Ruling the Void: The Hollowing of Western Democracy

The major parties have become disconnected from society, leading to a crisis of legitimacy for the governing class. Peter Mair's book, Ruling the Void, presciently observed this gap and the rise of populist mobilizations. Europe's political elites have withdrawn into state institutions, while non-democratic agencies and practices proliferated. Mair offers an authoritative assessment of the prospects for popular political representation in the developed world.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 17 January 2023
Publisher: Verso Books

The age of party democracy has come to an end, as argued by Peter Mair in his book "Ruling the Void." The major parties have become so disconnected from society that they no longer seem capable of sustaining democracy in its present form. This was first observed in 2013 when the widening gap between citizens and their political leaders posed a crisis of legitimacy for the governing class. The political elites in Europe had remodelled themselves as a homogeneous professional class, withdrawing into state institutions that offer relative stability in a world of fickle voters. At the same time, non-democratic agencies and practices proliferated, not least among them the European Union itself.

Mair weighs the impact of these changes and offers an authoritative assessment of the prospects for popular political representation today. He examines the varied democracies of Britain and the EU, as well as the developed world as a whole. With a new Introduction by Chris Bickerton, author of "The European Union: A Citizen's Guide," this book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding the state of democracy in the modern world.

Weight: 198g
Dimension: 139 x 209 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781839767890