The Undemocratic Dilemma

Mounk, Yascha

doi:10.1353/jod.2018.0030

Cited by 42 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…While populism is believed to strengthen political inclusion by giving voice to a wider group of citizens, it allows them to influence decisions more by limiting the institutional constraints of liberal democracies (e.g., the rule of law, checks and balances, human rights, etc.). The emerging illiberal democracies (Mounk 2018) describe a political system very much in line with populist ideology under which 'the will of the people' is carried out against the political establishment (i.e., those trying to preserve institutional status quo) with preferably no limitations. Populism is thus offered as a corrective to the 'inclusionary defect' of some liberal democracies.…”

Section: Populism and Global Trade Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Populism as a ‘corrective’ to trade agreements? ‘America First’ and the readjustment of NAFTA

Csehi¹,

Heldt²

2021

Int Polit

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The past few years have seen an upsurge in populist politics around the globe. Yet, its potential impact on the liberal international order has been analyzed mainly from a discursive perspective, and much less is known about actual policy implications. Adopting an ideational approach to populism and taking the case of the NAFTA renegotiation process as a building block in the liberal economic order, this article studies the populist imprints of the revised agreement. First, we demonstrate how the populist division of society between ‘the corrupt elite’ and ‘the honest people’ and the emphasis on popular sovereignty were used as narrative frames in criticizing NAFTA. In a second step, through selected provisions, we show how alterations to NAFTA are considered as ‘populist corrections’ to guarantee greater representation for ‘the people’ and better safeguards for popular sovereignty under the USMCA. The article concludes with a discussion of potential implications for global trade.

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Section: Populism and Global Trade Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Populism as a ‘corrective’ to trade agreements? ‘America First’ and the readjustment of NAFTA

Csehi¹,

Heldt²

2021

Int Polit

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“…Indeed, at the domestic level, a long-standing debate has considered populism's relationship to constitutional principles as 'two-faced' (Canovan 1999) and 'ambiguous' (Mény and Surel 2002), depending on the state of liberal democratic politics and the responses of other parties, institutions and voters (Arditi 2005;Rovira Kaltwasser and Taggart 2016;Bonikowski 2017). Precariously, pure populist majoritarianism is inconsistent with liberal democratic principles, but such regimes nonetheless rely on majoritarian rule to be legitimate (Berman 2017;Mounk 2018). Hence, if populism contributes to addressing defects in representative practice, it might even function as a democratic corrective, rather than an authoritarian threat (Rovira Kaltwasser 2012), so long as populists do not undermine constitutional protections of liberal rights (Rummens 2017).…”

Section: The Populist Spectre Haunting Global Constitutionalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Varieties of populism and the challenges to Global Constitutionalism: Dangers, promises and implications

Koch

2020

Glob. Con.

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This article analyses the rise of populism and its discursive challenge to global constitutionalism (GC). It shows that populist contestation is more ambivalent than often suggested: its challenge depends on the populist variety and can both undermine or support liberal principles of GC. Building on the ideational approach to populism and a framework of transnational politicisation, a proposed typology identifies both communitarian types of populism and cosmopolitan types of populism. Illustrative case studies of the Alternative for Germany, the Polish Law and Justice Party, the Democracy in Europe Movement and Peru’s Alberto Fujimori substantiate these empirically. While all cases contest a perceived lack of popular sovereignty in a largely non-majoritarian global constitutional order, varieties of populism present contrasting responses: communitarian types push for global de-constitutionalisation in line with illiberal nationalist majoritarianism, while cosmopolitan types support global constitutionalisation according to liberal and democratic principles. Further, neo-socialist populists campaign against neoliberal principles in GC, but remain divided about supporting political principles beyond the state. These findings suggest an emerging politicisation of the process of global constitutionalisation at the societal level according to principles of democratic legitimacy; and global constitutional differentiation depending on outcomes of these normatively ambivalent and empirically contingent political contests.

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“…In spite of the abundant literature especially considering citizens' roles and norms, recent socio-political dynamics and discussions point to a shift in democratic conceptions (Mounk 2018a;Müller 2016;Wilke et al 2017) which prevailing approaches cover insatisfactorily. Increasingly citizens seem to be supportive of a different version of democracy, which is not liberal but neither explicitely authoritarian.…”

Section: Empirical Perspectives On Democracy and Norms Of Citizenshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Preferences for a-democratic and anti-democratic political arrangements, for parties that openly question democratic principles, and for authoritarian (or authoritarian-like) relationships between politics and civil society seem to be gaining support and popularity (cf. Mounk 2018aMounk , 2018b. Remarkably, both the origins of these developments and the sources for their thrive seem to lie in the presence of exactly those democratic structures which are rejected (Svolik 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understandings of Democracy: New Norms and Participation in Changing Democracies

Zorell¹,

Deth²

2020

Preprint

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The understanding of what democracy means has never been the same for all people and nations. However, contemporary developments suggest a fundamental shift. Preferences for a- and anti-democratic political parties and authoritarian(-like) relationships between politics and civil society are gaining support. Remarkably, these developments originate and thrive in the midst of exactly those democratic structures rejected. We therefore ask if there is a new understanding of democracy, and we empirically identify a discernible category of people who support illiberal understandings of democracy. These citizens with disparaging views of democracy reject democratic processes and actors, and weakly support common norms of citizenship. Yet, they are active in politics. Because we find that it is actual participation which stimulates the understandings of democracy, our results suggest that instead of attempting to exclude citizens with illiberal understandings of democracy from political arenas, meeting them there can offer the opportunity to nurture more liberal democratic orientations.

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The Undemocratic Dilemma

Cited by 42 publications

References 6 publications

Populism as a ‘corrective’ to trade agreements? ‘America First’ and the readjustment of NAFTA

Populism as a ‘corrective’ to trade agreements? ‘America First’ and the readjustment of NAFTA

Varieties of populism and the challenges to Global Constitutionalism: Dangers, promises and implications

Understandings of Democracy: New Norms and Participation in Changing Democracies

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