Power and Democracy – Rivista internazionale di Politica, Filosofia e Diritto è una pubblicazione scientifica on-line, a carattere semestrale, peer-reviewed e open access. La Rivista è inclusa nell'elenco ANVUR delle Riviste scientifiche dell'Area 12 - Scienze giuridiche e dell'Area 14 - Scienze politiche e sociali.
Tocqueville-Acton Centro Studi e Ricerche
La sostenibilità della democrazia tra istanze liberali e rivendicazioni sovraniste
In terms of concrete political options, Western democratic regimes today find themselves caught in a highly polarized field of tension: on the one hand, the ideal and founding inspirations expressed in their own liberal-constitutional framework; on the other, the advancement, both on the sides of political supply and demand, of sovereignist tendencies. These latter, in particular, aim to turn back the hands of history, or to propose new forms of civil coexistence where the principle of sovereignty could operate in an absolute and dis-intermediated manner, at the national as well as supranational level. The strategies adopted to govern this impasse have attempted a conciliation of this dialectic into a political synthesis proposing sometimes new forms of paternalism. They ultimately remove all sense of responsibility from the political community. Consequently, the most tangible forthcoming danger is the transformation of dissatisfied, but sovereign, citizens into satisfied subjects of a sovereign increasingly present in their lives. This article, following a political theory approach, tries first to highlight how difficult it is to reconcile the claims emerging “from below” with the solutions often proposed “from above”. Then, it analyses such trends into a framework that respects the foundations on which Western political communities have erected their institutions to safeguard those principles of freedom and equality so laboriously affirmed in the long journey of the democratic idea.
Copyright (c) 2026 Power and Democracy https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
John Hallowell, il liberalismo e la democrazia
John H. Hallowell (1913-1991) has been a major American political theorist of the twentieth century. He is usually regarded as a conservative, but throughout his intellectual work he showed a deep classical liberal afflatus. After a brief introduction to the thinker and his main intellectual influences, this article attempts to give an overview of his ideas on liberalism and democracy, by looking at his books and his most important articles and reviews. It also attempts to show how and why Hallowell was completely convinced of the moral and spiritual crisis of the West. Finally, it presents the Christian vision that Hallowell advocated as a remedy for the Western cultural and spiritual crisis.
Populism, lacking a unified and universal theoretical manifesto, cannot be considered a structured political ideology. As a result, retrospective analysis is the only viable method for researchers. Thus, most scholars tend to attribute the rise of (neo)populist politics entirely to the socio-economic transformations that have structurally affected liberal political systems. While these factors are undeniably crucial, if we focus only on them, we could risk to carry out partial analyses. Therefore, a long-term analytical perspective is necessary to deepen our understanding of populism. In the same way, it is also essential to employ interpretative categories from the history of political thought. Through this investigation, I propose to locate populism within the broader history of the evolution of popular sovereignty. While populism is undeniably a unique phenomenon shaped by its historical context, emphasizing its specificities without recognizing its historical and theoretical antecedents could be a mistake. By distinguishing between monist and pluralist conceptions of sovereignty, my analysis shows how populism reflects the ongoing tension between the recognition and the limitation of popular sovereignty, a tension present since the seminal theorizations conducted by Rousseau and Madison.
The first aim of this article is to retrace a strand of the debate that has emerged in recent years concerning the possibility of defining a form of democracy without liberalism and without political mediation. Particular attention is devoted to the theoretical and conceptual difficulties of such a hypothesis, which have been further intensified by a rapidly changing international context, the pervasive use of social media, and, more recently, the growing influence of artificial intelligence systems. The second aim is to advance some preliminary hypotheses toward the construction of a theoretical synthesis capable of offering an “update” to democratic theory. Rather than overcoming the liberal legacies that have shaped democracy or abandoning the foundational structures of political mediation, the article seeks to situate them within a broader framework that takes ongoing transformations seriously. This framework engages with contemporary debates commonly captured by the notions of post-liberalism and post-representation. To this end, the article revisits the classical concept of liberal elitism, arguing that any such theoretical proposal – here only sketched – cannot neglect the role and function of political elites.
The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism, Forty Years Later
This contribution proposes a rereading of the crucial issues of the best-known work of the American theologian, philosopher and political scientist Michael Novak, The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism, forty years after its first publication. Halfway between the treatise on political economy and theological reflection on the economy, the 1982 text presents itself as a fundamental point of connection between the modern social doctrine of the Church and liberal thought. In particular, the Catholic dogma of the Trinity offers a model on the basis of which it is possible to understand the idea of system and individual that Novak elaborates and to recognize in the theology of democratic capitalism outlined by him the proposal of a political theology for liberal society.
