As current democratic governments are unsuccessful in fulfilling our moral obligations to future generations, future-focused institutions aim to adapt our democracy to neutralise this short-termism...Show moreAs current democratic governments are unsuccessful in fulfilling our moral obligations to future generations, future-focused institutions aim to adapt our democracy to neutralise this short-termism. However, it often appears to be impossible for future-focused institutions to be both effective and democratically legitimate. This thesis aims to resolve this dilemma by arguing for strong external representatives, representatives of future generations outside of legislative assemblies that have a strong mandate to veto laws that have a strong negative impact on future generations. To claim that this is not only effective but also democratically legitimate, this thesis analyses the most influential theories on the boundaries of the demos, the All Affected Interests Principle and Democratic Values Theory, and demonstrates that they require the inclusion of future generations by means of a strong-mandated representative. Finally, this thesis also provides several desiderata on how strong external representatives should be instituted and discusses its political feasibility.Show less
