Ever since the 19th century, political parties and free media were widely deemed indispensable for the proper functioning of representative democracy. They constituted what one might call the critical infrastructure of democracy, an infrastructure which enabled citizens to use their basic rights effectively and also to reach each other (and be reached). Both intermediary institutions are undergoing major structural transformations today (or might disappear altogether, if processes of ‘disintermediation’ continue). It has proven difficult to judge these changes, partly because we lack a proper account of the distinctive normative roles of intermediary institutions beyond standard claims of ‘connecting citizens to the political system’. The essay argues that intermediary powers remain indispensable in staging political conflict, in providing external and internal pluralism and in properly structuring political time.

自19世纪以来，政党和自由媒体被广泛认为对代议制民主制度的正常运作必不可少。它们构成了人们所谓的民主的关键基础设施，这一基础设施使公民能够有效地利用其基本权利，并且也能够相互接触（并达到）。如今，这两个中介机构都在经历着重大的结构转型（或者，如果“去中介化”的过程继续下去，可能会完全消失）。事实证明，很难判断这些变化，部分原因是，除了对“将公民与政治体系联系起来”的标准主张之外，我们对中介机构的独特规范作用缺乏恰当的说明。这篇文章认为，中介权力在解决政治冲突方面仍然是必不可少的，