Should traditional representative institutions be abolished? A critical comment on Hélène Landemore’s Open Democracy

Fabio Wolkenstein (Corresponding author)

Publications: Contribution to journalShort communicationPeer Reviewed

Abstract

This short piece discusses Hélène Landemore’s proposal of an ‘open democracy’, as outlined in her recent book Open Democracy: Reinventing Popular Rule for the Twenty-First Century. Acknowledging the value of Landemore’s radical and ambitious proposals, I draw attention to a number of shortcomings and blind spots that have to do with how the case for an ‘open democracy’ is made: through an unduly brief and dismissive treatment of political parties; a methodological insensitivity to empirical variations of democratic performance and citizens’ evaluations of the latter; a failure to distinguish between higher and ordinary law-making in the discussion of the central Icelandic case; and, finally, a surprising concession that realising an open democracy is all but infeasible in established constitutional democracies. If open democracy is to be an attractive ideal, these issues must arguably be addressed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)161-170
Number of pages10
JournalRes Publica
Volume30
Issue number1
Early online date25 Jul 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2024

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

  • 506013 Political theory

Keywords

  • Deliberation
  • Feasibility
  • Hélène Landemore
  • Open democracy
  • Political parties
  • Representative democracy

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