Understanding the Crisis Symptoms of Representative Democracy: The New European Economic Governance and France’s ‘Political Crisis’

Lux, Julia (2018) Understanding the Crisis Symptoms of Representative Democracy: The New European Economic Governance and France’s ‘Political Crisis’. Social Policy and Society. ISSN 1474-7464 (Accepted for Publication)

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Abstract

This article will investigate the ‘political crisis’ in France (Amable, 2017) to highlight two aspects often set aside in public and academic discussions: 1) the technocratic, neoliberal character of the European Union (EU) that limits democratic debate about political economic issues and 2) the socio-economic context the parties operate in. Using this perspective, I add to the debate on the inherent theoretical/conceptual tension between representative democracy and populism (Taggart, 2002) by showing how the ‘new economic governance’ increases the democratic problems of the EU by limiting the discursive space. Representative liberal democracy has particularly marginalised anti-capitalism at EU and national level. My analysis shows that the EU’s discursive strategies are aligned to those of governing parties and the employers’ association. Left-wing actors and the Front National (FN) oppose the EU’s discourse not necessarily for reasons of sovereignty but for political reasons concerning the politico-economic trajectory of France.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information and Comments:	Julia Lux (2018). Understanding the Crisis Symptoms of Representative Democracy: The New European Economic Governance and France’s ‘Political Crisis’. Social Policy and Society. Copyright held by Cambridge University Press.
Keywords:	Crisis of representative democracy, France, Front National, European economic governance, discourse
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Education and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Julia LUX
Date Deposited:	19 Sep 2018 11:57
Last Modified:	17 Oct 2018 08:22
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/2604

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