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Introduction
Drawing on the words of French dramatist Romain Rolland, Gramsci (1971, p. 175) famously wrote about 'pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will'. This renowned Marxist intellectual could be forgiven for an overwhelming sense of pessimism. He experienced, at first hand, Mussolini's fascist corrosion of the moral and political fabric of Italian society. He also witnessed the spectre of resignation and ready compliance of the subaltern masses. In fact, throughout his prison writings, Gramsci wrestled with the demands of the intellect and those of the will (Almeida Rodríguez, 2010).
There is a similar tension between pessimism and optimism running through Mark Bevir's most recent book, except the intellectual apprehension on display is not so much directed at the state of the downtrodden proletariat but the modern democratic polity. From my reading, Bevir's Democratic Governance wrestles between a pessimistic concern about the condition of today's increasingly fragmented and unaccountable polity and an optimistic desire to see a more democratic tomorrow for governance. This article examines the chief sources of Bevir's pessimism. These concerns over the present state of democracy are set out in his theoretical approach to democratic governance. In this respect, Democratic Governance draws upon the Anglo-governance school associated with political scientists such as Rod Rhodes, Martin Smith, as well as Bevir himself. At the same time, he goes beyond Anglo-governance, offering a more philosophically informed and, dare I say it, pessimistic appreciation of governance, which I will term the Interpretive School of Governance. Before engaging with Bevir's pessimism, I will provide a general outline of his interpretative approach to governance.
From the Anglo-Governance to the Interpretive School of Governance
The starting position of Bevir's Democratic Governance is clear: the state has been transformed. It has been transformed from a centralised and highly bureaucratic structure to a fragmented, decentred and differentiated polity. In this respect, there is a clear affinity with the Anglo-governance approach. The Anglo-governance school has provided a distinct understanding of developments within the British polity. It forms a valuable alternative to the conventional 'Westminster model', with its view of politics as centred on the constitutional sovereignty of parliament and the executive. The argument that government is a unified institution is replaced by a more realistic appraisal of the state's...