Representative Government and Representational Government: A Theoretical and Historical Perspective

The form of “principal-agent” government developed from representative notion and its practice. Representative system and representational system are both belong to modern politics, but also have significant distinction in historical background, institutional principle, operational characteristics and value preference. Representative system emphasizes on the authorization function of election, believe competitive free election is the foundation of generating representatives (members of parliament) and legitimacy of government policies. The representational system emphasizes on the responsiveness and accountability of the government. It takes account of whether the government is able to respond and meet the needs of people as the criteria of good governance. The two forms of government based on different kinds of representative theory, democratic theory and ‘authorization-accountability’ pattern. The dual representational structureof Chinese representational system is an important feature of the institutionalization of China’s national governance under modern political conditions.