Democracy Disfigured Democracy Disfigured OPINION, TRUTH, AND THE PEOPLE Nadia Urbinati Cambridge, Massachusetts London, En gland 2014 Copyright © 2014 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Urbinati, Nadia, 1955– Democracy disfi gured : opinion, truth, and the people / Nadia Urbinati. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978- 0- 674- 72513- 3 (alk. paper) 1. Democracy. 2. Democracy— Public opinion. 3. Pop u lism. I. Title. JC423.U774 2014 321.8—dc23 2013014795 To my students CONTENTS Introduction 1 1 Democracy’s Diarchy 16 2 Unpo liti cal Democracy 81 3 The Populist Power 128 4 The Plebiscite of the Audience and the Politics of Passivity 171 Conclusion 228 Notes 243 Ac know ledg ments 299 Index 301 Democracy Disfigured