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2019 | Book

Globalization, Populism and Legitimacy in Contemporary Democracy Read chapter Read first chapter

Democracy under Threat

A Crisis of Legitimacy?

Editor: Prof. Ursula van Beek

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Book Series : Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" , Springer Professional "Technik"

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About this book

This book addresses some of the most pressing questions of our time: Is democracy threatened by globalisation? Is there a legitimacy crisis in contemporary democracies? Is the welfare state in individual countries under pressure from global trends? What are the implications of high-level migration and rising populism for democracy? Does authoritarianism pose a challenge?

The volume builds on a cross-cultural study of democracy conducted by the Transformation Research Unit (TRU) at Stellenbosch University in South Africa for nearly twenty years. Three of the countries studied – South Africa, Turkey and Poland – receive individual attention as their respective democracies appear to be the most vulnerable at present. Germany, Sweden, Chile, South Korea and Taiwan are assessed in their regional contexts. Further insights are gained by examining the impact on democracy of the global screen culture of Television and the Internet, and by pointing out the lessons democracy should learn from diplomacy to fare better in the future. The book will appeal to both students and practitioners of democracy as well as the general reader.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter

Theoretical Aspects and Overview

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Globalization, Populism and Legitimacy in Contemporary Democracy
Abstract
Is democracy under threat? In the past several years, this question has caused an intense and controversial debate. Larry Diamond (J Democracy 26: 141–155, 2015) as well as Steven Levitsky and Lucian Way (J Democracy 26: 45–58, 2015) speak of a “democratic recession,” Nancy Bermeo (J Democracy 27: 5–19, 2016) calls it “democratic backsliding,” while Roberto Foa and Yascha Munck (J Democracy 28: 5–15, 2017) name it “deconsolidation.” Arch Puddington and Tyler Roylance (J Democracy 28: 105–119, 2017) see the nature of the challenge to democracy as “the dual threat of populists and autocrats.”
Dieter Fuchs, Hans-Dieter Klingemann
Chapter 2. Temporal Models of Political Development: In General and of Democratization in Particular
Abstract
Terms such as democratization, modernization and transformation all carry with them two tacit implications. First, that the processes under consideration are directional from a previous (probably outmoded and indeed inferior) state towards a subsequent (more advanced, superior, and probably more settled) condition; and second, that consequently such processes are to be viewed positively, even though they may well involve some intervening costs of adjustment.
Laurence Whitehead
Chapter 3. Democratic Quality and Legitimacy in the TRU Countries
Abstract
The TRI (now TRU) projects followed the development of democratization in seven countries across major world regions for close to a quarter of a century. As was explained in the Preface, five younger democracies identified as democratic forerunners in their respective regions were originally selected for the analysis.
Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Ursula Hoffmann-Lange

Critical Cases

Frontmatter
Chapter 4. The Return of Nationalist Ethos: The Loss of Liberal Democracy in Poland?
Abstract
In October 2015, for the first time since Poland transitioned to democracy in 1989, a single political party gained an absolute majority in the Polish parliament.
Ursula van Beek
Chapter 5. Identity Politics: Extreme Polarization and the Loss of Capacity to Compromise in Turkey
Abstract
A few months before drafting this chapter, the author took part in a television news programme with two other discussants. The discussion was to centre around the findings of a recently concluded survey on religion and religiosity.
Yilmaz Esmer
Chapter 6. Political Radicalism: Responding to the Legitimacy Gap in South Africa
Abstract
Radicalism is not a new dynamic for South Africa. The 1940s held the potential for political and social reform in South Africa with the promise of a more inclusive approach towards the black majority in the country.
Nicola de Jager, Cindy Steenekamp

