The delegate model of representation is a model of a

representative democracy Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represe ...

. In this model, constituents elect their representatives as delegates for their constituency. These delegates act only as a mouthpiece for the wishes of their constituency/state and have no autonomy from the constituency only the autonomy to vote for the actual representatives of the state. This model does not provide representatives the luxury of acting in their own conscience and is bound by

imperative mandate The Imperative mandate is a political system in which representatives are required to enact policies in accordance with orders or instructions received from the voters. Failure to follow these instructions may result in the representative being dis ...

. Essentially, the representative acts as the voice of those who are (literally) not present.

History

This model was contested by

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">N ...

(1729–1797), an Irish philosopher, who supported the alternative

trustee model of representation The trustee model of representation is a model of a representative democracy, frequently contrasted with the delegate model of representation.

. His famous refusal to accept instructions from his Bristol electors was necessitated by his conscientious objection to voting in Parliament for laws supporting their lucrative and immoral slave trade. The delegate model of representation is made use of in various forms of

council democracy Soviet democracy, or council democracy, is a political system in which the rule of the population is exercised by directly elected ''soviets'' (Russian for "council"). The councils are directly responsible to their electors and bound by their i ...

and commune democracy (more recent example is

Parpolity Stephen Rosskamm Shalom is a professor of political science at William Paterson University where he has taught since 1977. He is a writer on social and political issues and is a contributor to Znet and '' Democratic Left''. He is on the editorial ...

proposed by Stephen Shalom) and

liquid democracy Liquid democracy is a form of delegative democracy, whereby an electorate engages in collective decision-making through direct participation and dynamic representation. This democratic system utilizes elements of both direct and representat ...

. Models of democratic rule making extensive use of delegate model of representation are often labeled

delegative democracy In political science, delegative democracy is a mode of governance close to Caesarism, Bonapartism or caudillismo with a strong leader in a newly created otherwise democratic government. The concept arose from Argentinian political scientist Guille ...

Guillermo O'Donnell Guillermo Alberto O'Donnell Ure (February 24, 1936 – November 29, 2011) was a prominent Argentine political scientist, specializing in comparative politics, who spent most of his career working in Argentina and the United States, and who m ...

has used the term "delegative democracy" to criticize authoritarian tendencies in newly created democratic states.

References

External links

'Representative Government' by J.S. Mill'On Liberty' by J.S Mill
Types of democracy Political philosophy {{poli-philo-stub

History

Further reading

See also

References

External links