How to Have Politics Without Politicians

How to Have Politics Without Politicians

From Foreign Policy Live by Foreign Policy

March 18, 2026 · 46 min

About this episode

Hélène Landemore discusses her radical proposal to replace politicians with assemblies of ordinary citizens as a solution to the crisis in democracy.

It’s no secret that democracy is in trouble. Studies show that a growing number of countries are less free, and polls suggest ordinary citizens are losing faith in their governments. What can be done to fix this? Hélène Landemore has a radical solution: to get rid of politicians and electoral politics and instead create assemblies of ordinary citizens. She explores this concept in her new book, Politics Without Politicians: The Case for Citizen Rule, and joins FP Live to interrogate the idea. Hélène Landemore: The Problem With Representative Democracy Nicholas Bequelin: The Age of Defensive Democracy Hélène Landemore: More Power to More People Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Guest: Hélène Landemore

Topics covered

  • democracy
  • citizen assemblies
  • political reform
  • ordinary citizens
  • politicians
  • government trust

Keywords

  • democracy
  • politicians
  • citizen rule
  • political assemblies
  • government trust
  • political reform

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Politics Without Politicians: The Case for Citizen Rule

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