Determining the Democratic Quality of Non-Electoral Representation in Local State–Society Networks

Abstract

Electoral democracy and direct participation at the local level suffer from inequality: certain voices are more often heard than others. Moreover, static references to local councilors’ election once may not suffice to legitimize representative claims. However, the non-electoral representation may redress these problems. It involves both elected and non-elected actors claiming to represent a group of people or cause on a variety of grounds, such as expertise and shared experiences. Thus, representatives and constituencies are created in a dynamic process of representation. A challenge to non-electoral representation is, however, its democratic quality. In particular, non-elected makers of representative claims cannot rely on elections for their authorization and accountability. The analysis shows that a large share of non-elected representatives in local state-society networks across Europe indicate that their proclaimed constituencies agree with their positions, while they feel obliged to give account to the ones they represent. They also inform the latter through personal contacts and in general meetings. The analysis also suggests that network characteristics better explain the democratic quality of non-electoral representation than factors at the level of society at large or individual network members. The extensive use of non-electoral mechanisms of authorization and accountability is a hopeful sign that non-electoral representation can reinvigorate local democracy, even more so because networks can be more easily changed than the society at large or individual network members.