A3 Book section, Chapters in research books
Max Weber on parliamentarism and democracy (2023)

Palonen, K. (2023). Max Weber on parliamentarism and democracy. In A. Sica (Ed.), The Routledge International Handbook on Max Weber (pp. 432-445). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003089537-40

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Palonen, Kari

Parent publication: The Routledge International Handbook on Max Weber

Parent publication editors: Sica, Alan

ISBN: 978-0-367-54506-2

eISBN: 978-1-003-08953-7

Publication year: 2023

Publication date: 20/09/2022

Pages range: 432-445

Number of pages in the book: 500

Publisher: Routledge

Place of Publication: London

Publication country: United Kingdom

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003089537-40

Publication open access: Not open

Publication channel open access: 

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/90865

Abstract

Democracy and parliamentarism have different and partly opposed histories. In Britain parliamentary government preceded the democratisation of the suffrage, in Germany the Reichstag was elected with manhood suffrage but parliamentarism was suspicious. During the early years of the 20th century several attempts to parliamentarise the government were made, although the federal structure and the Prussian domination within it made them difficult. In this political context Max Weber was among the few German academics who supported both, as counterweights to the universal tendency towards bureaucratisation. The chapter provides a historical account of Weber’s writings dealing with the conceptualisation and evaluation of parliamentary and democratic aspects of politics as well as their mutual relationships. Both concepts are mentioned in Weber’s early writings and correspondence, discussed more consistently in the first decade of the 20th century but become a main topic in his war-time publications, in particular in the books on suffrage and parliamentarism as well as in some of his post-war writings.

Keywords: parliamentarism; democracy; politics; political systems; right to vote; concepts (notions); political theory; political history

Free keywords: Weber, Max

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

Reporting Year: 2023

Preliminary JUFO rating: 3