Democracy between Theory and Practice: Giovanni Sartori’s Legacy

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Session Description

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Giovanni Sartori’s birth. A realist yet normative thinker, Sartori defended the value of political theory and sought to bridge the gap between normative and empirical studies of democracy. His work left an important legacy not only in his native Italy, but also in the United States and in Latin America. In this roundtable, we critically engage with Sartori’s work and discuss its impact on current debates about democracy. How has the academic debate evolved since the publication of Sartori’s Democratic Theory in 1962? Have we been able to achieve Sartori’s goal of narrowing the gap between normative and empirical approaches to democracy? Further, how is this goal affected by the so-called crisis of democracy and representation? How can normative democratic theory respond to the challenges imposed by democratic erosion, backsliding, and populism? Should it insist on traditional democratic institutions such as free and fair elections, party competition, and alternation, or rather propose alternative ones, such as lotteries and local assemblies?

Sub Unit

• Division 2: Foundations of Political Theory

Chair

• Nicole Peisajovich Columbia University

Presenters

• Nadia Urbinati Columbia University

• Maria Paula Saffon UNAM

• Natasha Piano UCLA

• Carla Yumatle David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies

• Andrew Sabl University of Toronto

• Hugo Drochon University of Nottingham

• Enrique Peruzzotti Universidad Torcuato Di Tella