Demokratie jenseits des Wahlakts, Kartoniert / Broschiert

Klappentext

Elections are central to democratic self-determination and to legitimizing the exercise of state authority. Yet democracy is, of course, not exhausted by elections alone. The German Federal Constitutional Court, for instance, has described freedom of expression as "constitutive in the strictest sense" for democracy. Against the backdrop of low voter turnout, the rise of extremist forces, and a widely perceived decline in trust in parliament and government, legal scholarship is increasingly confronted with the question of how democracy can be sustained beyond the act of voting, and what challenges and limits arise in this regard.

This edited volume examines, first, society and its intermediary institutions as arenas of free democratic opinion formation, while recognizing that they are also subject to state regulation and steering. Across a range of fields, including civic education, schools, universities, the arts and culture, media, and broadcasting, the contributions explore the tensions between autonomy and state intervention from a sector-specific perspective. Second, in light of the frequently diagnosed "crisis of representation," the volume addresses the growing disconnect between electoral rights and actual affectedness. Given that democracy is also grounded in human rights considerations, it increasingly requires justification why voting rights remain restricted to adult citizens rather than being extended to all those who permanently reside in Germany or are subject to the authority of the state. Forms of participation beyond parliament, particularly advisory councils, committees, and the judiciary, seek to remedy this deficit, yet they themselves face objections, especially with regard to the democratic principle and the separation of powers.