Is populism a threat to democracy? And aren’t technocracy and elitism also threats to democracy? Is there a trade-off between the competence and representativeness of politicians? The lecture tries to address these questions of paramount importance for contemporary democratic systems by using the experience of the 5 Star Movement in the Italian parliament as a case study. It shows that the 5 Star parliamentary group is socio-economically much more similar to the Italian population than other political parties. It also shows that inclusiveness is not associated with below-average legislative performance.  

Valentino Larcinese (@vlarcinese) is Professor in Public Policy, Department of Government, LSE.

Oriana Bandiera (@orianabandiera) is Professor of Economics and Director of STICERD, LSE.

The Department of Government (@LSEGovernment) is home to some of the most internationally respected experts in politics and government; producing influential research that has a global impact on policy, and delivering world-class teaching to our students.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEDemocracy

Podcast & Slides 

A podcast of this event is available to download from Saving Democracy from Politicians. Do We Need Professional Representatives?

Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel.

A copy of the Powerpoint slides used by Valentino Larcinese are available to download from Saving Democracy from Politicians. Do We Need Professional Representatives? (pdf)