From the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 to the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, the ‘liberal’ aspect of democracy has been characterised by scepticism towards unregulated, unrestricted popular power: Whilst the law is to derive from the people, the people must never be allowed to determine everything on their own; democratic power must be shared, and fundamental rights, in particular, should largely be removed from the people’s control. No fusion of liberalism and democracy, however it may be constitutionally structured, can escape this tension arising from the affirmation of popular sovereignty and the simultaneous mistrust of it. Populist movements exploit this rift running through liberal democracy, claiming that ‘true democracy’ requires no liberal (‘elitist’) restrictions. Conversely, critics of populism tend to overemphasise the liberal aspect of democracy or even entertain the idea of scaling back democratic participation, having lost faith in the rationality of the masses. In an almost tragic dynamic, liberal democracy runs the risk of being torn apart. It is therefore crucial to assess the potential for democratic innovation that lies precisely in the conflictual nature of liberal democracy, and to build trust amongst citizens pulling in opposite directions within this unique experiment.
A video recording of the lecture can be found here.