The State of Democracy Amidst Economic Crisis : Welfare, Party Ideology and Identity Politics
Democracy was once thought to be unconceivable save in terms of party democracy. Yet, It has been extensively argued - both by political comparativists and social theoreticians - that in an age of political dealignment, civil society is a key actor in the context of the crisis of legitimation and the future of democracy. This paper examines the interrelationship between civil society and the party system in terms of the crisis of democratic legitimation taking welfare, in view of the economic crisis, as a case in point. Analyzing the relationship between identity politics, civil society and the party system in advanced democracies, the paper demonstrates the challenges party democracy is facing by the strengthening of identity politics as important factor in the reshaping of today's politics. The paper considers the current economic crisis to show the attempt of parties to avoid ideological left/right rift and downplay the role of the state in order to stay in line with its identity politics agenda. Welfare democracy is thus often not the answer given by governing parties to the neoliberal economic crisis. The paper thus argues that identity crisis is at the root of the current crisis of party democracy and that re-situating the state at the center of democratic theory is crucial in order to re-endorse party democracy
Year of publication: |
2010
|
---|---|
Authors: | Talshir, Gayil |
Publisher: |
[2010]: [S.l.] : SSRN |
Subject: | Wirtschaftskrise | Economic crisis | Demokratie | Democracy | Politische Partei | Political party | Ideologie | Ideology | Wirtschaftspolitik | Economic policy |
Description of contents: | Abstract [papers.ssrn.com] |
Saved in:
Saved in favorites
Similar items by subject
-
Disciplining Greece : crisis management and its discontents
Panageotou, Steven, (2017)
-
Politics in a time of crisis : Podemos and the future of European democracy
Iglesias Turrión, Pablo, (2015)
-
Growth, crisis, democracy : the political economy of social coalitions
Magara, Hideko, (2017)
- More ...