Dal dogma alla casa di vetro: una introduzione al pensiero di Franco Mattei
Paraphrasing the title of one of his articles, the goal of Mattei’s production was to question the absolute truths of the time in the economic field, first of all the economic interventionism of the State, to re-propose the benefits of the free market and a liberal, flexible and non-dogmatic culture for Italy. Franco Mattei’s study is justified by the importance of the Savona economist in the economic-political landscape of the second post-war period, despite the fact that he was relatively unknown to the general public. His liberal and libertarian views in a predominantly diverse cultural and political environment in Italy make him a figure of interest. Through his combination of public engagement and technical expertise, Mattei’s contributions ranged from academic writings to practical interventions, shedding light on an alternative and ordoliberal perspective in Italy. His advocacy of a freer society and criticism of welfare and clientelistic practices further underscore his importance in the discourse on democracy and liberalism.
I poteri digitali nelle democrazie liberali: prospettive economico-costituzionali
The article examines the impact of digital powers on liberal democracies from an economic-constitutional perspective. It argues that constitutional democracy is grounded in a pluralist response to the problem of truth, understood not as adherence to absolute truths but as an open, discursive search for truth sustained by a specific political culture. Building on the interdependence between truth, culture, and constitutional order, the paper highlights how democratic capitalism – based on decentralized information flows and market competition – reflects this pluralist framework. The rise of digital platforms, however, introduces multidimensional private powers – economic, informational, and political – that risk undermining democratic processes and weakening liberal-democratic political culture. The article concludes that a constitutionally grounded, rights-driven regulatory approach – such as that pursued by the European Union – is necessary to contain digital power and preserve the pluralist foundations of liberal democracy.
Il connubio tra democrazia e liberalismo è ormai stabilmente sotto la lente dei ricercatori delle scienze sociali, soprattutto a causa di non poche tendenze che ne minacciano la stabilità. A causa delle diverse ondate di populismo, della crisi dei sistemi rappresentativi-elettivi, dei crescenti disequilibri tra le legittime logiche di mercato e una competizione regolata, che non escluda i più deboli, l’equilibrio tra principi democratici e principi liberali sembra messo fortemente in discussione.
LA REVISIONE DEI PREZZI NEL NUOVO CODICE DEI CONTRATTI PUBBLICI (D.LGS. 36/2023) ALLA LUCE DEL “CORRETTIVO”(D.LGS. 209/2024)
L’articolo opera dapprima una breve ricostruzione dell’evoluzione della disciplina codicistica previgente in materia di strumenti di compensazione e/o revisione dei prezzi nell’ambito degli appalti pubblici, per poi procedere all’analisi della norma attuale di cui all’art. 60 del D.lgs. 36/2023 (Codice dei contratti pubblici), come modificata dal c.d. “Correttivo” di cui al D.lgs. 209/2024, evidenziando i profili di sostanziale aderenza alla tradizione normativa preesistente, nonché i rilevanti elementi di discontinuità e innovazione che caratterizzano l’istituto attuale. Al riguardo, il contributo analizza anche il rapporto tra l’attuale istituto della revisione dei prezzi e il principio generale contenuto nell’art. 9 del Codice dei contratti pubblici che trae origine dalla c.d. hardhip clause propria del diritto internazionale privato, trovando la sua codificazione a seguito della nota Relazione Tematica n. 56 dell’8 luglio 2020 della Suprema Corte di cassazione con cui, a fronte dell’emergenza pandemica, è stata assunta, facendo leva sul canone della buona fede nella fase esecutiva del contratto (art. 1375 c.c.), una visione che sostituisca la logica del contratto “statico e blindato” con quella della leale collaborazione tra le parti, tesa a superare le sopravvenienze che incidono sull’equilibrio contrattuale.
L’ACCORDO DI COLLABORAZIONEDI CUI ALL’ARTICOLO 82-BIS DEL D.LGS. N. 36/2023
L’articolo offre un preliminare commento e analisi dell’istituto dell’accordo di collaborazione, e relativa disciplina, introdotto per la prima volta nell’ordinamento giuridico nazionale, quale innovazione recepita da alcune prassi di derivazione internazionale, dal decreto correttivo al codice dei contratti pubblici, in vigore dal 31 dicembre 2024, che ha disposto l’inserimento di un nuovo articolo (82-bis) e di un nuovo allegato (II.6-bis) nel testo del codice dei contratti pubblici. Il contributo si sofferma sull’inquadramento e sulla disciplina del nuovo istituto, offrendo alcuni preliminari spunti riflessivi a distanza di sei mesi dalla sua avvenuta introduzione.
