Popolo ma non troppo. Il malinteso democratico Yves Mény, Bologna: Il Mulino, 2019. 210p., €15 (paperback)

Abstract

Over the past two decades, probably no topic in the field of political science has received as much attention as contemporary populism. From general theoretical essays, to contributions on populist parties, especially in European political systems, as well as studies focusing on populist leadership, communication or style, we now have impressive literature devoted to the description and interpretation of this phenomenon. Yves Mény, former lecturer at SciencesPo and President of the European University Institute in Florence and then of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa, has in fact inaugurated this prolific line of research by publishing, together with Yves Surel, Par le peuple, pour le peuple. Le populisme et les démocraties (Paris, Fayard, 2000), a milestone text for the scientific study of populism. In short, the latter suggested that the causes of the ‘populist mobilization’ affecting European democracies should be sought in the factors that shaped their construction after World War II, especially in the ‘imbalance’ between the ‘constitutional’ (rule of law, checks and balances) and the ‘popular’ (popular sovereignty lightened by the principle of representation) pillars. Popolo ma non troppo can be seen both as a reprise and an extension of this general reasoning, mainly focused on democracies themselves: indeed, the study does not start from the observation of the success of populist parties and movements, in order to then simply search for the explanatory factors in the structural characteristics of democratic regimes. Rather, the analytical trajectory set out by Mény aims first of all to specify the developments (historical, socio-economic, political) that have forged the ‘democratic bricolage’ (Chap. 2), emphasizing the hybrid character of the political systems that, in both Europe and the United States, have gradually replaced the ancien régime. The structure of the book fully reflects this research agenda. From the point of view of the topics addressed, it can be roughly divided into two parts. The first (Chapters 1–4) portrays the stages that marked the advent of mass democracy, particularly the differentiation of two paths of integration of the ‘people’ – a concept that is polysemic by nature – in the democratic project, a perennial ‘work in progress’. The path typical of the Anglo-American systems could be defined as ‘realist-pragmatic’. Here, the ‘people’ means a collection of citizens and social groups, who must be guaranteed the freedom to pursue their legitimate interests and exercise their rights, including sovereignty. These actions lead to accentuated social and political competition. Instead, the ‘Franco-continental’ path constitutionalizes the ‘abstract’ myth of the (sovereign) people, which, at a certain point in history, the convenience of the political elites will conduct to identify as a ‘nation’. This second development confers inalienable rights on the people but severely limits their actual exercise, thus creating a ‘gap’ between the solemn proclamation of the principle of popular sovereignty and its practical realization – the French and Italian constitutions show emblematic illustrations of this evolution. In the countries where the Franco-continental path has reached more advanced levels, the gap thus created between the mythical image of the