May 20, 2026

Hugo Drochon, "Elites and Democracy" (Princeton UP, 2026)

1 hour 4 minutes

A central paradox of democracies is that they are always ruled by

elites. What can democracy mean in this context? Today, it is often said

that a populist revolt against elites is driving democratic politics

throughout the West. But in Elites and Democracy (Princeton

University Press, 2026), Hugo Drochon argues that democracy is more

accurately and usefully understood as a perpetual struggle among

competing elites—between rising elites and ruling elites. Real political

change comes from the interaction between social movements and elite

political institutions such as parties. But, although true democracy—the

rule of the people—may never be achieved, striving towards it can bring

about worthwhile democratic results.

At the turn of the twentieth century, Gaetano Mosca, Vilfredo Pareto,

and Robert Michels put forward “elite” theories of democracy and gave us

terms such as the “ruling class” and “elites” itself. Drawing on their

work and tracing the history of democratic thought through figures such

as Joseph Schumpeter, Robert Dahl, C. Wright Mills, and Raymond Aron, Elites and Democracy reveals that this fundamentally elitist basis of democracy—democracy understood as competition between elites—was there all along. The challenge is to think it anew.

Moving away from procedural or principled conceptions of democracy, Elites and Democracy develops a dynamic theory of democracy, one grounded in movement. With current politics defined by a populist backlash against elites, dynamic democracy offers the tools we urgently need to understand our contemporary predicament and to act upon it.

Hugo Drochon is an Associate Professor in Political Theory at the

University of Nottingham. He is a historian of modern political thought,

with interests in Nietzsche's politics.

Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th- and 19th-century British Literature.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/european-studies

...more