Presidents, Populism, and the Crisis of Democracy

Presidents, Populism, and the Crisis of Democracy PDF Author: William G. Howell
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022672882X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
To counter the threat America faces, two political scientists offer “clear constitutional solutions that break sharply with the conventional wisdom” (Steven Levitsky, New York Times–bestselling coauthor of How Democracies Die). Has American democracy’s long, ambitious run come to an end? Possibly yes. As William G. Howell and Terry M. Moe argue in this trenchant new analysis of modern politics, the United States faces a historic crisis that threatens our system of self-government—and if democracy is to be saved, the causes of the crisis must be understood and defused. The most visible cause is Donald Trump, who has used his presidency to attack the nation’s institutions and violate its democratic norms. Yet Trump is but a symptom of causes that run much deeper: social forces like globalization, automation, and immigration that for decades have generated economic harms and cultural anxieties that our government has been wholly ineffective at addressing. Millions of Americans have grown angry and disaffected, and populist appeals have found a receptive audience. These were the drivers of Trump’s dangerous presidency, and they’re still there for other populists to weaponize. What can be done? The disruptive forces of modernity cannot be stopped. The solution lies, instead, in having a government that can deal with them—which calls for aggressive new policies, but also for institutional reforms that enhance its capacity for effective action. The path to progress is filled with political obstacles, including an increasingly populist, anti-government Republican Party. It is hard to be optimistic. But if the challenge is to be met, we need reforms of the presidency itself—reforms that harness the promise of presidential power for effective government, but firmly protect against that power being put to anti-democratic ends.

Presidents, Populism, and the Crisis of Democracy

Presidents, Populism, and the Crisis of Democracy PDF Author: William G. Howell
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022672882X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

Get Book Here

Book Description
To counter the threat America faces, two political scientists offer “clear constitutional solutions that break sharply with the conventional wisdom” (Steven Levitsky, New York Times–bestselling coauthor of How Democracies Die). Has American democracy’s long, ambitious run come to an end? Possibly yes. As William G. Howell and Terry M. Moe argue in this trenchant new analysis of modern politics, the United States faces a historic crisis that threatens our system of self-government—and if democracy is to be saved, the causes of the crisis must be understood and defused. The most visible cause is Donald Trump, who has used his presidency to attack the nation’s institutions and violate its democratic norms. Yet Trump is but a symptom of causes that run much deeper: social forces like globalization, automation, and immigration that for decades have generated economic harms and cultural anxieties that our government has been wholly ineffective at addressing. Millions of Americans have grown angry and disaffected, and populist appeals have found a receptive audience. These were the drivers of Trump’s dangerous presidency, and they’re still there for other populists to weaponize. What can be done? The disruptive forces of modernity cannot be stopped. The solution lies, instead, in having a government that can deal with them—which calls for aggressive new policies, but also for institutional reforms that enhance its capacity for effective action. The path to progress is filled with political obstacles, including an increasingly populist, anti-government Republican Party. It is hard to be optimistic. But if the challenge is to be met, we need reforms of the presidency itself—reforms that harness the promise of presidential power for effective government, but firmly protect against that power being put to anti-democratic ends.

Populism and the Crisis of Democracy

Populism and the Crisis of Democracy PDF Author: Gregor Fitzi
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351608975
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 203

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Book Description
There is no threat to Western democracies today comparable to the rise of right-wing populism. While it has played an increasing role at least since the 1990s, only the social consequences of the global financial crises in 2008 have given it its break that led to UK’s ‘Brexit’ and the election of Donald Trump as US President in 2016, as well as promoting what has been called left populism in countries that were hit the hardest by both the banking crisis and consequential neo-liberal austerity politics in the EU, such as Greece and Portugal. In 2017, the French Front National (FN) attracted many voters in the French Presidential elections; we have seen the radicalization of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in Germany and the formation of centre-right government in Austria. Further, we have witnessed the consolidation of autocratic regimes, as in the EU member states Poland and Greece. All these manifestations of right-wing populism share a common feature: they attack or even compromise the core elements of democratic societies such as the separation of powers, protection of minorities, or the rule of law. Despite a broad debate on the re-emergence of ‘populism’ in the transition from the twentieth to the twenty-first century that has brought forth many interesting findings, a lack of sociological reasoning cannot be denied, as sociology itself withdrew from theorising populism decades ago and largely left the field to political sciences and history. In a sense, Populism and the Crisis of Democracy considers itself a contribution to begin filling this lacuna. Written in a direct and clear style, this set of volumes will be an invaluable reference for students and scholars in the field of political theory, political sociology and European Studies. This volume Concepts and Theory offers new and fresh perspectives on the debate on populism. Starting from complaints about the problems of conceptualising populism that in recent years have begun to revolve around themselves, the chapters offer a fundamental critique of the term and concept of populism, theoretically inspired typologies and descriptions of currently dominant concepts, and ways to elaborate on them. With regard to theory, the volume offers approaches that exceed the disciplinary horizon of political science that so far has dominated the debate. As sociological theory so far has been more or less absent in the debate on populism, only few efforts have been made to discuss populism more intensely within different theoretical contexts in order to explain its dynamics and processes. Thus, this volume offers critical views on the debate on populism from the perspectives of political economy and the analysis of critical historical events, the links of analyses of populism with social movement mobilisation, the significance of ‘superfluous populations’ in the rise of populism and an analysis of the exclusionary character of populism from the perspective of the theory of social closure.

