The Trouble with Democracy: Political Modernity in the 21st Century - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1474428398 ISBN 13: 9781474428392

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press, 2017

Synopsis

Western political thought has long maintained that democracy, once achieved, is here to stay. This view appears to be supported by successive 'waves of democratisation' across the world but, in truth, the political situation of our time is much more ambiguous. On the one hand, the commitment to democracy seems to be more widely shared than ever; on the other, popular will has ever less impact on political decisions because of alleged constraints in an era of 'globalisation'. Existing democracies suffer from a combination of technocratic governance and populist reactions. Global political communication has foundered with addressing urgent problems such as climate change, global social justice and economic–financial crises. By placing political condition of our time in its long-term historical context, this book radically reconsiders key issues of political thought and gives you a comparative exploration of the current experiences of democracy in several world-regions.

About this title

About the Authors

Gerard Rosich is Doctoral Researcher within the ERC Advanced Grant Research Project Trajectories of Modernity at The University of Barcelona. His work includes 'The limits of recognition: history, otherness and autonomy' in African, American and European Trajectories of Modernity: Past Oppression, Future Justice? edited by Peter Wagner (2015) in the Annual of European and Global Studies series published by Edinburgh University Press.

Peter Wagner is Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies Research Professor at the University of Barcelona. His publications include The Trouble with Democracy (Edinburgh University Press, 2016), African, American and European Trajectories of Modernity (Edinburgh University Press, 2015), Modernity as Experience and Interpretation (Polity Press, 2008), A History and Theory of the Social Sciences (Sage, 2001), Theorising Modernity (Sage, 2001) and A Sociology of Modernity (Routledge, 1994).

From the Back Cover

Supposedly we live in an era of human rights and democracy, of incessant democratisation – this book shows why that perception is dangerously misleadingWestern political thought has long maintained that democracy, once achieved, is here to stay. This view appeared to be confirmed by successive ‘waves of democratisation’ across the world, but in truth the political situation of our time is much more ambiguous. On the one hand, the commitment to democracy seems to be more widely shared than ever. On the other, popular will has ever less impact on political decisions because of alleged constraints in an era of ‘globalisation’; existing democracies suffer from a combination of technocratic governance and populist reactions; and global political communication remains far from adequately addressing urgent problems.This book assesses the political condition of our time by placing it in long-term historical context. It radically reconsiders key issues of political thought and provides a comparative exploration of current experiences of democracy in several world regions.Key Features•Provides a comprehensive critical analysis of the current state of democracy•Reviews the history of political thought by emphasising tensions and ambiguities from within the commitment to democracy•Suggests that a major political transformation is under way since the 1960s that upsets the expectation of guaranteed democratic stability•Combines critical theory, political thought and solid empirical analysis•Explicitly addresses the current relationship between North and South and broadens political theory debate about democracy by including experiences from the ’global South‘, including South Africa, Latin America, Argentina and BrazilGerard Rosich, political philosopher, is Researcher at the University of Barcelona.Peter Wagner, historical sociologist and social theorist, is ICREA Research Professor at the University of Barcelona.Cover image: Murals by Diego Rivera in the National Palace © Richard I’Anson/Getty ImagesCover design:[EUP logo]www.euppublishing.com

From the Inside Flap

Supposedly we live in an era of human rights and democracy, of incessant democratisation - this book shows why that perception is dangerously misleading Western political thought has long maintained that democracy, once achieved, is here to stay. This view appeared to be confirmed by successive 'waves of democratisation' across the world, but in truth the political situation of our time is much more ambiguous. On the one hand, the commitment to democracy seems to be more widely shared than ever. On the other, popular will has ever less impact on political decisions because of alleged constraints in an era of 'globalisation'; existing democracies suffer from a combination of technocratic governance and populist reactions; and global political communication remains far from adequately addressing urgent problems. This book assesses the political condition of our time by placing it in long-term historical context. It radically reconsiders key issues of political thought and provides a comparative exploration of current experiences of democracy in several world regions. Key Features -Provides a comprehensive critical analysis of the current state of democracy -Reviews the history of political thought by emphasising tensions and ambiguities from within the commitment to democracy -Suggests that a major political transformation is under way since the 1960s that upsets the expectation of guaranteed democratic stability -Combines critical theory, political thought and solid empirical analysis -Explicitly addresses the current relationship between North and South and broadens political theory debate about democracy by including experiences from the 'global South', including South Africa, Latin America, Argentina and Brazil Gerard Rosich, political philosopher, is Researcher at the University of Barcelona. Peter Wagner, historical sociologist and social theorist, is ICREA Research Professor at the University of Barcelona. Cover image: Murals by Diego Rivera in the National Palace (c) Richard I'Anson/Getty Images Cover design: [EUP logo] www.euppublishing.com

Edition details

• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1474428398
• ISBN 13: 9781474428392
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304
• Editor: Rosich Gerard, Wagner Peter