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Politics & Government

Bureaucratic Representation and Its Democratic Legitimacy Critique

Quick fact

Research on 'representative bureaucracy' suggests that when a police department's racial makeup matches its community, trust and cooperation improve—yet police chiefs are almost never elected, raising questions about who gives them the right to govern.

Why this is interesting

We usually picture democracy as voting and elected politicians—but a huge amount of policy is actually made by unelected officials. How can that be democratic at all?