Democracy's Paradox

Democracy's Paradox PDF Author: Bruce Kapferer
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 178920156X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
Does populism indicate a radical crisis in Western democratic political systems? Is it a revolt by those who feel they have too little voice in the affairs of state or are otherwise marginalized or oppressed? Or are populist movements part of the democratic process? Bringing together different anthropological experiences of current populist movements, this volume makes a timely contribution to these questions. Contrary to more conventional interpretations of populism as crisis, the authors instead recognize populism as integral to Western democratic systems. In doing so, the volume provides an important critique that exposes the exclusionary essentialisms spread by populist rhetoric while also directing attention to local views of political accountability and historical consciousness that are key to understanding this paradox of democracy.

Crises of Democracy

Crises of Democracy PDF Author: Adam Przeworski
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108498809
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
Examines the economic, social, cultural, as well as purely political threats to democracy in the light of current knowledge.

Populism and the Crisis of Democracy

Populism and the Crisis of Democracy PDF Author: Gregor Fitzi
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780367655761
Category : Political sociology
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


Populism, Democracy, and the Humanities

Populism, Democracy, and the Humanities PDF Author: Iulian Cananau
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538160927
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
The contributors to this volume reflect on the phenomenon and concept of populism in relation to democracy and the humanities from the vantage points of various disciplinary backgrounds: philosophy, history of ideas, media and communication, journalism, political science, gender studies, organization science, education theory, popular culture, and literary studies. While the study of populism seems to have become a subfield within political science, this topic has been rarely explored by scholars in the humanities. Rather than contribute to the already established area of populism studies in social and political sciences, our authors take a more open and exploratory stance through which they attempt to open up new fields and directions for inquiry from an interdisciplinary humanistic perspective. Struggling with problems of relevance, impact, and visibility, the humanities have a special responsibility to address this topic, not only because it is relevant for their multidisciplinary scope, but also because the humanities stand for the values of thoughtfulness, in-depth reflection, critical thinking, weighty and thorough analysis. The humanities’ very existence constitutes a guaranty against what is often described as populism.

Democracy and Crisis

Democracy and Crisis PDF Author: Wolfgang Merkel
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319725599
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
In light of the public and scholarly debates on the challenges and problems of established democracies, such as a lack of participation, declining confidence in political elites, and the deteriorating capabilities of democratic institutions, this volume discusses the question whether democracy as such is in crisis. On the basis of the shared concept of embedded democracy, it develops a range of conceptual approaches to empirically analyzing the challenges of democracy and their potential transformation into crisis phenomena. The book is divided into three parts, the first of which highlights various aspects of political participation, such as political inequality in voting. In turn, Part II focuses on problems of political representation, while Part III assesses whether processes such as globalization, deregulation, and the withdrawal of the state from important policy areas have limited the political control and legitimacy of democratically elected governments.

Populism and the Crisis of Democracy

Populism and the Crisis of Democracy PDF Author: Gregor Fitzi
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 9780367665203
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
The contributions to this volume Migration, Gender and Religion bring together empirically grounded and theoretically sophisticated case studies of populist responses to what are perceived to be the threats to national survival and sovereignty from 'uncontrolled' immigration. The demographic context - declining fertility rates and ageing populations - promotes the belief that high Muslim fertility rates are material evidence of an Islamic threat to the West, to national cohesion and particularly to the safety and dignity of the women of the host community. Consequently, gender plays an important part in populist ideology, but populist attitudes to gender are often contradictory. Populist movements are often marked by misogyny and by policies that are typically anti-feminist in rejecting gender equality. The traditional family with a dominant father and submissive mother is promoted as the basis of national values and the remedy against social decline. The obsession with women in the public domain points to a crisis of masculinity associated with unemployment, the impact of austerity packages on social status, and the growth of pink collar employment. Inevitably, religion is drawn into these political debates about the future of Western societies, because religion in general has seen the family and mothers as essential for the reproduction of religion. Christendom has been identified by populists as providing the ultimate defence of the borders of European civilisation against Islam, despite the fact that church leaders have often defended and welcomed outsiders in terms of Christian charity. Once more Christian Europe is the Abendland standing in defiance of a threatening and subversive Morgenland. This volume will be an invaluable reference for students and scholars in the field of political theory, political sociology and European Studies.

Populism, Democracy and Community Development

Populism, Democracy and Community Development PDF Author: Kenny, Sue
Publisher: Policy Press
ISBN: 1447353838
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Using international perspectives and case studies, this book discusses the relationships between community development and populism in the context of today’s widespread crisis of democracy. It investigates the development, meanings and manifestations of contemporary forms of populism and explores the synergies and contradictions between the values and practices of populism and community development. Contributors examine the ways that the ascendancy of right-wing populist politics is influencing the landscapes within which community development is located and they offer new insights on how the field can understand and respond to the challenges of populism.

Constitutional Democracy in Crisis?

Constitutional Democracy in Crisis? PDF Author: Mark A. Graber
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190889004
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
Is the world facing a serious threat to the protection of constitutional democracy? There is a genuine debate about the meaning of the various political events that have, for many scholars and observers, generated a feeling of deep foreboding about our collective futures all over the world. Do these events represent simply the normal ebb and flow of political possibilities, or do they instead portend a more permanent move away from constitutional democracy that had been thought triumphant after the demise of the Soviet Union in 1989? Constitutional Democracy in Crisis? addresses these questions head-on: Are the forces weakening constitutional democracy around the world general or nation-specific? Why have some major democracies seemingly not experienced these problems? How can we as scholars and citizens think clearly about the ideas of "constitutional crisis" or "constitutional degeneration"? What are the impacts of forces such as globalization, immigration, income inequality, populism, nationalism, religious sectarianism? Bringing together leading scholars to engage critically with the crises facing constitutional democracies in the 21st century, these essays diagnose the causes of the present afflictions in regimes, regions, and across the globe, believing at this stage that diagnosis is of central importance - as Abraham Lincoln said in his "House Divided" speech, "If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it."