Copyright (c) 2024 Power and Democracy https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
L’IMPATTO DEL CONFLITTO RUSSO-UCRAINO NELLA REGIONE ARTICA
For over three decades, the Arctic region has stood out as a space of pragmatic cooperation between Russia and Western States, maintaining institutional stability despite broader geopolitical rivalries. The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, has profoundly disrupted this equilibrium, triggering the suspension of the Arctic Council’s activities and interrupting long-standing scientifi c and diplomatic collaboration. At the same time, Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO has reshaped the regional security architecture, further isolating Russia and accelerating a militarization process already underway. Moreover, the confl ict has intensifi ed the use of hybrid warfare tactics and heightened the strategic interests of non-Arctic powers, particularly China, introducing new variables into an increasingly complex regional framework. Against this backdrop, this study examines the Arctic not only as a paradigmatic case for assessing the geopolitical consequences of the Russo-Ukrainian war in a traditionally cooperative region but also, in a broader perspective, as a privileged laboratory for analyzing structural vulnerabilities exacerbated by the confl ict and exploring potential strategies for their mitigation.
THE ‘ILLIBERAL TURN’AND EU’S FOREIGN POLICY: A TENTATIVE ANALYSIS
The paper analyzes the impact of the “illiberal turn” on the European Union’s (EU) foreign policy. It examines how the rise of illiberal governments in Europe, particularly in Hungary and Poland, challenges the EU’s role as a promoter of democracy. Using a liberal intergovernmentalist framework, the study explores how illiberal actors influence EU decision-making, weaken democracy promotion tools, and erode the EU’s normative power. The paper concludes by assessing the implications for the EU’s global influence and internal cohesion.
“L’OMBRA” DEL DOLORE NELLA FILOSOFIA DEL DIRITTO DI ALESSANDRO LEVI
The aim of this paper is to show the role of pain in Alessandro Levi’s philosophy of law. Levi, Roberto Ardigò’s scholar, studied in Padua and was a member of the last generation of positivists that experienced the crisis of the movement itself. With the raise of neo-idealism, positivism waned in Italy, nevertheless its exponents continued to contribute with their studies and works to the advancement of Italian culture. During his scientific production, Levi highlighted the role of pain in our legal and political construction and also stressed out its importance in human relationships. According to him, pain is the most important phenomenon in psychology and plays a crucial role in the society’s construction during the centuries
Per gli studi politici, quella del populismo si è negli anni rivelata una trappola concettuale. In questo, non fanno eccezione le teorie egemonico-discorsive concentratisi su di un’altra trappola concettuale: il populismo di sinistra; teorie, stimolate dal lavoro di Ernesto Laclau, che comunemente al mainstream fenomenologico sembrano infatti esporsi a non poche critiche, in gran parte derivanti dal ricorso ad obiettivi analitici esclusivamente descrittivi. Il contributo analizza la tesi egemonico-discorsiva sul populismo di sinistra per discuterne criticamente alcuni approdi, i quali, forse, sono andati ben oltre le intenzioni del filosofo argentino. L’argomentazione parte dalla adozione di una diversa concezione di populismo, strutturalista e di status politics, attraverso cui è possibile evidenziare le principali ambiguità legate al concetto di populismo di sinistra. Concepito, infatti, come dispositivo politico della reazione alla marginalità dentro il sistema neoliberale, il populismo porta in sé, per caratteristiche di domanda e offerta, una natura strutturalmente di destra, perché conferisce forma ad un progetto di mobilitazione del risentimento sociale escludente (anti-immigrazione), antiestablishment e nativista-tradizionalista che non contesta, a differenza della sinistra politica, il sistema neoliberale in sé ma solo i suoi effetti in termini di deprivazione di status.
DOPO LA “FINE DELLA STORIA”. IL TEMA DELL’IDENTITÀ IN FRANCIS FUKUYAMA
The central themes of Francis Fukuyama’s latest books are the challanges that the liberal-democratic model he celebrated in The End of History and the Last Man (1992) has to face. The question of identity politics appears to be one of the most urgent issues and is one of the themes to which Fukuyama devotes the most attention, particularly in the works Identity (2018) and Liberalism and Its Discontents (2022). This focus shows a shift in a more realistic sense compared to the celebratory style used in The End of History. This realist note and the attention to the challenges posed to liberal democracies brings him closer, in terms of sensitivity, to his intellectual adversary and mentor Samuel P. Huntington. The Fukuyama of recent years therefore shows that he is coming to terms with his own work of the early years and with the legacy of his adversary-mentor Samuel Huntington.
