VERANSTALTUNGEN: The future of democracy in a post-political age

In this presentation I will examine the current crisis of representation in Western Liberal Democracies and argue that is is due to the fact that citizens have been deprived of a choice between political alternatives by the 'consensus at the center' established between center-right and center-left parties', This 'post-political situation, far from being a progress for democracy has created the terrain for the rise of right-wing populist movements. Contrary to what some theorists claim the solution is not to be found in abandoning representative democracy but in making our democratic institutions more representatives. This requires the development of an agonistic debate, both at the national and the European level, in order to create the conditions for recovering and radicalizing democracy.