29/09/2026 Hoover Tuesdays "Against Illiberalism: A Hayekian Understanding of Current Deadlocks in Representative Assemblies"

The Hoover Chair Research Seminar by Christophe SENTE (Associate Researcher at Cevipol, ULB)

Hayek’s constitutional theory is valuable not only because it illuminates the current dysfunctions of liberal democracies, but because it offers a prescriptive framework for thinking beyond them. His defense of individual liberty leads him to advocate demarchy: an institutional innovation designed to protect the constitutional order from the short-term turbulence of party-driven politics. Yet Hayek’s proposal contains a significant blind spot. By grounding representation exclusively in individuals, he overlooks the democratic relevance of integrating enterprises and economic actors more directly into political institutions. Strengthening institutions that give voice to enterprises, professions, and organized civil society may offer a way to restore a durable nomos within liberal democracies.