Liberal Democracy in Crisis: Rethinking Resistance under Neoliberal Governmentality PDF
Preview Liberal Democracy in Crisis: Rethinking Resistance under Neoliberal Governmentality
THE THEORIES, CONCEPTS AND PRACTICES OF DEMOCRACY Series Editors: J. Gagnon & M. Chou LIBERAL DEMOCRACY IN CRISIS Rethinking Resistance under Neoliberal Governmentality Alen Toplišek The Theories, Concepts and Practices of Democracy Series Editors Jean-Paul Gagnon University of Canberra Canberra, Australia Mark Chou Australian Catholic University Fitzroy, Australia There are many types of democracies and many types of democrats. Though contemporary Western scholars and practitioners of democracy have tended to repeat a particular set of narratives and discourses, recent research shows us that there are in fact hundreds of different adjectives of democracy. What one theorist, political leader or nation invokes as democ- racy, others may label as something altogether different. Part of this has to do with the political nature of democracy. As a practice and concept, it is always contested. Yet instead of exploring these differences and ambigui- ties, many democrats today retreat to the well-worn definitions and prac- tices made popular by Western powers in the twentieth-century. The aim of this book series is to engage and explore democracy’s many articulations. It seeks contributions which critically define, analyse and organise the many theories, concepts and practices that encompass democ- racy in all its forms. Both theoretical and empirical treatments of democ- racy, particularly when told from less conventional or more marginal perspectives, are especially encouraged. More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14410 Alen Toplišek Liberal Democracy in Crisis Rethinking Resistance under Neoliberal Governmentality Alen Toplišek Department of Politics and International Studies SOAS University of London London, UK The Theories, Concepts and Practices of Democracy ISBN 978-3-319-97936-6 ISBN 978-3-319-97937-3 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97937-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018955437 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the pub- lisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu- tional affiliations. Cover illustration: Jasmin Merdan / Getty Image Cover Design By: Laura de Grasse This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland To my family and the people I can call my friends. A cknowledgements This book project was undertaken at the School of Politics and International Studies, Queen Mary University of London, between 2012 and 2016. The main motivation behind the research project was to make sense of the heightened wave of protest activity that was taking over the world in 2012 and 2013. This growing repoliticisation of people has also affected me personally while taking part in Occupy Warwick at the University of Warwick in 2011 and the Slovenian protests during my visit in December 2012. During the four years of the research, the political world around me was changing fast, which also had an inevitable effect on the refinement of my theoretical and political positions. This book is therefore the product of dynamic interplay between my evolving knowledge of political theory and the concrete political events that were taking place at the time. I am extremely grateful to Dr Lasse Thomassen for his caring support and patience, and his readiness to help me with his expertise and advice. I tend to forget, but my move to the UK in 2011 would not have been pos- sible without the financial support from the Slovene Human Resources Development and Scholarship Fund (Ad Futura). I am also grateful to Katja Cankar at Ad Futura for her very much appreciated advice on admin- istrative matters when I needed it most. Despite my great determination and passion for politics driving this project to completion, the whole endeavour would not have been possible without the emotional and social support of my family members and friends. I would like to thank my mom Jana Krajnc, my sister Etien Horvat, and my brother Žan Toplišek, who unfortunately left us prematurely in 2013, and also my father Jani Toplišek, my stepmom Saša Toplišek, my stepsister Urška Kupec Toplišek, and my vii viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS grandparents Anica and Ludvik Šeruga. Amongst my friends, I would like to say special thanks to Luka Cej, Marios Psaras, and John Pierce, who have stood beside me on this path, put up with my occasional moodiness, and helped me maintain a good work-life balance. c ontents 1 I ntroduction 1 References 15 2 Understanding the Crisis of Liberal Democracy and Rethinking Democratic Politics 19 Democracy’s Governability Crisis 23 The Tension Between Liberalism and Democracy: The Structural Explanation 25 The Critique of Aggregative and Deliberative Models of Democracy 30 Abandoning the Rationalist View of Politics: Antagonism and Hegemony 35 Challenging the Neutrality of Liberal Democracy 39 Repoliticisation and Radicalisation of Democracy: Post-2011 Protest Movements and Populism 42 References 49 3 Understanding (Neo)liberalism: The Relationship Between the Liberal State and Free Market Capitalism 55 Constructing a Political Economy Analysis After Marx 57 Conceptualising Liberal Governmentality 62 The Emergence of Liberal Governmentality: Self- limitation, Political Economy and Biopolitics 64 ix x CONTENTS The Contradictions of the Self-regulating Market and the Double Movement 68 The Emergence of Neoliberal Governmentality and the Hollowing Out of Democracy 74 References 82 4 Crisis: Critique, Temporality, and Trauma 87 A Brief Analysis of Conceptions of Crisis 89 Crisis and Critique 94 Crisis As an Event and Temporality 102 Crisis As Trauma and the Possibility of Resistance 110 References 119 5 Politics and Resistance As Power 125 Reconceptualising the Notion of Power 127 The Relationship Between Politics and Power: Arendt and Foucault 129 How to Think Power Differently 134 Thinking the Relationship Between Counter- Conduct and Conducting Power Through Institutionalisation 140 Interplay Between Politics and Resistance As a Vicious Cycle 148 References 159 6 Challenging Neoliberal Governmentality: Social Movements and the New Radical Left 163 Neoliberal Governmentality After the 2008 Financial Crisis 165 Social Movements and Populism in Times of Austerity 168 From Movement to Party: The Case of the Slovenian United Left 175 The Challenges for the New Radical Left in Europe 184 References 196 7 Conclusion 201 References 209 Index 211
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