Democracy in a “Post-national State”?
The contemporary scene witnesses the ideological weakening of nation-states through two processes which, far from being opposed, are closely intertwined: the economic globalization and the identitary response. Hence, the republican thinkers’ retreat to the necessary form of “national identity”, only possible ground of democracy as collective self-determination against the perils of liberalism and communitarianism. However, contrary to the “procedural” view logically entailed by a “society of individuals”, democracy is to be understood as based on a world of common meanings, social and historical conditions of a prevalent value given to the individual. The “modern communities” are nothing but “collective individuals”, a juxtaposition of members endowed with identical characteristics. To the contrary, the unconcealement of the holistic foundations in every society allows us to understand the role of nation-state, not only as a figure of modern collective membership, but also as an openness to the precedence of social institution of meaning.