Representative versus Responsible Government

Abstract

The changing circumstances in which parties compete in contemporary democracies,\ncoupled with the changing circumstances in which governments now govern, have led\nto a widening of the traditional gap between representative and responsible government.\nAlthough it is generally seen as desirable that parties in government are both\nrepresentative and responsible, these two characteristics are now becoming increasingly\nincompatible. Prudence and consistency in government, as well as accountability, require\nconformity to external constraints and legacies. This means more than just answering\nto public opinion. While these external constraints and legacies have become\nweightier in recent years, public opinion, in its turn, has become harder and harder for\ngovernments to read. Hence we see the growing incompatibility. Meanwhile, because\nof changes in their organizations and in their relationship with civil society, parties are\nno longer in a position to bridge or “manage” this gap, or even to persuade voters to accept\nit as a necessary element in political life. This growing incompatibility is one of the\nprincipal sources of the democratic malaise that confronts many Western democracies\ntoday.

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