The turbulence of globalization and the knowledge society is pushing democracy, organized as a national state form of political governance, to the limits of its capabilities. The overwhelming complexity of issues faced by voters and elected officials fosters populism and political apathy. In his new book, Helmut Willke analyzes the enhancement possibilities within the constitutive components of the democratic model and derives a concept of complex democracy from this. The challenge lies in combining the parliament as the sovereign with a range of competent specialized institutions to achieve a better, albeit precarious, balance of legitimacy and efficiency.