Democracy in question : democratic openness in a time of political closure / Alan Keenan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Keenan, Alan.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Democracy.

Physical Description:

xi, 238 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Stanford, Calif. : Stanford University Press, [2003]

Summary:

This book explores the theoretical paradoxes and practical dilemmas that flow from the still radical idea that in a democracy it is the people who rule, and argues that accepting the open and uncertain character of democratic politics can lead to more sustainable and widespread forms of democratic engagement.

Contents:

Introduction: Democratic Openness and the Difficult Experience of Political Freedom 1

1. The Rule of the People? Collective Autonomy and the Wagers of Democratic Openness 25

2. Promises, Promises: The Abyss of Freedom and the Loss of the Political in the Work of Hannah Arendt 76

3. "Open Sesame!" The Affirmation of Contingency and the Politics of Openness in Laclau and Mouffe's Radical and Plural Democracy 102

4. Generating a Virtuous Circle: Democratic Identity, Moralism, and the Languages of Political Responsibility 144.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [191]-233) and index.

ISBN:

0804737479

0804738653

OCLC:

49672997