Abstract

Both the globalization of markets and the widespread instability of political representation have made the economic power quite independent of any democratic control. I argue that Claude Lefort's thought, mostly known for its anti-totalitarian engagement, is a valuable tool for studying the challenges that contemporary democracies face. In this paper I analyze Lefort's latest essays, in which he focuses on the relation between the incertitude of democracy and new forms of post-totalitarian power. This connection helps to identify one of the most pressing risks that democracies currently face. The risk involves the empty place of political power, which democracy is supposed to defend from new attempts of appropriation.