Dysfunctional democracy vs. direct representation

Abstract

The challenge democratic politics face at the moment is not how to preserve its pristine stability from radical disturbance, but how to salvage its most fundamental norms from the prevalent drift towards authoritarianism, populism and xenophobia. If there is to be an effective salvage operation, democracies must be open to radical reconfiguration ‐ perhaps even re-invention. To realize this opportunity, however, entails confronting the fundamental mismatch that exists between governmental logic and the increasingly embedded practices of socially networked citizens. This entails drawing upon the fullest range of interactive features of the current media ecology in order to establish a permanent and ongoing conversation between representatives and the citizens they represent, while at the same time facilitating lateral interaction between citizens and between decision-making institutions and those most likely to be affected by their decisions.