not a member for Bristol, but he is a member of parliament ”. 120 Thus, in accordance with this idea -- one that liberal democracies would come to reflect and champion -- the active role of citizens must be limited to electing representatives to act on their behalf. Understandably, deliberative theorists have labelled this as inherently anti-participatory because, by nature, it discourages and prevents citizens from any meaningful, active role in determining public policy. McAfee, making the case for a deliberative system, argues for a vastly different approach to citizenship and what should be asked of a citizen. 121 She asserts that the qualification of citizenship must be defined in terms of the extent to which individuals have the ability to regard themselves members of a public space, with a direct influence in shaping policy. She makes her case on the grounds that citizens having an active role in the process of determining legislation is the only means of achieving a collective spirit and social harmony. Slim, while consistent with the argument made by McAfee, builds on this by pointing to the process of elections and claims that they serve only to exacerbate tensions and divisions. 122 Further, in order to minimise these tensions and create a maximum level of societal unity, the individual’s role must be moved from the confines of him or herself to the wider realm of citizen actor. 123 Changing the role of the citizen to one which requires the individual to be both aware of his or her own political preferences, as well as those of his or her fellow citizens, is crucial to the achievement of a just and unified society. A society made 120 Edmund Burke, The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke – Volume 1 , (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1754), pp. 446-48. 121 Noelle McAfee, Democracy and the Political Unconscious , (New York: Columbia University Press, 2008), pp. 107-08. 122 Randa Slim, ‘Facing the Challenges of Emerging Democracies’, Kettering Review , 1.25 (2007), 27-38. 123 Slim, p. 31.
68
Made with FlippingBook HTML5