The Imperative mandate is a political system in which "representatives enact policies in accordance with mandates and can be recalled by people’s assemblies".[1] It requires a context in which "power is not monopolized by the state, but distributed in a plurality of municipalities and assemblies with specific political authority".[1]
History
The imperative mandate goes back to the Middle Ages.[1] It was embraced by the revolutionary assemblies in Paris in 1793[1] but then disregarded by the French National Assembly of 1789. [2][3] It was also rejected in the American Revolution.[1]
It was embraced in the Paris Commune and by the Council Communism movement.
Contemporary Political Movements
The Imperative Mandate has been used by the United Democratic Front and Abahlali baseMjondolo in South Africa[4] as well as the Zapatistas in Mexico.[1]
See also
- Models of representation
- Imperative mandate (provision in the Constitution of Ukraine)
- Soviet democracy
References
- ^ a b c d e f Who’s Afraid of the Imperative Mandate?, Massimiliano Tomba, Critical Times', 1(1), 2018
- ^ Constitutional Culture and Democratic Rule (Murphy Institute Studies in Political Economy) by John Ferejohn, Jack N. Rakove, and Jonathan Riley, Cambridge University Press, 2010, ISBN 052179370X/ISBN 978-0521793704
- ^ The Remaking of France: The National Assembly and the Constitution of 1791 by Michael Fitzsimmons, Cambridge University Press, 2002, ISBN 0521893771/ISBN 978-0521893770
- ^ Thinking Freedom in Africa, Michael Neocosmos, Wits University Press, 2016
External links
- Report on the imperative mandate and similar practices Venice Commission, 2009
- Who’s Afraid of the Imperative Mandate?, Massimiliano Tomba, Critical Times', 1(1), 2018, pdf