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Ruling the Void by Peter Mair
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Ruling the Void

The Hollowing of Western Democracy

The Hollowing Of Western Democracy

The Hollowing Of Western Democracy

The Hollowing Of Western Democracy

By Peter Mair

By Peter Mair

By Peter Mair

By Peter Mair

By Peter Mair

By Peter Mair

By Peter Mair

By Peter Mair

Best Seller
Paperback $19.95

Jan 17, 2023 | ISBN 9781839767890

Paperback $26.95

Aug 06, 2013 | ISBN 9781844673247

Hardcover $95.00

Dec 17, 2013 | ISBN 9781781680995

Ebook $9.99

Aug 06, 2013 | ISBN 9781781682340

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    Ruling the Void by Peter Mair
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    Jan 17, 2023 | ISBN 9781839767890

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    • Paperback $19.95

      Jan 17, 2023 | ISBN 9781839767890

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      Aug 06, 2013 | ISBN 9781844673247

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    • Hardcover $95.00

      Dec 17, 2013 | ISBN 9781781680995

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    About Ruling the Void

     A classic account of democracy’s crisis of legitimacy

    The age of party democracy has passed, argues Peter Mair in Ruling the Void. The major parties have become so disconnected from society that they no longer seem capable of sustaining democracy in its present form.

    First published in 2013, Ruling the Void presciently observed that the widening gap between citizens and their political leaders posed a crisis of legitimacy for the governing class, and was fuelling populist mobilizations against it. Europe’s political elites had remodelled 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 proliferated – not least among them the European Union itself.

    Mair weighs the impact of these changes, and offers an authoritative assessment of the prospects for popular political representation today, not only in the varied democracies of Britain and the EU but throughout the developed world.

    With a new Introduction by Chris Bickerton, author of The European Union: A Citizen’s Guide.

    About Ruling the Void

    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.

    About Ruling the Void

    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.

    About Ruling the Void

    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.

    Product Details

    Category: Domestic Politics

    Paperback | $19.95
    Published by Verso
    Jan 17, 2023 | 208 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 | ISBN 9781839767890

    Category: Domestic Politics

    Paperback | $26.95
    Published by Verso
    Aug 06, 2013 | 160 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 | ISBN 9781844673247

    Category: Domestic Politics

    Hardcover | $95.00
    Published by Verso
    Dec 17, 2013 | 192 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 | ISBN 9781781680995

    Category: Domestic Politics

    Ebook | $9.99
    Published by Verso
    Aug 06, 2013 | 160 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 | ISBN 9781781682340
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    Praise

     ‘Peter Mair was one of the leading scholars in the area of comparative politics. He was especially noted for his path-breaking work on change in both political party organizations and party systems … and his insights into the intersections of politics and society were always worth hearing and reading.’
    ALAN WARE, Professor of Politics at Oxford University and author of The American Direct Primary

    ‘Peter Mair was one of the true greats of European political science, and one of the leading lights in the field of comparative politics. This was the most brilliant of minds and the most prolific of scholars.’
    DAVID FARRELL, President of the Political Studies Association of Ireland and author of Electoral Systems

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