The conflict between presidential unity and parliamentary multiplicity in Weberian democracy

Abstract

Th is paper aims to discuss the confl ict between two fundamental institutions of modern democracy, according to the German thinker Max Weber (1864–1920): the plebiscitary president — representative of national unity — and the representative parliament — the expression of the multiplicity of interests within the political body. Taken in isolation, unity take the risk of suppressing dissent, while multiplicity may lead to the fragmentation of the whole into independent and disconnected parts. Therefore, a possible proposal, based on Weber’s writings, is a constitutional system of government grounded in the principle of checks and balances.