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What Democracy for New Democracies?

Publication |
2001

Abstract

One element in the choice of a constitutional design or model of democracy is the criterion of efficiency. The author suggest a distinction between 1) efficiency-action capacity and 2) effectiveness-socio-economic performance.

It is not just socio-economic effectiveness that is important, but also political efficiency-action capacity. The efficiency-action capacity is closely linked with the theory of democracy put forward by Schumpeter and then adopted by majority of political scientists.

It would be a pity if the significance of political effiency-action capacity were underrestimated in the name of a one-sided view and in comparison with other aims of absolute representativeness. It is particularly inappropriate to recommend the so-called concensus model (and such of its elements as a strictly proportional electoral system) for those countries in the process of democratisation which are relatively homogeneous and are not higly polarised