Book symposium: Lise Herman (Exeter Politics)

Book Symposium: Lise Herman, Democratic Partisanship: Party Activism in an age of democratic crises, Edinburgh University Press

The Centre for European Studies and the Centre for Political Thought are delighted to invite you to a book symposium on Lise Herman (SPSPA)’s recently published monograph, Democratic Partisanship (Edinburgh University Press).

3.00-5.00pm: Book presentation

Chair: Sandra Kroger (Centre for European Studies)

Discussants: Bice Maiguashca (SPSPA) and Andrew Schapp (HaSS Cornwall) Professor Jonathan White (LSE)

5.00-6.00pm: Reception

Location: Knightley Boardroom

Summary: Parties are caught in the crossfire of contemporary criticism. According to journalistic and academic commentary alike, they are guilty of the many ills of representative democracy: their oligarchic tendencies spur mass disengagement, while their demagogic tropes polarise citizen attitudes. But what ideal of partisanship do we have in mind when we blame parties for these democratic pathologies? And how do real-world party organisations compare to this normative ideal? Democratic partisanship explores how key democratic norms hailed by political theorists resonate with the organisational culture of parties, taking the discourse of party members in France and Hungary as objects of study. The research explores the conditions under which grassroot partisanship may carry democratic principles, as well as the consequences for democratic systems when partisanship fails to approximate these ideals. Instead of writing-off parties as intrinsically suspect, this book makes an incisive case for a new partisan ethic in an age of democratic crises.