Election Law and Democratic Governance
Files
Description
A major challenge facing democracies today is their perceived failure to deliver effectively on the issues their citizens care most urgently about. Yet democratic and legal theory have given too little attention to the value and importance of delivering effective government. Much of democratic theory focuses on values such as political equality, fair representation, deliberation, participation, and individual rights, among other values. But less weight is given to the capacity of government to deliver effectively on the issues members care most urgently about. Yet when democratic governments cannot deliver effectively on issues many of their members care most urgently about, that failure can lead, at a minimum, to distrust, alienation, withdrawal, anger, and resentment. Even worse, it can fuel desires for a strongman figure who promises to cut through the dysfunction and deliver when democratic governments have failed to do so. This chapter aims to bring greater attention to the importance of effective government in assessing current democratic arrangements and potential reforms. The chapter does so by identifying specific trade-offs between effective government and a varied range of democratic values, such as political accountability, equality, participation, transparency, and others.
First Page
75
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197547922.013.3
Source Publication
The Oxford Handbook of American Election Law
Source Editors/Authors
Eugene D. Mazo
Publication Date
12-1-2024
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Recommended Citation
Richard H. Pildes,
Election Law and Democratic Governance,
The Oxford Handbook of American Election Law
75
(2024).
Available at:
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/fac-chapt/2120
