Can local government by lottery increase democratic responsiveness?
In recent years, scholars have paid significant attention to the role of decentralisation in restraining government power and budgetary excess. Yet growth in taxation and debt in OECD countries suggests that such measures have often had a limited effect in taming ‘local Leviathans’. In response, this Research Provocation sets out a bold alternative vision, advocating the use of sortition – the deliberate introduction of arationality and chance into local policy decisions – in order to disrupt ingrained power imbalances and enhance democratic participation. It argues that sortition has the potential to provide for greater possibilities for citizens to exercise voice, choice and exit. This in turn, it is argued, can ensure that local government is more responsive to the preferences of ordinary citizens. In making this provocative argument, we offer an important contribution to debates regarding citizen disengagement, democratic malaise and the potential of more deliberative forms of democracy to address such challenges.
-
Batory, A. and Svensson, A. (2019) The use and abuse of participatory governance by populist governments, Policy & Politics, 47(2): 227–44.
-
Boadway, R. and Shah, A. (2009) Fiscal federalism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
-
Brennan, G. and Buchanan, J. (1989) The power to tax, Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund.
-
Buchanan, J. (1975) The limits of liberty: Between anarchy and leviathan, Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund.
-
Buchanan, J. (1997) The balanced budget amendment: clarifying the arguments, Public Choice, 90: 117–38. doi: 10.1023/A:1004969320944
-
Buchanan, J. and Faith, R. (1987) Secession and the limits of taxation: toward a theory of internal exit, American Economic Review, 77(5): 1023–31.
-
Delannoi, G. and Dowlen, O. (2010) Sortition theory and practice, Charlottesville, VA: Imprint Academic.
-
DELWP (2018) Citizen satisfaction survey, www.localgovernment.vic.gov.au/our-programs/council-community-satisfaction-survey
-
Dowlen, O. (2008) Sorting out sortition: a perspective on the random selection of political officers, Political Studies, 57: 298–315. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9248.2008.00746.x
-
Eliason, P. and Lutz, B. (2018) Can fiscal rules constrain the size of government? An analysis of the ‘crown jewel’ of tax and expenditure limitations, Public Economics, 166: 115–144 doi: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2018.07.008
-
Feld, L. (2014) James buchanan’s theory of federalism: from fiscal equity to the ideal political order, Constitutional Political Economy, 25: 231–52. doi: 10.1007/s10602-014-9168-9
-
Fishkin, J. (2019) Random assemblies for lawmaking, In J. Gastil and E. Wright (eds) Legislature by Lot, London: Verso, pp. 279–300.
-
Flinders, M. and Curry, D. (2008) Deliberative democracy, elite politics and electoral reform, Policy Studies, 29(4): 371–92. doi: 10.1080/01442870802482075
-
Frey, B. (2017) Proposals for a democracy of the future, Homo Oecon, 34: 1–9. doi: 10.1007/s41412-017-0040-9
-
Gastil, J. and Wright, E. (2019) Legislature by lot: Transformative designs for deliberative governance, London: Verso.
-
Gerber, M. and Mueller, S. (2018) When the people speak – and decide: deliberation and direct democracy in the citizen assembly of glarus, Switzerland, Policy & Politics, 46(3): 371–90.
-
Grant, B. and Drew, J. (2017) Local government in Australia: History, theory and public policy, Singapore: Springer Palgrave.
-
Hirschman, A. (1970) Exit, voice and loyalty: Response to decline in firms, organisations and states, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
-
Hirschman, A. (1978) Exit, voice and the state, World Politics, 31(1): 90–107. doi: 10.2307/2009968
-
Hobbes, T. (2011 [1651]) Leviathan, Seattle, WA: Pacific Publishing Studio.
-
Landauer, M. (2015) Democracy, voter ignorance, and the limits of foot voting, Critical Review, 27(3–4): 338–49. doi: 10.1080/08913811.2015.1111683
-
Lang, A. (2007) But is it for real? The British Columbia citizens’ assembly as a model of state-sponsored citizen empowerment, Politics & Society, 35(1): 35–69.
-
Lindbolm, J. (1962) Lot-casting in the old testament, Vetus Testamentum, 12(2): 164–78. doi: 10.1163/156853362X00092
-
Oates, W. (1985) Searching for leviathan: an empirical study, American Economic Review, 75(4): 748–57.
-
Owen, D. and Smith, G. (2019) Sortition, rotation, and mandate, In J. Gastil and E. Wright (eds) Legislature by lot, London: Verso, pp. 279–300.
-
Pierre, J. and Roiseland, A. (2016) Exit and voice in local government reconsidered: a ‘choice revolution’?, Public Administration, 94(3): 738–53. doi: 10.1111/padm.12258
-
Riker, W.H. (1986) The art of political manipulation, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
-
Rose, S. (2010) Institutions and fiscal sustainability, National Tax Journal, 63(4): 807–38. doi: 10.17310/ntj.2010.4.11
-
Salucci, L. and Bickers, K. (2011) Exit, voice and electoral turnover, Urban Affairs Review, 47(2): 155–82. doi: 10.1177/1078087410387497
-
Sharp, E. (1984) ‘Exit, voice, and loyalty’ in the context of local government problems, Western Political Quarterly, 37(1): 67–83. doi: 10.2307/448326
-
Sintomer, Y. (2019) From deliberative to radical democracy, In J. Gastil and E. Wright (eds) Legislature by lot, London: Verso, pp. 279–300.
-
Vandamme, P., Jacquet, V., Niessen, C., Pitseys, J. and Reuchamps, M. (2019) Intercameral relations in bicameral elected and sortition legislature, In J. Gastil and E. Wright (eds) Legislature by lot, London: Verso, pp. 279–300.
-
Warren, M.E. (2011) Voting with your feet: exit-based empowerment in democratic theory, American Political Science Review, 105(4): 683–701. doi: 10.1017/S0003055411000323
-
Whiston, W. (1987) The works of Josephus, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.
| May 2022 onwards | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 250 | 250 | 51 |
| Full Text Views | 45 | 45 | 5 |
| PDF Downloads | 16 | 16 | 7 |
We are a leading social science publisher
committed to making a difference.
Bristol University Press and
Policy Press
bristoluniversitypress.co.uk