Minority Politics In Multi-Racial Democracies

30 Pages 7544 Words

tion based
on issue position, not demographics, produces a more favorable outcome for constituents. Since
then, Anne Phillips (1994) has re-framed this debate in terms of a competition between the
“politics of ideas” and the “politics of presence,” and has convincingly argued for presence.
Phillips asserts that the presence of traditionally excluded groups is essential at the agenda-setting
stage of policy making. Voting for a party or candidate that represents one’s interests does not
guarantee representation. Voters cannot select issues, but rather are limited to the selection
presented to them. For new issues to be raised it is necessary that representatives from
marginalized groups be at the table. Further, representatives of the marginalized groups must be
allowed to participate in the debate surrounding these issues (Mansbridge 1999). Which issues do
get raised and the emphasis placed on them are shaped by the composition of legislative body.
The argument for a politics of presence is linked to another body of political science
research that contends that citizens’ interests are best represented by someone who shares their
life experiences, cultural heritage, or language. Arend Lijphart’s (1977) “consociational
democracy” contends that power sharing among politically-relevant segments of society
encourages full participation and cooperation, thus enhancing the stability of the democratic
regime. And power sharing is guaranteed by reserving a seat at the decision-making table for the
leaders of all relevant groups, whether they are ethnic, religious, racial or linguistic. By extension,
ensuring minorities a seat at the decision-making table may contribute to more than agendasetting
and policy outputs, but also to the democratic process more fundamentally. A
representative body that includes minorities may lend legitimacy to the regime, and thus
encourage democratic stability. Importantly, havi...