Table Of ContentCounter-Democracy
Democracyisestablishedasagenerallyuncontestedideal,whileregimes
inspiredbythisformofgovernmentfallunderconstantcriticism–hence
thesteadyerosionofconfidenceinrepresentativesthathasbecome
oneofthemajorpoliticalissuesofourtime.Amidstthesechallenges,
theparadoxremainsthat,whilecitizensarelesslikelytomakethetripto
theballotbox,theworldisfarfromenteringaphaseofgeneralpolitical
apathy.Demonstrationsandactivismaboundinthestreets,incities
acrosstheglobe,andontheinternet.PierreRosanvallonanalyzesthe
mechanismsusedtoregisteracitizen’sexpressionofconfidence
ordistrust,andthenfocusesontherolethatdistrustplaysindemocracy
frombothahistoricalandtheoreticalperspective.Thisradicalshiftin
perspectiveuncoversaseriesofpractices–surveillance,prevention,and
judgment–throughwhichsocietycorrectsandexertspressure.The
SeeleyLecturesareestablishedasauniqueforumtopromotethefinest
politicalthoughtofourtime,andCounter-Democracyisapowerful
andprovocativeadditiontothisdistinguishedseries.
pierre rosanvallon isProfessorandChairofModernand
ContemporaryPoliticalHistoryattheCollègedeFrance.Heisalso
professorattheÉcoledesHautesÉtudesenSciencesSocialesaswellas
thePresidentoftheinternationalintellectualworkshop“LaRépublique
desidées.”
arthur goldhammer,atranslatorspecializinginFrenchhistory,
literature,philosophy,andsocialscience,hastranslatedmorethana
hundredworksbymanyofFrance’smostnotedauthors.Heisonthe
editorialboardofthejournalFrenchPolitics,CultureandSociety,and
in1996wasnamedChevalierdel’OrdredesArtsetdesLettresbythe
FrenchMinisterofCulture.
TheJohnRobertSeeleyLectureshavebeenestablishedbytheUniversity
ofCambridgeasabienniallectureseriesinsocialandpoliticalstudies,
sponsoredjointlybytheFacultyofHistoryandtheUniversityPress.
TheSeeleyLecturesprovideauniqueforumfordistinguishedscholars
ofinternationalreputationtoaddress,inanaccessiblemanner,themes
ofbroadandtopicalinterestinsocialandpoliticalstudies.Subsequent
totheirpublicdeliveryinCambridgetheUniversityPresspublishes
suitablymodifiedversionsofeachsetoflectures.ProfessorJamesTully
deliveredtheinauguralseriesofSeeleyLecturesin1994onthethemeof
ConstitutionalisminanAgeofDiversity.
TheSeeleyLecturesinclude
(1) StrangeMultiplicity:ConstitutionalisminanAgeofDiversity
jamestully
isbn9780521476942(paperback)
Published1995
(2) TheDignityofLegislation
jeremywaldron
isbn9780521650922(hardback)9780521658836(paperback)
Published1999
(3) WomanandHumanDevelopment:TheCapabilitiesApproach
marthanussbaum
isbn9780521660860(hardback)9780521003858(paperback)
Published2000
(4) Value,RespectandAttachment
josephraz
isbn9780521801805(hardback)9780521000222(paperback)
Published2001
(5) TheRightsofOthers:Aliens,Residents,andCitizens
seylabenhabib
isbn 9780521831345(hardback)9780521538602(paperback)
Published2004
(6) LawsofFear:BeyondthePrecautionaryPrinciple
cassr.sunstein
isbn 9780521848237(hardback)9780521615129(paperback)
Published2005
(7) Counter-Democracy:PoliticsinanAgeofDistrust
pierrerosanvallon
isbn 9780521886222(hardback)9780521713832(paperback)
COUNTER-DEMOCRACY
Politics in an Age of Distrust
PIERRE ROSANVALLON
CollègedeFrance
Translatedby
ARTHUR GOLDHAMMER
HarvardUniversity
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown,Singapore,SãoPaulo,Delhi
CambridgeUniversityPress
TheEdinburghBuilding,Cambridgecb28ru,UK
PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9780521713832
OriginallypublishedinFrenchasLacontre-démocratiebyÉditionsduSeuil2006and
©ÉditionsduSeuil,Paris.FirstpublishedinEnglishbyCambridgeUniversityPress
2008asCounter-Democracy.Englishversion©CambridgeUniversityPress2008.
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithout
thewrittenpermissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2008
PrintedintheUnitedKingdomattheUniversityPress,Cambridge
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Rosanvallon,Pierre,1948–
[Contre-dimocratie.English]
Counter-democracy:politicsintheageofdistrust/PierreRosanvallon;translated
byArthurGoldhammer.
p. cm.–(TheSeeleylectures;7)
Includesbibliographicalreferences.
isbn978-0-521-88622-2(hbk.)–isbn978-0-521-71383-2(pbk.)
1. Democracy. 2. Legitimacyofgovernments. 3. Politicalparticipation.
I. Title.
jc423.r616813 2008
321.8–dc22
2008036970
isbn978-0-521-88622-2hardback
isbn978-0-521-71383-2paperback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityfor
thepersistenceoraccuracyofURLsforexternalor
third-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhisbook,
anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuch
websitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate.
contents
ForewordbyGarethStedmanJones [ix]
Introduction [1]
Part1 Overseeingdemocracy [29]
1 Vigilance,denunciation,evaluation [33]
2 Theoverseers [57]
3 Thethreadofhistory [76]
4 Legitimacyconflicts [104]
Part2 Thesovereigntyofprevention [121]
5 Fromtherightofresistancetocomplex
sovereignty [125]
6 Self-criticaldemocracies [150]
7 Negativepolitics [173]
Part3 Thepeopleasjudge [191]
8 Historicalreferences [195]
9 Almostlegislators [214]
10 Thepreferenceforjudgment [227]
vii
contents
Part4 Unpoliticaldemocracy [249]
11 Thesenseofpowerlessnessandsymbolsof
depoliticization [253]
12 Thepopulisttemptation [265]
13 Lessonsofunpoliticaleconomy [274]
14 Conclusion:themodernmixedregime [290]
Index [319]
viii
foreword
This book is based upon the Seeley Lectures delivered in
Cambridge in 2006. Pierre Rosanvallon, who is a Professor,
bothattheCollègedeFranceandattheRaymondAronCentre
forPoliticalResearchinParis,hasattractedmuchattentionin
Franceandelsewhereforhisworkontheintellectualhistoryof
French politics since the Revolution, on contemporary ques-
tions of social justice, and on the definition and trajectory of
modern democracy. His historical studies of French politics,
incorporating a fundamental and pioneering re-evaluation
of French liberalism, include Le Moment Guizot (1985). His
examination of contemporary problems of social justice is
most powerfully represented by La Nouvelle Question sociale:
Repenser L’État-providence (1995), which was translated into
English in 2000 as The New Social Question: Rethinking the
WelfareState.Histhirdareaofconcern,workmostrelevantto
the present volume, has focused upon the intellectual history
of democracy in France. This has been published as a trilogy:
Le Sacre du citoyen: Histoire du suffrage universel en France
(1992); Le Peuple introuvable: Histoire de la représentation
démocratiqueen France(1998);andLaDémocratieinachevée:
HistoiredelasouverainetédupeupleenFrance(2000).
Rosanvallon believes that there are significant differ-
encesbetweenAmericanandEuropeanconceptionsofdemo-
cracy,datingbacktothesecondhalfofthenineteenthcentury.
In the United States, democracy has been viewed from a
ix
