# Delegate model of representation

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{{Short description|Model of representative democracy; emphasizes constituent power over elected officials}}
The '''delegate model of representation''' is a model of a [representative democracy](/source/representative_democracy). In this model, [constituents](/source/Electoral_district) elect their representatives as delegates for their [constituency](/source/constituency). These delegates act only as a mouthpiece for the wishes of their constituency/state and have no [autonomy](/source/Wiktionary%3Aautonomy) from the constituency, only the autonomy to vote for the actual representatives of the state. This model does not provide representatives the luxury of acting in their own conscience and is bound by [imperative mandate](/source/imperative_mandate). Essentially, the representative acts as the voice of those who are (literally) not present.

==History==
Irish philosopher [Edmund Burke](/source/Edmund_Burke) (1729&ndash;1797) contested this model and supported the alternative [trustee model of representation](/source/trustee_model_of_representation).<ref>Burke, Edmund. '''1774'''. ''Speech to the electors of Bristol'' in The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke. Vol. II. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press (1906).</ref>

The delegate model of representation is made use of in various forms of [council democracy](/source/council_democracy) and commune democracy. Models of democratic rule making extensive use of the delegate model of representation are often labeled "[delegative democracy](/source/delegative_democracy)".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Respublika! : experiments in the performance of participation and democracy|last=Cammaerts|first=Bart|publisher=NeMe|year=2019|isbn=978-9963-9695-8-6|editor-last=Carpentier|editor-first=Nico|location=Cyprus|pages=131|chapter=Revalidating Participation: Power and Pre-Figurative Politics within contemporary Left-wing Movements|oclc=1088563137}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Contemporary political philosophy : an anthology|last=Held|first=David|year=2019|isbn=978-1-119-15417-4|edition=3rd|location=Hoboken, NJ|pages=641|chapter=Democracy: From City-states to a Cosmopolitan Order|oclc=1084627545}}</ref> However, the merging of these two terms is criticized as misleading.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kestler |first=Thomas |date=2011 |title=Demokratische Dilemmata: Zum Verhältnis zwischen Repräsentation und Partizipation |url=http://www.nomos-elibrary.de/index.php?doi=10.5771/1430-6387-2011-3-391 |journal=Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft |volume=21 |issue=3 |page=24 |doi=10.5771/1430-6387-2011-3-391 |issn=1430-6387|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Further reading==
*Burke, Edmund. '''1774'''. ''Speech to the electors of Bristol'' in The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke. Vol. II. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press (1906).

==See also==
*[Trustee model of representation](/source/Trustee_model_of_representation)
*[Liquid democracy](/source/Liquid_democracy)
*[Imperative mandate](/source/Imperative_mandate)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.constitution.org/jsm/rep_gov.htm 'Representative Government' by J.S. Mill]
*[http://www.bartleby.com/130/ 'On Liberty' by J.S Mill]

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Category:Types of democracy
Category:Political philosophy

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Delegate model of representation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delegate_model_of_representation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delegate_model_of_representation?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.