TWO MODELS OF PROCEDURAL DEMOCRACY

HOW CAN THE PEOPLE PARTICIPATE IN THE GOVERNMENT TOGETHER WITH THEIR ELECTED
REPRESENTATIVES?

Majoritarian Model Pluralistic Model

Interpretation of “Government
by the people”
(Who influences the
government?)
Goal
Assumption about Citizen s
Institutional Mechanisms
Government by the majority of
the people
It attempts to approximate the
people’s role in direct
democracy within the
limitations of representative
democracy.
-that citizens are knowledgeable
about government and politics,
that they want to participate in
the political process, and that
they make rational decisions in
voting for their elected
representatives.
- Popular election of
government officials
-Direct participation in decision-
making (referendum, initiative,
recall)
Government by people
operating through competing
interest groups
It attempts to increase the role
of the civil society in crafting,
implementing and monitoring
public policy and governance.
-that people in modern society
often form groupings along
economic, religious, ethnic, or
cultural lines to promote their
respective interests
- Lobbying of interest groups

Criticisms -Not all citizens are well -Less participation of the

informed in political processes electorate in the political
-Public opinion may easily being discourse
swayed -
-Voter turnout is low
-

Pluralism - Pluralism, in political science, the view that in liberal democracies power is (or should be)
dispersed among a variety of economic and ideological pressure groups and is not (or should not be)
held by a single elite or group of elites. Pluralism assumes that diversity is beneficial to society and that
autonomy should be enjoyed by disparate functional or cultural groups within a society, including
religious groups, trade unions, professional organizations, and ethnic minorities.

Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/pluralism-politics
Majoritarianism - Majoritarianism, the idea that the numerical majority of a population should have the
final say in determining the outcome of a decision

Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/majoritarianism

Sources:

http://slideplayer.com/slide/10867698/