In the shadow of the Leviathan: political representation in party democracy

Abstract

This article explores the possility of understanding the crisis of contemporary democracy in light of the challenges posed by the Hobbesian concept of representation. Through a methodological and substantive dialogue with the work of Giuseppe Duso, we will analyze the evolution of modern representation based on the dialectic between conceptual and political order. Starting with Hobbes, and taking into account the divergences among Elements, De Cive, and Leviathan, we will show how his logic permeates modern constitutions, displacing medieval representation, but it is inverted—or even dissolved—with the goverment of public opinion in the early 19th century, the emergence of mass parties, and the constitutionalization of multiparty systems after World War II. In all these moments, however, we remain within the conceptual horizon of political modernity, where the reference of representation to an ideal unity and the prohibition of the imperative mandate are unquestionable elements. Based on a conceptual clarification of the current crisis and on the above background, we will conclude that the issue is not so much about locating the genesis of the concept of representation in the Leviathan, but rather about recognizing that, insofar as we remain modern, Hobbes is—still today—a lurking specter.