Démocratiser au-delà de la crise du libéralisme: mener la société civile vers l’État

Cristiano Gianolla

doi:10.4000/rccs.6820

Abstract

Philosophers, sociologists and political scientists may analyse political crises by looking at the relationship between the liberal and democratic pillars of liberal-democratic regimes. Social questioning of representation (abstention, apathy and protest) is a democratic response to the failure of the liberal pillar to democratise access to political power, therefore, the crisis of liberalism. M. K. Gandhi developed an alternative theory based on intercultural perspectives and on local, ethical communities. Through Boaventura de Sousa Santos’ “epistemologies of the South”, this article analyses how Gandhi’s work can be mobilised to foster democratisation theory. The study contends that to overcome the crises, democratisation of the liberal pillar is both paramount and achievable with a new interplay of the state and civil society.

Highlights

The transformation of liberal democratic regimes has been formulated as “post-democracy” (Crouch, 2004), “audience democracy” (Manin, 1997), “hybrid democracy” (Diamanti, 2014a, 2014b), and “counter-democracy” (Rosanvallon, 2008) amongst others
The Epistemologies of the South and Democratic Perspectives The “epistemologies of the South” are “a set of inquiries into the construction and validation of knowledge born in struggle, of ways of knowing developed by social groups as part of their resistance against the systematic injustices and oppressions caused by capitalism, colonialism, and patriarchy” (Santos, 2014: X)
With the global diffusion of liberal democracy as a regime form and the challenges raised by neoliberal globalisation, the crisis of liberalism affects the world

Summary

Número semitemático

Democratisation beyond the Crisis of Liberalism, Bringing Civil Society within the State. Democratizar para além da crise do liberalismo: trazer a sociedade civil para o Estado Démocratiser au-delà de la crise du libéralisme: mener la société civile vers l’État

Cristiano Gianolla

CRISTIANO GIANOLLA*

Introduction

Conclusion