Technocratic Politics (Routledge Studies in Political Sociology)

This book considers the role of experts and expertise in contemporary politics and the ways in which digitalisation and the use of technique are transforming practices of governance.

Asking whether the Covid-19 crisis is likely to further advance or weaken these processes, it examines their impact on the future of democracy and urges rejection of the idea of technocracy as an alternative to politics. An examination of the relationship between social elites and technique, this volume highlights the threat posed to representative democracy of this fundamental mechanism of governance in the global world and reflects upon new forms of the political-economic regime.

It is important reading for scholars of sociology and politics with interests in questions of power, governance, and representation.

Francesco Antonelli is Professor of General Sociology in the Department of Political Sciences at the Università degli Studi "Roma Tre", Italy. He is also the Coordinator of the HORIZON2020 Project "PARTICIPATION: Analyzing and Preventing Violent Extremism Via Participation" (2020–2023) and Secretary of the RC "Sociological Theory and Social Transformations" at the Italian Association of Sociology (AIS).