민주주의의 의미와 본질에 대한 고찰: 대의민주주의와 참여민주주의-심의민주주의의 관계를 중심으로

Abstract

This essay has dealt with the meaning and essence of democracy in the constitution, especially focused on the relation among representative democracy, participatory democracy and deliberative democracy. As we know, a representative system is an inevitable principle of democracy. At the same time, however, it cannot be the only way to realize democracy. The essence of democracy is ‘people's self-dominance,’ so how democracy is realized can only be justified through the continuous efforts to get close to it. If representative democracy only means elitism, it will inevitably lead to the fall of democracy. Thus, democratic ‘participation’ and ‘deliberation’ can, in principle, be an alternative to enhance democratic legitimacy of decision-making, which can have meaning as a supplement to representative system in the constitution. However, we can understand the democratic participations of the people as a “quantitative supplement” of democracy and deliberations by the people as a “qualitative complement” of democracy. But some questions remain such as to whether the participant can be granted the qualifications as a representative or whether the outcome of deliberations is legally binding. Thus, on one hand, participations and deliberations by people under a representative system may be understood as indispensable components to strengthen the democratic nature of decision-making. At the same time, it will inevitably have the meaning of controlling binding decisions by representatives and supplementing democracy under a representative system.