Elections vs. Political Competition: The Case of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Abstract

In models of political economy, institutionalization of free and open elections is presented as infusing competition into a previously monopolized regime. Due to elections, representative democracies are thought to reflect the will of the majority as opposed to the will of the elites. I challenge the idea that elections are a necessary condition of a well-functioning democratic system. In the liberal system of nobles’ democracy of the Kingdom of Poland, noble masses were able to shape political outcomes despite the absence of elections. In fact, it was the adoption of free royal elections in 1573 that undermined the democratic regime and contributed to the demise of the country. I argue that nobles’ democracy emerged from competition between the king and the regional rulers for the loyalty of nobles and that the system collapsed when royal elections disincentivized kings from seeking the nobles’ support.

Keywords: degeneracy, democracy, institutional competition, Kingdom of Poland, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, royal elections

JEL Classification: B25, B53, D85, N43, P16