Copyright (c) 2025 Power and Democracy https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
IDENTITÀ E ITERAZIONI DEMOCRATICHE IN SEYLA BENHABIB.VERSO UN ALTRO COSMOPOLITISMO?
Since the end of the Twentieth century, the socio-cultural boundaries of political communities have been challenged, state sovereignty has been frayed and an intensification of antagonisms related to religious, ethnic and cultural issues has emerged. Within this framework, this paper intends to investigate whether the “democratic iterations” envisioned by Seyla Benhabib (2004) allow the “abstract” normativism of Rawls and Habermas to be overcome, without renouncing the foundations of their discourse ethics. Therefore, the contribution’s aim is to analyse how Benhabib’s proposal of a deliberative democracy opens to cultural integration and gender emancipation lets new processes of multicultural identity’s construction to begin, in view of a new model of cosmopolitan citizenship.
CULTURA DI DAVOS E DENAZIONALIZZAZIONE DELLE ÉLITE IN SAMUEL P. HUNTINGTON
As part of the ongoing debate on the rise and decline of the West, this essay analyzes the origin and development of Samuel P. Huntington’s critique of the idea of “universal civilization”, from The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (1996) to Who Are We? The Challenges to America’s National Identity (2004). The paper will focus on the concepts of “Davos Culture” and “Davos Man”, framing by Huntington, as well as the terms “cosmopolitan elites” versus “nationalist publics,” used by the author to describe the coming “global class warfare” of the 21st century.
L’IDENTITÀ CASTRISTA A CUBA COME TELEOLOGIA DELLA RIVOLUZIONE
In Cuba the study of national identity, from a political-social point of view, has a long history that accompanied the process of formation of the national state, in some cases very similar to the experiences of the rest of the new continent, especially the Hispanic, in other cases profoundly different due to the geographical proximity and the strong political interest of the United States. The long process of Cuban independence, started with the War of 1898 and continued through the controversial relationship with the United States, finds its singularity in the Castroist revolution and its political and cultural link.
SUL TEMA DELLE IDENTITÀ COLLETTIVE NELLA TEORIA POLITICA TRA VECCHIO E NUOVO SECOLO
This paper focuses on the debate on multiculturalism and collective identities and rights at the turn of the century. The author attempts to assess the role and significance of the legacy of that debate on the methodology of political theory today. He shares Bikhu Parekh’s idea that Western political theorists should be careful in distinguishing self-proclaimed universalism from disguised ethnocentrism.
POLITICA E AMMINISTRAZIONE IN UNA PROSPETTIVA DI EFFETTIVITÀ
The article is focused on the relationship between politics and public administration from an Italian perspective. The A. summarily analyses the institutional pattern and related institutional practices, starting from the enduring primacy of politics over administration, to the normative establishment in 1993 of a (formal) principle to distinguish politics and administration. Moreover, the article tries to look ahead at the necessary (substantive) equilibrium between politics and administration, which should be sought in order to remodel the public decision-making chain by making it oriented to administrative effectiveness.
ALLA RADICE DEL LIBERALISMO: DEVIAZIONI STORICHE E DIFFERENZE TRAIL SEME LIBERALE EUROPEO E IL LIBERALISMO AMERICANO
The paper analyzes, through the political approach, the historical and cultural perspectives of liberalism. What are the reasons that have led to such a clear distinction of the term liberalism in the European and contemporary world? We will see the seed of European liberalism and its “constructivist approach”, in which the fi rst defi nitions of liberalism are derived from the Nation-State of the modern era. Otherwise, in the American world, the refl ection has been less institutional and more visceral, linked to an “evolutionary” vision of society. During the 18th century, the fi rst major difference was established between the European Nation-States and the newborn USA: the liberalism of the former saw a top-down vision while the Americans a bottom-up vision.
LA CRISI DELLA DEMOCRAZIA LIBERALE: TECNO-SOVRANISMO E TECNO-POPULISMO IN PROSPETTIVA STORICA IN FRANCIA E IN ITALIA (1992-2022)
The concept of populism has played a central role in contemporary debate for several decades. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the transformation of liberal democracies - in historical perspective - in the experience of France and Italy, in light of the intertwining and hybridization of the concepts of populism, sovereignism, and technocracy.
