Democratic deficit
A democratic deficit (or democracy deficit) occurs when ostensibly democratic organizations or institutions (particularly governments) fall short of fulfilling the principles of democracy in their practices or operation where representative and linked parliamentary integrity becomes widely discussed.[1]
The phrase democratic deficit is cited as first being used by the Young European Federalists in their Manifesto in 1977,[2] which was drafted by Richard Corbett. The phrase was also used by David Marquand in 1979, referring to the then European Economic Community, the forerunner of the European Union.[3]
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United Nations [edit]
Many authors[who?] have argued that the United Nations suffers from a democratic deficit, because it lacks a body of directly elected representatives. The UN Parliamentary Assembly has been proposed as a way of ameliorating this deficit.[4] However, even the creation of such an organ would not affect the great power veto in the UN Security Council, under which important UN decisions can be vetoed by China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom or the United States. Reform of the UN Security Council through amendments to the United Nations Charter could change this, but such reform would itself be subject to the great power veto.
European Union [edit]
The European Union (EU) is a unique organisation – not a federation, yet not just an international organisation. Whether there is a democratic deficit in the EU depends on how it is viewed. Compared to an ideally democratic nation state the EU is less democratic and thus has a democratic deficit. If the EU, however, is compared to an international organisation like the World Trade Organisation, the World Bank or the United Nations the EU has a democratic surplus.
The biggest democratic difficulties for the European Union are the low popular interest in the EU, the already low and consistently decreasing turnout in elections to the European Parliament, the divide between politicians and the general population on European integration, the complicated and technocratic nature of EU decision-making processes, and the activism of the European Court of Justice.
There is no consensus as to whether the Lisbon Treaty reduces or increases the democratic deficit in the European Union. The Lisbon Treaty increases the power of the democratically elected European Parliament and introduces the Citizen's initiative. The Lisbon Treaty was, however, ratified by the governments of countries whose people would most likely reject the treaty if it were put to a democratic referendum[citation needed].
United Kingdom [edit]
Devolution was introduced in 1998 in Scotland and Wales, but not in England.
The Labour Party is in favour of devolution to Regions of England[citation needed], whereas the Conservative Party prefers "English Votes on English Laws".[5] Some political parties such as the English Democrats Party want a full English parliament.[6] The Liberal Democrats are currently reviewing their policies on this subject.[citation needed]
Scotland in relation to the United Kingdom [edit]
The perceived democratic deficit arises in Scotland when the UK political system returns a government that doesn't reflect the decisions of the electorate in Scotland. Prior to 1979, this situation arose after the 1959 and 1970 general elections when Labour formed the majority of Scotland's MPs during a Conservative UK administration. However, from 1979 until 1997 the difference between the MPs elected in Scotland and the government returned in Westminster was marked. From 1979 until 1997 general election, the Conservative Government appeared to have little political mandate in Scotland and can be viewed, along with the Sermon on the Mound, as the nation's rejection of Thatcherism. The deficit arose again after the 2010 general election. The Conservative party have led a coalition government despite only having 1 of the 59 MPs for Scotland. Scottish independence is partially motivated by this perceived deficit which, by May 2013, can be viewed as arising 62% of the time since May 1979 (21 years from the last 34).
Democratic Deficit in Scotland: MPs elected from 1945 until 1974 [edit]
| Party
Year |
Conservative | Labour | Liberal | Scottish National Party | others | UK National Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
16 | 41 | 3 | 11 | 0 | Labour |
|
|
21 | 40 | 3 | 7 | 0 | Labour |
|
|
19 | 48 | 3 | 1 | 0 | Conservative |
|
|
21 | 46 | 5 | 0 | 0 | Labour |
|
|
23 | 44 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Labour |
|
|
26 | 43 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Conservative |
|
|
36 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Conservative |
|
|
35 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Conservative |
|
|
32 | 37 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Labour |
|
|
30 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 7 | Labour |
Democratic Deficit since 1979 [edit]
| Party
Year |
Conservative | Labour | Liberal | Scottish National Party | others | UK National Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
22 | 44 | 3 | 2 | 0 | Conservative |
|
|
21 | 41 | 8 | 2 | 0 | Conservative |
|
|
10 | 50 | 9 | 3 | 0 | Conservative |
|
|
11 | 49 | 9 | 3 | 0 | Conservative |
|
|
0 | 56 | 10 | 6 | 0 | Labour |
|
|
1 | 41 | 10 | 5 | 0 | Labour |
|
|
1 | 41 | 11 | 6 | 0 | Labour |
|
|
1 | 41 | 11 | 6 | 0 | Conservative led coalition |
Latvia [edit]
OSCE mission monitoring the 2006 parliamentary elections mentioned that
| “ | Approximately 400,000 people in Latvia, some 18 per cent of the total population, have not obtained Latvian or any other citizenship and therefore still have the status of "non-citizens." In the vast majority, these are persons who migrated to Latvia from within the former Soviet Union, and their descendants. Non-citizens do not have the right to vote in any Latvian elections, although they can join political parties. To obtain citizenship, these persons must go through a naturalization process, which over 50,000 persons have done since the 2002 Saeima election. The fact that a significant percentage of the adult population does not enjoy voting rights represents a continuing democracy deficit.[7] | ” |
In its previous report in 2002, OSCE/ODIHR mission has claimed that
| “ | Involving non-citizens in local decision-making could represent a first and tangible step toward eliminating the current democratic deficit[8] | ” |
As of 2011, non-citizens of Latvia have no voting rights not only at parliamentary, but also at local and European elections (citizens of other EU member states can vote in these elections).
References [edit]
- ^ "A democratic deficit occurs when ostensibly democratic organizations or institutions in fact fall short of fulfilling what are believed to be the principles of democracy." Sanford Levinson, How the United States Constitution Contributes to the Democratic Deficit in America, 55 Drake L. Rev. 859, 860 (2007).
- ^ www.federalunion.org
- ^ Marquand, David (1979). Parliament for Europe. Cape. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-224-01716-9. "The resulting 'democratic deficit' would not be acceptable in a Community committed to democratic principles."
Chalmers, Damian; et al. (2006). European Union law: text and materials. Cambridge University Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-521-52741-5. "'Democratic deficit' is a term coined in 1979 by the British political scientist . . . David Marquand ."
Meny, Yves (2003). "De La Democratie En Europe: Old Concepts and New Challenges". Journal of Common Market Studies 41: 1–13. doi:10.1111/1468-5965.t01-1-00408. "Since David Marquand coined his famous phrase 'democratic deficit' to describe the functioning of the European Community, the debate has raged about the extent and content of this deficit." - ^ Commission of Latin American Parliament joins call for UN Parliamentary Assembly | Campaign for a UN Parliament
- ^ BBC news article
- ^ The English Democrats
- ^ Press statement of the OSCE mission, 8 October 2006
- ^ REPUBLIC OF LATVIA SAEIMA ELECTIONS 5 October 2002 OSCE/ODIHR Final Report - p. 7 (9 in web numeration)
