The Post-Political and its Discontents: Spaces of Depoliticisation, Spectres of Radical Politics

By: Japhy Wilson and Erik Swyngedouw

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Synopsis: Our age is celebrated as the triumph of liberal democracy. Yet it is also marked by a narrowing of party differences, a decline in voter participation, a rise in nationalist and religious fundamentalisms and an explosion of popular protests that challenge technocratic governance and the power of markets in the name of democracy itself. This book seeks to make sense of this situation by critically engaging with the influential theory of 'the post-political' developed by Chantal Mouffe, Jacques Rancière, Slavoj Žižek and others. Through a multi-dimensional and fiercely contested assessment of contemporary depoliticization, 'The Post-Political and Its Discontents' urges us to confront the closure of our political horizons, and to re-imagine the possibility of emancipatory change.