In order to see what the new separation of powers means for the behaviour of electorates, this chapter looks at the logic underlying the classical doctrine and applies it to the new separation of powers. The implications of the classical doctrine of the separation of powers were revolutionary – the foundation for democratic government itself. The implications of the new separation of powers are also radical. They involve recognising that the new separation of powers makes possible a new style of democratic behaviour that implies in turn a recasting of the role of traditional democratic institutions and thinking afresh about the framing of national and international systems of government.

Conflicts of interest and the separation of powers

What is of enduring importance in the classic doctrine of the separation of powers is an underlying logic about identifying conflicts of interest within systems of government. This means identifying where institutional incentives work to the detriment of a system of government and conversely seeing where incentives can be harnessed to positive effect. The conflict can be presented in the negative or the positive. The negative aspect is the argument that when two functions are merged it is to the detriment of each. The positive aspect is the argument that if the two functions are separated there are gains for each and gains as well to the system as a whole.

The new separation of powers can be viewed from exactly this same perspective.