The crisis of political elections as the main form of exercising democracy

Abstract

The article examines the criticism that is expressed in contemporary academic literature regarding the institution of political elections. With reference to the works of van Reybrouck, Achen and Bartels, it is demonstrated that elections cannot always be considered as an expression of the will, opinion or interests of the people, often do not contribute to effective and legitimate government, as well as to the selection of sufficiently conscientious and qualified rulers. At the same time, the defense of the political elections from the standpoint of the minimalist concept of democracy is considered. Next, the author considers three main alternatives to elections that are proposed in the academic literature, namely such methods of selecting the ruling elite as meritocracy, epistocracy and a lottery. It is stated that in the Russian legal literature, democracy and the representation of citizens in power are closely linked to elections, while much less attention is paid to alternative forms of representation and expression of the will of the people. The conclusion is that alternatives to elections have their own disadvantages, but they can well be used as an addition to the elections, and if used correctly, even replace elections.