POLITICAL REPRESENTATION AND THE CRISIS OF DEMOCRACY

Abstract

The phenomenon of strengthening autocratic tendencies in the development of political regimes in the modern era is considered. This phenomenon testifies to the newly increased urgency of the problem of the crisis of democracy. One of the ways to rethink democracy in the new conditions is appealing to philosophical methodology, in particular, an appeal to the concept of political representation. The classical theory of representation by K. Schmitt and the alternative concept of aesthetic political representation (Frank R. Ankersmit) are considered. The approach proposed by Frank R. Ankersmit has the preferred heuristic possibilities in terms of legitimizing impersonal power in a representative democracy. The importance of the theory of representation for overcoming crisis phenomena in the development of democracy is shown.