Democratic legitimacy requires officials to explain and avow fair process, not just follow it
Evidence
By democratic enactment, we mean more than faithful adherence to the regular political and legal processes of constitutional democracy. In addition, it entails a literal articulation of how each step in the process of legislating, prosecuting, regulating, or investigating (or even campaigning) adheres to fair processes. Enacting democracy entails attesting to the value of these practices. It explains what regular processes are about and, in the course of explaining, demonstrates and avows commitment to them. We’re talking about politics as pedagogy. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 353
Categorization
- DEFINE: Precise definition of democratic enactment as process-articulation plus avowal of value.
- SEED: The idea of ‘politics as pedagogy’ — officials narrating their own procedures as a public-education duty — is a strong essay angle: what would it look like for agencies to treat transparency of process as a central mission rather than an afterthought?
- XREF: connects to: Conspicuous adherence to democratic process can re-legitimate government — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 44; Taking transparency in government is crucial for democracy. — David E Pozen; Michael Schudson, Troubling Transparency- The History and…, 17; Legitimacy requires a visible link between votes and policy, not just good results — Jürgen Habermas, A New Structural Transformation of the…, 98 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- Officials defending democratic processes can enact democracy even from self-interested motives
#expands(0.90) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 361 - Conspicuous adherence to democratic process can re-legitimate government
#corroborates(0.85) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 44 - Legitimacy requires a visible link between votes and policy, not just good results
#corroborates(0.85) — Jürgen Habermas, A New Structural Transformation of the…, 98 - Taking transparency in government is crucial for democracy.
#qualifies(0.75) — David E Pozen; Michael Schudson, Troubling Transparency- The History and…, 17