From The Multitude To The People
"Election Is Not Democracy"
From The Multitude To The People
"Election Is Not Democracy" — Master's Thesis
Research Process
Representation
Building A Research Framework
Representation In Principle And In Practice
"We Blame Democracy When We Should Be Blaming Representation"
I looked at representation in the lens of democracy and showed how and why the concept in practice was problematic and why representative democracy is not representative. I concluded that being represented as we are today is a loss of power for citizens as they have very little control over the actions of their representatives. More over being represented through the vote of the majority interpreted as the general will, is also problematic as it lacks actual representativeness. How majority is formed, calculated and how it operates influence the results of the process and potentially increases inequalities. We end up "blaming democracy when we should we blaming the instability of representation."* Jacques Rancière
From The System To The People
I looked at the French political system as a case study. I wanted to understand and analyse its philosophy, history, structure, interactions, practices and the roles played by experts and public institutions because the « problem » seemed to be structural. I was hoping this will enable me to define precisely fractures in the political system and identify entry points for small-short circuits or even restructurations.
The French Political System Of Representation
From The System To The People
Here I started building a visual language to define the political system and the different interactions between its elements without words.
The French Political System Of Representation
In Principle
The French Political System Of Representation
In Principle
The French Political System Of Representation
In Practice
The French Political System Of Representation
In Practice
A Shift In My Research
From The System To The People /// From The People To The System
Citizen initiatives and experts kept coming up. This was forcing me to recognize that people were affecting the system themselves and were not waiting for things to change. I should have understood that from the beginning as The Yellow Vests crisis triggered this research by shaking traditional modes of political representation.
In Between The System And The People
Initiatives And Movements Happening At Different Levels
Moving Into Engagements
Exploring Different Arguments And Discourses Around Participation
I started to look at the problematics of current forms of citizen participations and by whom, when and how participation is fostered. Slowly my research moved into engagements as I was discovering different modalities, methods and level of engagement. I have chosen to engage with those experts specifically because they give me good overview of different discourses about participation but also about how this participation relates to the system and how it is initiated.
Levels Of Engagement
From Démocratie Ouverte Open Source Documents and Discussions with Experts
Entry points for civic engagement in the cycle of political life
From Démocratie Ouverte Open Source Documents and Discussions with Experts
Network Theories
Interactions, Assembling and co-existance Between Systems
Communities started to appear as potential counter-powers. As this topic is political I didn’t want my work to get resumed to political divides between left or right discourses. I tried to search for analogies to support my arguments. I decided to look at network theories and animal and vegetal philosophy. Our system is a constellation of networks and these philosophies have the benefit to replace us in a wider ecosystem which gives my research another legitimacy, beyond political ideology. They are incredible sources of inspiration and offer us spaces and perspective to dream. Ultimately putting in perspective experts‘ point of view with them allow me to compare current interactions and modes of assembling, of co existence, and see what can be improved or challenged.
Comparative: Similarities and Oppositions Between discourses, ideologies and network theories
Parasitic Relationships Ensuring Democracy and Democratisation
Our political systems need to be apprehended as unstable and flexible structures which is not comfortable. If the steps, processes and actions constituting a political cycle were open and receptive to interactions with elements from multiple sources then power would be circulating. But equally, we don’t want to institute all initiatives and movements. There will always be a need for positions challenging the system coming from spaces regulated by different times, (social) rules and hierarchies. This is not about standardising procedures but rather seeing conflict and parasitic relationships between parallel systems as necessary to ensure democracy and democratisation. Seeing communities as parallel networks would allow autonomy in doing and mutual inclusion. There is not a single answer to representation. It seems that we need several approaches, some coming from the system, other from the people, but also some sitting in between, some challenging the structure of the system and others playing by its rules. While animal philosophy and network theories legitimatise people’s claim to share power it also show that hierarchic structures can be necessary. Experts conversations confirm this as well.
What Can Be Challenged Or Improved
Shaping Common Cultures Of Democracy
The question of representation is a complex and subjective one. Improvements can come from both the system and the people. There is plenty of room for that. The problem was never really about representation itself, but about all that it presupposes. To me, what seems primordial is to create common cultures of democracy. Ones that (re)shape our relationships to ourselves and others, to public matters and to the public sphere. This exercise was held for centuries by the same people. Today it seems like we need to collectively (re)define.