembly - no 
• 2011: whether to adopt AV electoral system - no 

• direct democ purer 
• direct democ opperates in connection w/ constitional changes - whereas rep concerns day-to-day running of country 
• direct democ reps small will of majority - rep considers various interests & more pluarlistic 
• resps accountable for their decisions 
• refs seen as more legit than decisions made by rep institutions 

in UK, citizens can particpate by:

• general elections
• local elections 
• referendums
• joining a pol party
• pressure group 
• direct action 
• standing for pol office & local, regional or national level 

• turnouts in national & regional elections falling 
• turnouts in refs ow 
• party membership falling since 1980s 
• activism in pol parties falling 
• widespread disillusionment w/ party pol 
• identification w/ parties fallen 

for:

• educates
• improves level of identification w/pol 
• makes pol ed more relevant 

against: 

• many apathetic anyway (won't vote anyway)
• too young to vote
• distortion of party pol's to attract young voters 

for:

• improves pol knowlegde
• encourages engagment w/ pol

against:

• ed expensive
• may not created genuine interest 

for:

• provides greater access to politics 
• promote a more direct form of democ
• e-voting might increase voter turnout 
• internet provides vast source of indep info 

against:

• open to fraud and hacking 
• illicit and falso info can circulate easily 
• those who lack technical info excluded 

for:

• increases turnout
• forces people to think about politics
• people become used to voting 
• results have more legitimacy 

against:

• abuse's peoples freedom
• results seen as artifical
• expensive
• cannot solve problem of apathy 

positives: 

• free, regular elections 
• free media 
• democratic institutions 
• freedom to vote & stand for office & to form pol parties 
• parliament makes gov accountable 
• refs held from time to time when important const issues are to be resolved
• variety of parties can flourish 
• freedom, equality & rights protected by ECHR 
• independent judicary 
• rule of law applies 
• Freedom of Info Act 

negatives:

• unelected institutions persist in forms of monarch & HofL
• elections are not fair owning to FPTP system
• govs are elected on minority of national vote
• PM enjoys arbitrary, prerogative powers
• no entrenched const
• parliamentary sov means individ rights are inadequately protected 
• great deal of power transferred to EU 
• pol participation declining 
• growing degree of pol disengagment 

replacing monarchy w/ elected head of state:

for:

• increase democratic legitimacy of head of state
• would settle pol deadlocks
• could increased popular pol engagement 

against:

• might destablise politics
• head of state might give too much power to governing party
• UK would lose an important historical institution 

for:

• increased legitimacy of 2nd chamber
• would be effective check on gov power

against:

• challenge authority of HofC
• check gov excessively
• might be less independent 

for:

• alternative system would be fairer to give the electorate more real choices
• HofC would be more pol representative
• would increase democ legit of MPs & gov
• outcome would reflect pluralistic nature of pol more accurately

against:

• prop rep would remove important MP-constituency link
• multiparty gov would ensue and be less stble 
• unpredictable consequences
• voters mind find it difficult to accept new system 

for:

• increase pol awareness
• coudl be seen as a purer form of democ
• improve pol ed
• increase pol participation

against:

• too many votes - voter fatigue
• people vote emotionally 
• issues to complex to understand 
• tryanny of maj 
• lose respect for rep institutions for pol processes 

for:

• written const stop drift towards excessive power of gov & PM
• make citizens aware of how pol system works 
• create more public engagement w/ pol system
• rights & freedoms better protected

against:

• pol system lose flexibility
• destroy pol traditions so reduce public attachment to pol 
• put too much power into hands of unelected, unaccountable judges who have to interpret const 

for:

• local & regional gov smaller scale seen as more democ
• gov be less remote and close to people 
• less tight party control over pol 
• strengthen local communities
• growing power of central gov curbed

against:

• more powerful local gov mean more variable state provision
• citizens mighty take local gov less seriously - low turnouts
• tensions between central & decentralised gov might increase