The Malaise of Democracy: On the disconnection of political deliberation and representation

In this article, I will show that without reviewing the link that connects representatives and constituencies, strategic calculations end up prevailing and consuming all the stuff politics is made of. I argue that without matching strategic and communicative orientations at the fundamental level of constituencies, democracy will continue deprived of the resources it needs to live up to the ideal standards of its realization. Following this line of reasoning, I take issue with what is an article of faith in democratic politics, the secrecy of ballots. I claim that, together with other institutional changes, citizens' capacities would become replenished by abolishing such secrecy. I address potential objections to such remedy in the context of a discussion about the public use of reason and the notion of democratic culture.