GUERRA E PACE NELLA TEORIA POLITICA CONTEMPORANEA
The international principles developed over time are disregarded, but confirmed by the evidence of facts; the war, which became “a pieces", must now be managed across the board, with the involvement of those not directly involved, they have so far kept aloof; considering that globalization no longer allows the use of politics power. The essential task to which the West should therefore once again dedicating oneself is to narrating, explaining to public opinions the components and perspectives of the current international situation are disoriented. Proceeding from the sterile stability of the bipolarism it has ensured continental peace for over half a century, towards some form of international, multilateral, behavioral constitutionalism, essentially liberal.
LA VIA ISTITUZIONALE ALLA PACE:DON LUIGI STURZO TEORICODELLE RELAZIONI INTERNAZIONALI
The article aims to show the relevance and vitality of don Luigi Sturzo’s work as a theorist of international relations. In particular, the paper focuses on what could be described as the three institutional analyses of the question of war and peace discussed by Sturzo in his book The International Community and the Right of War (1929). Not only is it of great interest to examine the analysis contained in this text but, in the growing tensions between the United States, Russia, and China, some of the problems addressed by Sturzo are being raised again today and made even more dramatic by the war in Ukraine and in the Gaza Strip.
SEMPLIFICAZIONI PROCEDURALI E NUOVI CENTRALISMI IN MATERIA PAESAGGISTICA E AMBIENTALE
The analysis of the decision of the Council of State, Studies Office about landscape and building industry matters, leads to some refl ections on the legal framework on landscaping authorisation required under article 146 of Legislative Decree n. 42/2004. In particular, after a short excursus on landscape and its governance from organizational point of view, the article deals with the issue of the superintendent’s advice in this procedure, and what happens in case of his inertia. Legal and juridical interpretations on the matter are listed by the Council of State, and it represents the occasion to meditate upon the application of the simplifying remedy offered by the article 17 of the Administrative Procedure Act (Law n. 241/1990). The circumstance leads to a further critical analysis about the various changes introduced by the Recovery and Resilience Plan, with regards to the establishment of a super-Superintendent for the protection and valorisation policies of the landscape.
Copyright (c) 2023 Power and Democracy https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF PUBLIC AND CULTURAL DIPLOMACY: FROM NATION BRANDING TO CONFLICT RESOLUTION
The paper aims at providing a comprehensive view on the history and evolution of the practice of Public Diplomacy and Cultural Diplomacy over the last century. Through the analysis of case studies and existing literature, the paper traces the path from the born on Public Diplomacy, its evolution on Cultural Diplomacy and it use in Nation Branding activities. The paper has a special focus on the new concept of Cultural Diplomacy in Post-Confl ict Reconciliation programs, delinando the main characteristics, crucial and problematic aspects and possible future developments.
RAYMOND BOUDON: PER UNA RISCOPERTA DEL SOGGETTO NELLA DIMENSIONE DEL POLITICO E DEL SOCIALE
This short contribution aims to concentrate on the main guidelines which inspire the essays of Raymond Boudon recently published in Italian by Salvatore Abbruzzese. We will focus on the “Theory of ordinary rationality” and Boudon’s critical confrontation with sociological theories derived from “naturalism” and “structuralism”, especially with regard to the political implications.
This paper aims at showing that methodological Individualism and methodological Collectivism are alternative approaches for the explanation of social phenomena but there are different reasons (ontological, gnoseological, methodological and ethical-political) in favor of the individualistic method. The problem is not the use of collective concepts, but the ontological and epistemological status attributed to them: for individualists they are sets attributable to individual interactions, they constitute the habitat of intersubjective action and are explained as uninteded consequences of human actions; thereby recognizing man’s freedom and responsability.
In this article, I put forward some initial thoughts with a view to a deeper and wider work. They aim at showing how the problem of ‘telling the truth’ (parrêsia) remains open, especially if considered in connection with the ‘intellectual’, who may be understood both as the ‘parrhesiast’ and the ‘expert’. After showing the problematic aspects inherent to the notion of parrêsia, especially in its relationship with democracy, I will discuss the two above-mentioned figures of the intellectual, in the light of positions expressed by Michel Foucault, Edward Said and Paul Feyerabend. More generally, my point is to let some problematic, and controversial, aspects emerge concerning the contemporary relationships between democracy, power and ‘telling the truth’.
Un metodo tutt’altro che semplice. Democrazia e mediazione nella riflessione di Alcide De Gasperi
The aim of this paper is to explain the main points of the idea of (representative) democracy formulated by Alcide De Gasperi, few decades ago. At the heart of his reflection, there are the keys to understanding the constitutive elements of Italian parliamentary democracy, especially regarding the link between mediation and disintermediation. Through the focus on this relationship, this article shows that – with an unchanged institutional system – it is possible to have leaderships that favor political mediation and others that prefer disintermediation.