The Politics Of Antipolitics

Latin America is moving toward democracy. The region's countries hold elections, choose leaders, and form new governments. But is the civilian government firmly in power? Or is the military still influencing policy and holding the elected politicians in check under the guise of guarding against corruption, instability, economic uncertainty, and other excesses of democracy? The editors of this work, Brian Loveman and Thomas M. Davies, Jr., argue that with or without direct military rule, antipolitics persists as a foundation of Latin American politics. This study examines the origins of antipolitics, traces its nineteenth- and twentieth-century history, and focuses on the years from 1965 to 1995 to emphasize the somewhat illusory transitions to democracy. This third edition of The Politics of Antipolitics has been revised and updated to focus on the post-Cold War era. With the demise of the Soviet state and international Marxism, the Latin American military has appropriated new threats including narcoterrorism, environmental exploitation, technology transfer, and even AIDS to redefine and relegitimate its role in social, economic, and political policy. The editors also address why and how the military rulers acceded to the return of civilian-elected governments and the military's defense against accusations of human rights abuses.

Based on extensive use of primary sources, this book provides an analysis of Solidarity, from its ideological origins in the Polish "new left," through the dramatic revolutionary months of 1980-81, and up to the union?s remarkable resurgence in 1988-89, when it sat down with the government to negotiate Poland?s future. David Ost focuses on what Solidarity is trying to accomplish and why it is likely that the movement will succeed. He traces the conflict between the ruling Communist Party and the opposition, Solidarity?s response to it, and the resulting reforms. Noting that Poland is the one country in the world where "radicals of ?68" came to be in a position to negotiate with a government about the nature of the political system, Ost asks what Poland tells us about the possibility for realizing a "new left" theory of democracy in the modern world. As a Fulbright Fellow at Warsaw University and Polish correspondent for the weekly newspaper In These Times during the Solidarity uprising and a frequent visitor to Poland since then, David Ost has had access to a great deal of unpublished material on the labor movement. Without dwelling on the familiar history of August 1980, he offers some of the unfamiliar subtleties?such as the significance of the Szczecin as opposed to the Gdansk Accord?and shows how they shaped the budding union?s understanding of the conflicts ahead. Unique in its attention to the critical, formative period following August 1980, this study is the most current and comprehensive analysis of a movement that continues to transform the nature of East European society.

Attributes Canadian withdrawal from the Thaba-Tseka rural development project largely to problems accompanying the expansion of state power ("etatization"). Includes an introductory literature survey on development planning and evaluation in general.

Asks how and why anti-political sentiment has grown among British citizens over the last half-century.

Since communism collapsed we have witnessed the emergence of numerous political actors - neopopulists, neoliberals, fundamentalists, nationalists, and others - who share one ideological leitmotif: their deep contempt for modern democratic politics. The book asks an old question: What is politics? And it adds a new one to the agenda of social sciences: What is antipolitics? Some authors trace antipolitical traditions in Western political thought, while others analyze the rhetoric of contemporary antipolitical actors in the US, the former Soviet Union, and South America. The book contains contributions from Charles H. Fairbanks Jr, Barry Hindess, Erwin A. Jaffe, Norbert Lechner, Jose Nun, Louis Pauly, Andreas Schedler, and Gershon Weiler.

This book assesses the validity of 'anti-politics' critiques of development, first popularised by James Ferguson, in the peculiar context of India. It examines the extent to which it is possible to keep politics out of a highly technocratic state watershed development programme that also seeks to be participatory.

An analysis of the rise of populism and the disavowal of politics in the West in recent years. In recent years, the West has seen a rising tide of populist and anti-political feeling. Figures like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage have gained power by distancing themselves from “the establishment” and portraying politics itself as the enemy of the people. And it’s not just them — increasingly, the media and politicians of all stripes hurl the word “ideological” as an insult, tie themselves in knots to avoid mentioning “the working class,” and champion the “depoliticising of key decision-making.” In this book, Eliane Glaser — one of the early commentators to call attention to this new wave of populism — takes stock of how we got here and where we’re going. At the heart of this is a vital question: Is the “death of politics” simply an inevitable sign of the times, going hand in hand with climate change, technological development and postmodern malaise? Or is it the intentional result of right-wing engineering? In addressing this question, Glaser shows how forces on the Right have manipulated and benefitted from the apathy of anti-politics; and how the Left’s move to centre under neoliberal leaders has helped in the process. She argues that in order to revive productive engagement and hope for the future, we need to return to three pillars of political philosophy that have become dirty words: ideology, authority and the state. Glaser puts forward a strong and galvanising defence of these foundations, showing that however unpopular they may be, they’re necessary for the functioning of a fair society.

This book investigates the extent to which depoliticisation strategies, used to disguise the political character of decision-making, have become the established mode of governance within societies. Increasingly, commentators suggest that the dominance of depoliticisation is leading to a crisis of representative democracy or even the end of politics, but is this really true? This book examines the circumstances under which depoliticisation techniques can be challenged, whether such resistance is successful and how we might understand this process. It addresses these questions by adopting a novel comparative and interdisciplinary perspective. Scholars from a range of European countries scrutinise the contingent nature of depoliticisation through a collection of case studies, including: economic policy; transport; the environment; housing; urban politics; and government corruption. The book will be appeal to academics and students across the fields of politics, sociology, urban geography, philosophy and public policy.