By Melvin Edelstein
Democracy may be the defining attribute of recent Western society, yet at the same time overdue because the 19th century it was once usually seen with suspicion via many that observed it as similar to anarchy and mob rule. It used to be no longer until eventually the French and American revolutions of the eighteenth century that electoral democracy started to achieve momentum as a major strength, which was once ultimately to form political discourse on a huge, overseas scale. Taking as its concentration the French Revolution, this publication explores how the adventure in France inspired the emergence of electoral democracy, arguing - opposite to contemporary revisionist reviews - that it was once certainly the progenitor of contemporary consultant democracy. Rejecting the revisionist semiotic method of political tradition; it as a substitute adopts a definition emphasising the shared values that govern political behaviour, arguing that the Revolution's crucial contribution to fashionable political tradition is its idea of citizenship, embracing frequent political participation.In a broader feel, the publication reviews the grass-roots democracy, targeting participation within the basic and secondary electoral assemblies. it really is basically desirous about electoral habit and practices: how will we clarify the electoral procedure and its effects? It analyzes electoral methods and practices, and voter turnout, in keeping with huge quantitative facts. whereas concerned about political historical past, this paintings additionally examines political sociology, giving cautious cognizance to the occupational composition of elected officials.Whilst acknowledging the democratic shortcomings of the French Revolution (the absence of political events, electoral campaigns, and declared candidates), the book's entire research of progressive elections concludes that, including its American counterpart, the French Revolution did certainly provide delivery to trendy electoral democracy. As such, this publication is vital analyzing for historians, political scientists, sociologists and readers drawn to the foundation of recent liberal democracy.
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Extra resources for The French Revolution and the Birth of Electoral Democracy
Sample text
14 Nevertheless, if turnout was low in many regions, it was relatively high in the East and North-East, possibly in the Charentes, the Languedoc toulousain, and part of Provence in the South. *** From what occupational groups did the parish assemblies and the secondary bailliages choose their deputies? Roger Chartier contends that at all levels, a group composed of royal or seigneurial officers and men of law dominated. However, Halévi comments that although the presidents consisted of royal and seigneurial officers and men of law, a large majority of the deputies elected at the parish level were laboureurs paying the highest taxes.
If there was no winner, a second round of voting was held. If there was still no winner, a run-off was held between the two candidates with the highest number of votes. In case of a tie, the elder of the two won. After each round of voting, the ballots were burned. There were as many elections as there were deputies to be elected. The deputies met in common in a closing ceremony, where a Mass was celebrated and the deputies took an oath. The elections to the Estates General left a legacy to the electoral practice of the Revolution.
1, p. 391. R. Chartier, “Culture, lumière, doléances: Les cahiers de 1789,” RHMC, 27 (1981), p. 72; Halévi, “La monarchie et les élections,” p. 397; M. Crook, Elections in the French Revolution: An Apprenticeship in Democracy, 1789–1799 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), pp. 22–3; P. Jones, The Peasantry in the French Revolution (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), pp. 64–5. 16 Cubells, Les horizons de la Liberté, pp. 142–5. 17 B. Moreau, Voter en 1789: l’exemple de la sénéchaussée de Nîmes (Paris: Publisud, 1995), pp.
