Ideal and Real Democracy in Hans Kelsen’s Political Work (1918–1955)

This chapter addresses Kelsen’s democratic theory through the distinction that he established between ideal and real democracy. Starting from a reconceptualisation of Rousseau’s definition of democracy as full political self-determination, Kelsen negated the feasibility of ideal democracy as direct democracy while stating that heteronomy was impossible to overcome. Kelsen thus posed the problem of how heteronomy and freedom were reconciled in real democracy. By differentiating between the ideal and real significance of concepts such as the people and parliamentarism, Kelsen argued that such a reconciliation was made possible in the form of a ‘government by’ the people, based on freedom rights, parliamentarism, political party pluralism and respect of the minority. The chapter also shows how Kelsen critically addressed a series of political projects, movements and figures, from Lenin to Neo-jusnaturalism, passing through the supporters of corporative representation. Kelsen retained that their common objective to go beyond what he meant by real democracy was destined to create a political system characterised by heteronomy without freedom. In this respect, Kelsen developed a theory of democracy that was both a theory on how freedom and heteronomy could be reconciled and a defence of democracy against ideologically and politically connotated targets.