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Ruling The Void: The Hollowing Of Western Democracy by [Mair, Peter]

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Peter Mair

Ruling The Void: The Hollowing Of Western Democracy Kindle Edition

by Peter Mair (Author)

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In the long-established democracies of Western Europe, electoral turnouts are in decline, membership is shrinking in the major parties, and those who remain loyal partisans are sapped of enthusiasm. Peter Mair’s new book weighs the impact of these changes, which together show that, after a century of democratic aspiration, electorates are deserting the political arena. Mair examines the alarming parallel development that has seen Europe’s political elites remodel 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 proliferate and gain credibility—not least among them the European Union itself, an organization contributing to the depoliticization of the member states and one whose notorious ‘democratic deficit’ reflects the deliberate intentions of its founders.

Ruling the Void offers an authoritative and chilling assessment of the prospects for popular political representation today, not only in the varied democracies of Europe but throughout the developed world.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

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Length: 193 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
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File Size: 3019 KB
Print Length: 193 pages
Publisher: Verso (August 6, 2013)
Publication Date: August 6, 2013
Language: English
ASIN: B00BE24VBW
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

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Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #790,120 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #487 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Ideologies & Doctrines > Democracy
- #492 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Elections & Political Process > Campaigns & Elections
- #721 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Elections & Political Process > Practical Politics

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Fats Yamaguchi

Useful Survey of the Decline of Political Parties in Europe and the United States

July 23, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Peter Mair's final book was arguably his most thoughtful consideration of the nature and mechanics of democracy. Mair argues the era of party democracy has passed in the West, with political parties increasingly losing touch with citizens. Mair attributes the decline of political parties to multiple trends: the decline of social groups--blue collar working groups, church congregations, and similar natural associative groups--who once composed the foundation of political parties; associated party efforts to reach beyond their traditional constituencies to become all things to all peoples; and increased voter alienation and volatility as parties become less distinct from one another. Meanwhile, political parties' power to affect change when in power also has grown more constrained by globalization, regional bodies such as the European Union, and the increased influence of unelected technocrats within national bureaucracies. While most of Mair's analysis focuses on European democracies, many of his arguments can reasonably be applied to the United States.

Mair predicted that declining voter identification with political parties would lead to increased volatility and a rise of populist movements and that unelected EU regulatory infringements on elected national governments' freedom of maneuver would foster Euroskepticism. In a season featuring the Brexit vote and US populist revolts on both the right and left, these predictions appear on target. The question for future researchers is how responsive party democracies can be created and sustained in today's world.

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Heli

Decline of democracy

July 25, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This book gives a poignant analysis of politics, political parties, voting and their decline, resulting in a decline of democracy. Anyone interested in the present situation and state of democracy should read this book.

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Ian Tighe

Concise but worrying

February 3, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Well written but then again I liked this guy. Sad loss! Its worryingly correct and should trigger in people a real fear for the future of democracy as we understand it.

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