Before a weakened representative democracy. A chimera between the ideal and the achievement
Abstract
It seems to be assumed, at the present time, that the idea of democracy inherently accommodates the idea of representation. However, the different ways of appreciating representation are known, for example, as authority, as a symbol, as a reflection of desires, as care of interests, as authorization to decide, as responsibility. It is this latter meaning that will be taken as a reference to reflect on the distance between the legitimation of the current representatives acquired through the will expressed by the electorate and the lack of political legitimacy that they can not afford because they do not assume Responsibility as representatives. It could be said that we are witnessing a loss of representative capacity as a result of a transgression of the confidence that the sovereign people deposited in the representatives who fail to represent.
Perhaps a hegemonic use of the representative mandate has led to a certain disconnect between the ideal and the achievement of the ideal and thus the sense of loss of control of citizenship and the weakening of democracy, Control rests with the sovereign people and not the representatives. Without control, in the present configuration of constitutional States, there can be no question of representative democracy.
Received: 16 May 2017
Accepted: 28 November 2017
Published online: 27 December 2017
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Last update: 12/11/2026
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