Leiden University Student Repository

Meester, J.S. (2012)

Democratic Freedom, through Democratic Constraint: The Consequences of Political Responsiveness

Research master thesis | Political Science and Public Administration (research) (MSc)

Over the past few decades a considerable literature, based on the populist notion of democracy, attempted to explicate the more or less successful translation of citizen demands into policy by the political system. Yet maximizing political responsiveness need not be the highest good a democracy can aspire too. Following a liberal theory of democracy this paper moves political responsiveness to the position of the independent variable and shows that there is a connection high political responsiveness (and the risks for a tyranny of the majority this entails) and the freedom of the people living within the state. Drawing on data from the OECD and the Eurobarometer a measure of political responsiveness is developed based on behaviour, rather than attitudinal congruence. This allows the author to show the negative association between responsiveness and freedom (as captured through the CIRI Human Rights Project) in a sample of Western and Eastern European countries between 2006 and 2010.

Political Responsiveness

Freedom

Democracy

Democratic theory

Liberal democracy

Responsiveness

Representation

Policymaking

Author

Meester, J.S.

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Supervisors

Andeweg, R.B.
Rasmussen, A.

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en