La distanza democratica. Corpi intermedi e rappresentanza politica

[Autom. eng. transl.] In the constant debate on the transformations of democracy, the temptation to give shape to a new model of organization of power that does without mediation often re-emerges, so as to allow every citizen to be directly in contact with the political decision-maker. This book tries to problematically discuss this hypothesis, underlining how the distance between representatives and represented is an indispensable element for the functioning of democracy. The main objective is in fact to bring the attention of political theory back to the intermediate area between those who govern and those who are governed, starting from a reconstruction of the tortuous path of development and legitimation of intermediate bodies and from the discussion of the main theories of mediation (and disintermediation). A particular space will be reserved for "immediate democracy": an expression used in recent times to indicate a political model strongly influenced by the processes of disintermediation, which, in truth, has a long history behind it, intertwined with the development processes of democracy representative.