A Question of Time: Responsive and Responsible Democratic Politics

Abstract

Since 2008, European crisis politics have thrown the importance of time in democracy into sharp relief. The need for rapid action by national authorities, the EU and international organisations conflicts with the time-consuming nature of democratic deliberation; short-term political firefighting has given little consideration to the long-term sustainability and time consistency of policies; and decentralised decisions threaten effective synchronisation within multi-level governance systems. This article suggests that democratic politics requires a balance between the temporal characteristics of responsive and responsible politics. The timeframe for responsive politics is shaped by electoral cycles that encourage speedy action; short-term lags between political choices and their effects; and temporal discretion of decision-makers. The timeframe for responsible politics is characterised by time-consuming procedures; solutions that take time to unfold and are sustainable in the longer term; and the purposive synchronisation amongst actors and across policy domains and levels of policy-making. The finely balanced temporal constitution of democracy has been challenged in two fundamental ways. First, as the ability of decision-makers to work within the time limits of their mandates and to respond to the temporal expectations of the electorate decreases, the temporal ties that ensure the responsiveness of political authority to the electorate weaken. Second, the distinct temporal qualities of majoritarian and non-majoritarian institutions that encourage responsibility are called into question. Consequently, political time in Europe runs the risk of becoming both less responsive and less responsible.

Notes

1. English edition: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/former-german-finance-minister-peer-steinbrueck-the-global-economy-still-has-deep-seated-structural-problems-a-717248.html

2. The following brief summary of key elements of the case and the Court’s judgment draws heavily on two English-language official press releases of the Court: Press release No. 68/2011 of 28 October 2011 and Press release No. 14/2012 of 28 February 2012.

3. For an English summary of the case and the Court’s judgment see Press release No. 42/2012 of 19 June 2012.

4. For an English summary of the judgment see Federal Constitutional Court Press Release No. 67/2012 of 12 September 2012.

5. The following paragraphs draw on Goetz 2009 and Meyer-Sahling and Goetz 2009.