Democratic Representation: Its Advocates and Critics in Modern Political Thought

Session Submission Type: In-Person Created Panel

Session Description

tbdThe papers included in this panel offer new insights into the problem of representation in democratic politics via new readings of important figures in the history of political thought. William Cameron examines the idea of political vanguardism in 19th-century socialism as a way of recovering ways to construct resilient constituencies in the face of authoritarian political conditions. Lelde Arnicane revisits Hannah Arendt’s criteria for democratic self-rule to argue for its compatibility with representative politics, while Ryosuke Amiya-Nakada attends to Hans Kelsen’s account of how democratic constituencies are instantiated by legislative processes. Lastly, Natasha Piano recovers Vilfredo Pareto as an important theorist and critic of democratic elitism, fostered through representation.

Sub Unit

• Division 1: Political Thought and Philosophy

Individual Presentations

• Hannah Arendt and Representative Democracy: Revaluating the Notion of Consent - Lelde Luik, University of Tartu

• Majority as Compromise: An Alternative Account of Majoritarianism by Hans Kelsen - Ryosuke Amiya-Nakada, Tsuda University

• Political Vanguardism and Democratic Representation: From Saint-Simon to Blanqui - William Cameron, Cornell University