earticle

영어

Free and fair election is one of the key democratic institutions for building and maintaining legitimacy of the representative democracy. Despite its theoretical and methodological significance in explaining democratic performance of the representative democracies, scholarly research on the free and fair election as well as functions of the electoral management bodies has seldom drawn attentions for comparative studies. Malfunctions and technical errors detected in the process of voting and counting in the US Presidential election in 2000 triggered both political and academic interests in the study of fair electoral management. Korea is no exception. The political discord and party strife surrounding the involvement of the National Intelligence Service and Defence Security Command have drawn academic attention on the study of free and fair election and the role of the electoral management bodies. Despite magnified quantity and attention internationally and locally, both the scope of and depth in comparative research have been extremely restricted arguably due to the lack of clear conceptualization and methodological tools in the measurement of free and fair election as well as the role of electoral management bodies. This study attempts to fill this gap. Defining and measuring tool of the 11-steps free and fair election as well as the role of election management bodies can be regarded as a proper indicator for assessing the quality of election which is believed to have a useful role in the study of measuring performance of the democratic function. Broader research with national and international empirical data based on interviews with not only experts and voters but also polling workers, party candidates, party workers and journalists seems to be of great use for further development of methodological tool to enhance the theoretical capacity of the role of the electoral management bodies as a necessary and sufficient condition for achieving high performance of the procedural and electoral democracies

한국어

자유공정선거 (free and fair election)은 대의민주주의에서 의회 및 정부의 정당성 확보라는 차원에서 매우 중요한 의미를 지니고 있음에도 불구하고 지금까지 몇몇 사례연구는 진행되 었지만 국제비교연구는 매우 한정적이었다. 2000년 플로리다주의 부정선거와 기술적 결함으 로 인한 개표절차의 지연은 미국대통령선거 결과에 대한 불신의 확대로 이어지면서 공정선 거와선거관리에대한국제적관심이늘기시작한기폭제가되었다. 한국도2012년선거에서 국정원직원의 댓글달기, 기무사의 선거개입 등의 문제로 대통령선거무효라는 극한적 주장까 지 제기되는 등 공정선거에 대한 관심이 늘고 있다. 하지만 아직도 비교연구의 핵심인 공정 선거개념의정의와선거관리기관의역할에대한평가및측정방법등에대한연구는매우제 한적이다. 본논문은아직도국내에서사각지대에있는선거공정성의핵심인선거관리기관및선거관 리제도에대한연구의관심을유발하고, 민주주의질에영향을미치는선거관리제도의분석틀 을 구축함으로써 앞으로 이론적이며 방법론적인 접근을 용이하게 하기 위한 목적을 지닌다. 이논문에서논의된11단계를중심으로한공정선거정의, 선거의질측정방법등방법론적 시도등이 민주주의연구에 또 다른시각을 제공할수 있을것으로 기대된다. 국내정치뿐아 니라외국사례들도경험적연구의대상으로확대함으로써민주주의의질과성과에대한비교 연구에 필요한 이론화 작업과 방법론의 구축에 보다 세심한 연구의 필요성이 제기된다.