The Path Towards Post-representative Democracy. Reflections on Modernity, Representation, Political Parties and Democracy

Abstract

The article seeks to find out the true nature of modern political regimes and the relationships between them and contemporary democracies. The author critically (re)interprets concepts that are usually treated as univocal presuppositions in political science, such as democracy and representation. In this way, he enters in the contemporary debate about the “crisis of representation” and the role played by —and should be played by— political parties in modern times. The author says that the representation is what has sustained modern political regimes, but not the political regime itself. Nowadays we are shifting to a post-representative democracy, that is, a “demoscopic democracy” where leaders must continuously appeal to the approval of public opinion to legitimize themselves.