For the system of government based on Soviet democracy, see Soviet republic (system of government).
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Soviet democracy, or council democracy, is a type of democracy in Marxism, in which the rule of the population is exercised by directly elected soviets, or workers' councils. The councils are directly responsible to their electors and bound by their instructions using a delegate model of representation. Such an imperative mandate is in contrast to a trustee model, in which the elected delegates are only responsible to their conscience. Delegates may accordingly be dismissed from their post at any time or be voted out (recall).
In a soviet democracy, voters are organized in basic units; for example, the workers of a company, the inhabitants of a district, or the soldiers of a barracks. They directly send the delegates as public functionaries, which act as legislators, government and courts in one. In contrast to earlier democratic models à la John Locke and Montesquieu, there is no separation of powers. The councils are elected on several levels: At the residential and business level, delegates are sent to the local councils in plenary assemblies. In turn, these can delegate members to the next level. The system of delegation continues to the Congress of Soviets at the state level.[1] The electoral processes thus take place from the bottom upward. The levels are usually tied to administrative levels.[2]
^"The Structure of the Soviet State". www.marxists.org. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
^Swearer, Howard R. (1961). "The Functions of Soviet Local Elections". Midwest Journal of Political Science. 5 (2): 129–149. doi:10.2307/2109266. ISSN 0026-3397. JSTOR 2109266.
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