Abwahlprozesse – Beiträge zur Verteidigung und Selbstzerstörung der liberalen Demokratie

Democracy is widely seen to be in crisis. In recent decades authors mostly named market imperatives and sometimes a trend towards expertocratic rule as reasons. Today, the focus has shifted to right-wing populism. This review discusses books that not only aim at a better understanding of this threat - with the book of Carolin Amlinger and Oliver Nachtwey even pointing to fascist tendencies - but also discuss possible solutions. A main topic are appeals to revive civic virtues and 'republican' attitudes. While Julian Nida-Rümelin calls for the strengthening of civic culture along with basic rights and liberties, Felix Heidenreich also proposes that political communities exert stronger demands on individual citizens. Taking an historical perspective, Philipp Lepenies points out that today's democracies have almost always started as elite projects. The review posits this as a problem that also affects the proposals for today's democracies. On the one hand, these proposals offer little that could win back the masses attracted to right-wing populism. On the other hand, they tend to sacrifice liberal rather than democratic elements in order to save liberal democracy. If, as Nachtwey and Amlinger argue, we face a developing 'democratic fascism' (which they only tackle with social psychology), this might be the wrong direction to look for solutions. Under conditions of economic stagnation and stark inequalities, Western democracy is increasingly threatened by itself, or more specifically by electoral expressions of frustration, an urge for revenge and a will for power as such.