and norms. When solidarity is enacted at the individual level, from person-to-person, we can speak of “tier 1 solidarity.” When actions of mutual support become so common that they turn into “normal,” expected behavior in some groups, we see an
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Jean-Paul Gagnon and Mark Chou
This general issue of Democratic Theory begins with an important contribution by George Vasilev (La Trobe University) that reflects on Chantal Mouffe’s notion of democratic agonism. Mouffe has, primarily as part of her critique of deliberative democracy, asserted that consensus necessarily creates exclusion. What is important is that democratic dialogue remains open-ended. For her this means that democrats should view themselves as adversaries rather than antagonists who bring discussions to a close. Vasilev critiques Mouffe’s assertion by arguing that she holds a one-sided understanding of consensus that creates a less credible form of adversarial politics. By crafting a “norm of consensus”, Vasilev thus demonstrates that consensus formation can ensure the very condition of democratic freedom itself. In doing this, Vasilev’s argument brings a fresh perspective to ongoing debates in deliberative and agonistic democracy.
Babies and Boomers
Intergenerational Democracy and the Political Epidemiology of COVID-19
Toby Rollo
coercion and violence to govern citizens. Liberal justifications for the exclusion of the child center on the child's lack of sophisticated reasoning and communication on norms and collective decision-making. Children, especially very young children, simply
COVID and the Era of Emergencies
What Type of Freedom is at Stake?
Danielle Celermajer and Dalia Nassar
). This means that the conditions most likely to trigger the introduction of emergency measures will become more common. Second, it is well-documented that 40 years of neo-liberalism, as a form of politics, economics, and a cultural norm, have eroded
Democracy in a Global Emergency
Five Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic
Afsoun Afsahi, Emily Beausoleil, Rikki Dean, Selen A. Ercan, and Jean-Paul Gagnon
attempts at executive aggrandizement have not, so far, at least in Europe, been the norm. According to a study by the V-DEM Institute, only 4 of 28 European countries have violated any of a set of 8 liberal democratic norms during the state of emergency
The Democracy of Everyday Life in Disaster
Holding Our Lives in Their Hands
Nancy L. Rosenblum
one another. That is, the good neighbor is not the good citizen writ small. The principal norm among neighbors is reciprocity. Reciprocity is loose and open-ended. It applies to good turns and bad, to giving and receiving recognition (“how are you
Gender, Leadership and Representative Democracy
The Differential Impacts of the Global Pandemic
Kim Rubenstein, Trish Bergin, and Pia Rowe
, but they can effectively inhibit women's participation by relying on norms reflecting male life patterns as benchmarks of eligibility or success.” The issue of representation becomes even more significant in a crisis context. We must ask how we can
Lauri Rapeli and Inga Saikkonen
conditions. Hence, there is little to suggest that COVID-19 would deal a devastating—let alone lasting—blow to the institutions of old Western democracies. Impact on Democratic Backsliding Democratic forms of government became the global norm at the
Peter Levine
conditions of deep uncertainty. Of course, we would like to know what will happen to institutions and norms. Will a global pandemic make various publics more favorable to social democracy and welfare states by reinforcing the value of governments? Or will
Romanticizing Difference
Identities in Transformation after World War I
Nadia Malinovich
, native colonial populations are represented primarily as exploitable labor forces and assessed in terms of their degree of “civilization,” that is, conformity to French social and cultural norms. Moise then compares those interwar representations of the