Outline
Question: Can an elected leader in a democratic system ever be considered ‘illegitimate’?
In this paper I will argue that an elected leader in a democratic system can be considered ‘illegitimate’ due to internal aspects of democratic governments. It is not uncommon to hear discussions of the illegitimacy of democratic leaders especially since the Trump election. Democracy means in accordance with the people and a democratic government is a system of rule by law and therefore protects the rights of citizens, limits the power of government, and maintains order. This is considered to be highly legitimate because in order to be democratically elected, specific election rules and procedures must be followed. Legitimacy is expected to be sustained throughout the government and is not abandoned after elections. Constitutional law is in place in order to define the role, powers and structure of different entities and therefore enforces legitimacy within government. However, the government is obviously not made up of one sole leader but rather a network therefore their needs to be a focus on the legitimacy of democratic networks. It is within these networks that illegitimacy occurs.
I am going to use the following sources:
• Giddens, Anthony. “Modernity, History, Democracy.” Theory and Society, vol. 22, no. 2, 1993, pp. 289–292. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/657774. – To provide some history of democracy and democratic government
• Richter, Melvin. “Toward a Concept of Political Illegitimacy: Bonapartist Dictatorship and Democratic Legitimacy.” Political Theory, vol. 10, no. 2, 1982, pp. 185–214. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/190575. – Original thoughts on illegitimate democracy
• Klijn, E. and Edelenbos, J. (2012). The Influence of Democratic Legitimacy on Outcomes in Governance Networks. Administration & Society, 45(6), pp.627-650. – Use of networks in governments and democratic legitimacy
• Clarke, Michael, and Rick Tilman. “C. B. Macpherson’s Contributions to Democratic Theory.” Journal of Economic Issues, vol. 22, no. 1, 1988, pp. 181–196. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4225963.- Macpherson’s four models of democracy
• Sadurski, Wojciech. “Law’s Legitimacy and ‘Democracy-Plus’.” Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, vol. 26, no. 2, 2006, pp. 377–409. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3877021. – Laws used to maintain legitimacy
Essay Outline:
• Introduction
• Define legitimacy in democracy
– Brief history of democracy
– Define legitimacy and what it means in terms of democracy
– Origins of concerns of illegitimate democracy (Burke)
– Mannheim distinction between traditionalism and conservatism
• Things/lack of things done today to ensure legitimacy in democratic governments
– How legitimacy influences outcomes within the government
– How decisions in networks are democratically legitimized
– Forms of democratic legitimacy
– Macphersons four models of democracy
– Importance of “political accountability, voice, and due deliberation”
• Things that should be changed or reinforced
– Give the people more information regarding networks and organizations
– Reinforce “political accountability, voice, and due deliberation.” Give these bigger platforms
– Pure procedural justice
– “Democracy-plus”
• Conclusion
