Ruling the Void

The Hollowing of Western Democracy

Peter Mair

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English

Verso Books
04 April 2023

Political science & theory; Socialism & left-of-centre democratic ideologies; Political structures: democracy

The age of party democracy has passed, argues Peter Mair in 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.

First published in 2013, Ruling the Void presciently observed that the widening gap between citizens and their political leaders posed a crisis of legitimacy for the governing class, and was fuelling populist mobilizations against it. Europe’s political elites had remodelled themselves as a homogeneous professional class, withdrawing into state institutions that offer relative stability in a world of fickle voters. Meanwhile, 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, not only in the varied democracies of Britain and the EU but throughout the developed world.

With a new Introduction by Chris Bickerton, author of The European Union: A Citizen’s Guide.

By: Peter Mair
Imprint: Verso Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 210mm, Width: 140mm,
Weight: 198g
ISBN: 9781839767890
ISBN 10: 1839767898
Pages: 208
Publication Date: 04 April 2023
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , A / AS level , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Peter Mair (1951–2011) was one of the leading political scientists of his generation. His books include Party System Change and, with Stefano Bartolini, Identity, Competition and Electoral Availability.

Reviews for Ruling the Void: The Hollowing of Western Democracy

A deep and prophetic analysis. -- John McDermott * Financial Times * So original, perfectly crafted, accurate and true that you can't get it out of your head. -- Peter Oborne * Telegraph * A canary in the coalmine that pointed to the real dangers of democratic decline before they were widely acknowledged. -- Anne Applebaum * Guardian * Essential reading for anyone concerned with twenty-first century politics. -- Wolfgang Streeck * New Left Review * Mair's brilliance as a political scientist comes through clearly. The evidence he marshals is overwhelming. -- Jan-Werner Müller * London Review of Books *