Research within the field of political science notes recent challenges to political representation. For example, the focus has been on how populism, stealth democracy and direct forms of representation challenge more traditional models of political representation, in particular what is referred to as the party-model of political representation.
More recently, however, researchers have begun to focus on another possible challenge: technocracy. Technocracy often moves under the radar. Until recently there has been little attempt to document or to assess the presence of technocracy (among elites and citizens). While at the same time, unlike, for example, populism, there are no technocratic parties or movements per se.
In this session, the presentations will focus on two aspects of technocracy: the role of technocracy in international organizations and the extent to which technocracy, or technocratic attitudes, can be found among citizens. The presentations will examine the challenges that technocracy possess in relation to questions of political representation and the larger implications for liberal democracy.