Alexandre Viala – Democracy put to the test of knowledge: a reflection on epistocracy

With his latest work recently published by Dalloz, “Should we abandon power to the scientists? The temptation of epistocracy”, Professor Alexandre Viala questions the foundations of contemporary democracy in the light of an ancient concept which dates back to Plato, but which is today relaunched by the geopolitical challenges attributable to the worrying rise of populism: that of epistocracy, that is to say government by the most competent or the most educated.

In a context where representative democracy is going through a crisis of legitimacy, where social networks are shaking up the hierarchy of knowledge, and where technical decisions require increasingly sophisticated knowledge, Alexandre Viala asks a disturbing question: should the competence of decision-makers take precedence over electoral legitimacy? While refusing an authoritarian technocracy, he explores the tensions between rationality and popular will, and offers a stimulating reflection on the connection between knowledge and power. Professor of constitutional law and philosophy of law at the University of Montpellier, Alexandre Viala is a committed intellectual figure. Author of the reference manual “Philosophy of Law” (Éditions Ellipses), he directed for many years CERCOP (Centre for Comparative Constitutional and Political Studies and Research), a research center recognized for its rigor and its openness to major contemporary debates. For more than twenty years, he has also directed the Montpellier University Diploma in Philosophy of Law. His commitment is not limited to the university. Active member of the Scientific Council of the International Institute of Geopolitical Studies, based in Montpellier, Alexandre Viala makes a valuable contribution, at the crossroads of law, philosophy and geopolitics. The Institute, which brings together experts, academics and diplomats, aims to be a place for strategic reflection on major global issues, with particular attention paid to changes in law in international relations. Throughout his career, Alexandre Viala embodies a rare intellectual requirement: that of a legal thinker capable of bringing democratic ideals and the realities of knowledge into tension. His book is a call to think of democracy not only as a regime of freedom, but also as a permanent challenge to collective intelligence.