Regional Aspects

Frontmatter
Chapter 7. Democratization in Chile: A Long-Run and Comparative Perspective
Abstract
This chapter reviews the re-democratization of Chile since the end of the Cold War from the perspective of the four temporal models presented in the theoretical part of this book.
Laurence Whitehead
Chapter 8. Democratic Resilience in South Korea and Taiwan
Abstract
Larry Diamond (J Democracy 26, 2015) in his influential article “Facing up to the Democratic Recession” contended that by the early 2010s, the once-unwavering march to the “end of history” was slowing down and, in fact, appeared to be coming to an end.
Joseph Wong
Chapter 9. Globalization and Political Legitimacy in Western Europe
Abstract
Is there a legitimacy crisis in contemporary democracies? This question, asked since the beginning of the 1970s, has been currently undergoing a revival (Kriesi in Politische Vierteljahresschrift 54:609–638, 2013; Fuchs and Escher in The Legitimacy of Regional Integration in Europe and the Americas. Palgrave Macmillan: Houndsmill/Basingstoke, pp. 75–97, 2015; Merkel in Krise der Demokratie. Zum schwierigen Verhältnis von Theorie und Empirie. Springer VS: Wiesbaden, 2015; Wessels in How Europeans View and Evaluate Democracy. Oxford University Press: Oxford, pp. 235–256, 2016; Van Ham et al. in Myth and Reality of the Legitimacy Crisis. Explaining Trends and Cross-National Differences in Established Democracies. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2017). For a long time, the question has been raised with reference to Western democracies only. Now, it is increasingly being posed for all democracies in the world.
Dieter Fuchs, Edeltraud Roller

Global Aspects

Frontmatter
Chapter 10. Globalization and Social Protection: An Economic Perspective
Abstract
The ongoing globalization of the world economy is said to have major economic and political implications for democracies. In their opening chapter to this volume, Dieter Fuchs and Hans-Dieter Klingemann draw on analyses by Jürgen Habermas and David Held to identify four possible consequences of globalization. Fuchs and Klingemann then formulate four hypotheses that summarize how these effects might undermine the legitimacy of democracies.
Krige Siebrits
Chapter 11. Global Electronic Screen Culture: Legitimacy at Stake?
Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to examine the impact of global electronic screen culture  on the  legitimacy of democracies.  The aspect of legitimacy that is considered here is centred on the personal autonomy of the citizen. The chapter examines the way in which engagement with screen-based popular culture can lead to a decline in personal autonomy through the release (deliberately or inadvertently) of personal information into the domain of the World Wide Web. The significance of this phenomenon as a threat to the legitimacy of democracy is considered by way of insights that can be gained from the futuristic novels of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four, both of which provide powerful and evocative metaphors, which serve as frameworks for comparison.  
Pierre du Toit
Chapter 12. Lessons for Democracy: Diplomacy to the Rescue?
Abstract
While international institutions are said to suffer from a “democratic deficit,” this chapter explores the “diplomatic deficit” of contemporary diplomacy. Arguing that democracy and diplomacy are institutions with certain comparable traits, notwithstanding obvious dissimilarities, the author identifies ideas and experiences from the realm of diplomacy that can be applied to democracy. Six aspects of possible cross-fertilization are discussed: basic norms of coexistence, representation as a problem, bargaining as an instrument, the role of communication, challenges from other actors, and legitimacy vs. distrust. Lessons that democracy can learn from diplomacy include the need to look beyond immediate interests and serve as guardians of the institution; to adopt a relativistic rather than absolutistic approach; to put emphasis on bargaining; and to use language with great care.
Christer Jönsson

Conclusions

Frontmatter
Chapter 13. The Question of Legitimacy in Contemporary Democracies
Abstract
Is democracy under threat? Is there a legitimacy crisis in contemporary democracies? This book contributes to the ongoing debate on these questions.
Ursula van Beek, Dieter Fuchs, Hans-Dieter Klingemann
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Democracy under Threat
Editor
Prof. Ursula van Beek
Copyright Year
2019
Electronic ISBN
978-3-319-89453-9
Print ISBN
978-3-319-89452-2
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89453-9