Elite and Liberal Democracy: A New Equilibrium?

Antonio Campati

doi:10.1007/s11245-021-09762-1

Abstract

In contemporary democracies, the balance between the minority principle and democratic principles, one of the components underlying the relationship between liberalism and democracy, is being broken. This paper offers a reflection on this theme – crucial for the future of representative government – in relation to the importance of the theory of elites. The article is divided into three parts: the first part briefly traces the main phases of the theory of elites from the late nineteenth century to the present, indicating, for each, the salient features; the second part focuses on the elements characterizing the alliance between the minority principle and democratic principles, which forms the basis of liberal representative democracy, with specific consideration paid to the geometric architecture of democracy, comprising a horizontal dimension and a vertical dimension; finally, the third part argues the need for strengthening the logic of distance to consolidate the connection between the theory of elites and liberal representative democracy.

Highlights

In recent years, more and more scholars have pointed out that liberal democracy is under pressure (Galston 2020)
There are some who, even more drastically, argue that after the spread of democracy and its liberal ideals, especially following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, there has been a counter-revolution (Zielonka 2018), which would testify to a real failure of liberalism, both as a doctrine and as a model for the definition of an international order (Deneen 2018; Ikenberry 2018; Toplisek 2019)
A study of the role of elites cannot be limited only to the analysis of populism, the use of social media or the denunciation of the poor quality of elected officials. These elements are certainly useful for an understanding of the transformations of contemporary democracies, but the rupture of the balance between the minority principle and democratic principles deserves specific attention because it is the basis of all the other manifestations of disaffection towards elites

Summary

Introduction

More and more scholars have pointed out that liberal democracy is under pressure (Galston 2020). The causes of such a radical rejection of what was considered the political model of reference, capable of guaranteeing citizens’ freedom, equality and well-being, are many and varied Within this framework, this article focuses on one of the main causes of this democratic malaise, namely the breaking of the balance between the minority principle and democratic principles. A study of the role of elites cannot be limited only to the analysis of populism, the use of social media or the denunciation of the poor quality of elected officials These (and other) elements are certainly useful for an understanding of the transformations of contemporary democracies, but the rupture of the balance between the minority principle and democratic principles deserves specific attention because it is the basis of all the other manifestations of disaffection towards elites. This paper aims to demonstrate the reasons for this claim and is structured in three parts: the first briefly traces the main phases of the theory of elites from the late nineteenth century to the present day, indicating, for each, the salient features; the second focuses on the elements characterizing the alliance between the minority principle and democratic principles, which forms the basis of liberal representative democracy, with specific attention paid to the geometric architecture of democracy, consisting of a horizontal dimension and a vertical dimension; the third formulates the hypothesis of strengthening the logic of distance to consolidate the connection between elite theory and liberal representative democracy

The Phases of Elite Theory

The Previous Equilibrium: A Geometric Theory of Democracy

A New Phase

The Necessary Balances of Democracy