Anti-politics
Anti-politics is a term used to describe opposition to, or distrust in, traditional
Anti-politics tends to focus on negative assessments of politicians and political elites by civic organisations, the media and citizens,
Possible causes of anti-political sentiment include the processes associated with depoliticisation, especially an increase in technocratic forms of governance,[8] as well as citizens' perceptions of incompetent governance and the poor performance of politicians.[9] Political distrust can originate from, and increase support for, a range of different political ideologies, including both left-wing and right-wing positions and the extremes of these.[10] Healthy levels of mistrust in politics are often seen as legitimate scepticism and considered beneficial for democratic functioning.[11] High distrust can increase the divide between policy-makers (politicians, or the political establishment) and citizens, which provides opportunities for populist rhetoric.[9] Anti-politics is often expressed through appeals to "the people" and is consequently linked with populism, particularly, but not exclusively, right-wing populism.[12]
Conceptual history
The idea gained attention with the publication of The Anti-Politics Machine by anthropologist James Ferguson in 1990. Ferguson developed a thesis that rural development projects funded by the World Bank and the Canadian International Development Agency in Lesotho increased bureaucratic state power in the country and depoliticised both the state and poverty, causing them to become non-political issues. Ferguson consequently described development as an "anti-politics machine".[13] Ferguson's model has been applied to other developing countries such as India,[13][14] and anti-politics has also been used to critique the shared administration of resources involving Indigenous peoples in Canada and North America.[15]
In the first decade of the 2000s, scholars of
Negativity towards formal political institutions is a significant phenomenon in Europe, North America, Australasia and elsewhere. The trend originated in many democracies during the second half of the 20th century and it is generally accepted that a range of factors have contributed to increasing distrust in politics over this broad time frame.[17] In Why We Hate Politics (2007), political scientist Colin Hay wrote that the label "political" had become associated in popular consciousness with negative connotations, such as corruption, greed, self-interest and inefficiency. Hay contrasted this with the positive ideals connected with "democracy".[18] He also analysed a link between anti-political sentiment and political disengagement,[19] including declines in voter turnout, lower membership of political parties and more informal forms of political participation.[20]
Causes
Like other political phenomena, such as
Demand-side explanations include a decline in collective institutions, activists questioning the political order and citizens being attracted to populist leaders.[23] In Bowling Alone (2000), political scientist Robert D. Putnam put forward a demand-side explanation for political disaffection, arguing that the decline in civic participation and increased atomisation of society were responsible for political disengagement in the United States.[24] Political scientists Emma Vines and David Marsh have argued that the distinction between demand- and supply-side explanations is misleading as the growth of anti-politics is related to a dysfunctional relationship between citizens and political authorities, particularly revolving around a lack of dialogue on complex political issues, which are presented as having simple solutions.[25]
Demand-side (changes in citizens) | Supply-side (changes in politics) | Intermediary (changes in how politics is communicated) |
Citizens more affluent and better educated, consequently more critical | Greater expectations on governments, which perform less well against a wider set of criteria | Politics increasingly mediated by journalists and commentators |
Weaker alignment between citizens and mainstream political parties | Transfer of power away from national governments to other actors | Media increasingly frames politics in negative terms; growth of social media |
Citizens adopting a consumerist approach to politics | Less ideological distinction between different politicians and parties | Political campaigning professionalised; increasingly occurs on the national level and focuses on controlled situations |
Relationship to populism
Part of the Politics series |
Populism |
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There is a strong link between anti-politics and anti-establishment sentiment.[26] Multiple political theorists have described anti-politics as being a fundamental part of populist ideology.[27] Political scientist Blendi Kajsiu argues that anti-politics can be conceptually distinguished from populism because a rejection of formal politics and politicians can be justified through traditional ideologies such as conservativism (for undermining traditional values) or socialism (for sustaining or increasing inequality), in addition to the "thin ideology" of populism (for violation of the popular will).[28]
In the 2010s, the concept of anti-politics was adopted by political scientists hypothesising links between the presidencies of
Some scholars have linked anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown protests during the COVID-19 pandemic to the spread of anti-political sentiment, particularly via online social media, in Western democracies.[30]
See also
- Depoliticisation– when issues are no longer the subject of political contestation
- Populism – political stances juxtaposing "the people" with "the elite"
- Apoliticism – philosophical rejection of political ideology or affiliations
References
Citations
- ^ a b c Rogers, Castree & Kitchin 2013, p. 1.
- ^ Vines & Marsh 2018, pp. 435–442.
- ^ Vines & Marsh 2018, p. 437.
- ^ Fox 2021, pp. 19–20.
- ^ Wood 2022, p. 27.
- ^ Corbett 2020, pp. 183, 186.
- ^ Beveridge & Featherstone 2021, p. 438.
- ^ Fawcett et al. 2017, pp. 4–7, 286.
- ^ a b Bertsou 2019, p. 227.
- ^ Wood 2022, p. 28.
- ^ Bertsou 2019, pp. 213–218.
- ^ a b c Beveridge & Featherstone 2021, p. 439.
- ^ a b Chhotray 2011, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Huber & Joshi 2015, p. 13.
- ^ Nadasdy 2005, pp. 215–218.
- ^ Barry 2002, pp. 279–280.
- ^ a b Clarke et al. 2017, pp. 13–14.
- ^ Hay 2007, pp. 153–154.
- ^ Fawcett et al. 2017, p. 4.
- ^ Hay 2007, pp. 12–39.
- ^ Vines & Marsh 2018, p. 446.
- ^ Fawcett et al. 2017, p. 9.
- ^ Vines & Marsh 2018, pp. 436, 446.
- ^ Vines & Marsh 2018, p. 438.
- ^ Vines & Marsh 2018, p. 450.
- ^ Vines & Marsh 2018, p. 439.
- ^ Kajsiu 2021, pp. 2–3.
- ^ Kajsiu 2021, p. 13.
- ^ Beveridge & Featherstone 2021, p. 437.
- ^ Russell 2022, pp. 1, 14.
Bibliography
- Barry, Andrew (2002). "The anti-political economy". Economy and Society. 31 (2): 268–284. S2CID 145404589.
- Bertsou, Eri (May 2019). "Rethinking political distrust" (PDF). European Political Science Review. 11 (2): 213–230. S2CID 197789057.
- Beveridge, Ross; Featherstone, David (May 2021). "Introduction: Anti-politics, austerity and spaces of politicisation". EPC: Politics and Space. 39 (3): 437–450. .
- Chhotray, Vasudha (2011). The Anti-Politics Machine in India: State, Decentralization and Participatory Watershed Development. London: Anthem Press. JSTOR j.ctt1gxpc1j.
- Clarke, Nick; Jennings, Will; Moss, Jonathan; Stoker, Gerry (January 2017). "Changing spaces of political encounter and the rise of anti-politics: Evidence from Mass Observation's General Election diaries". Political Geography. 56: 13–23. .
- Corbett, Jack (May 2020). "The Deconsolidation of Democracy: Is It New and What Can Be Done About It?". Political Studies Review. 18 (2): 178–188. S2CID 201413347.
- Fawcett, Paul; Flinders, Matthew; Hay, Colin; Wood, Matthew, eds. (2017). Anti-Politics, Depoliticization, and Governance. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-874897-7.
- Fox, Stuart (March 2021). "Political alienation and referendums: how political alienation was related to support for Brexit". British Politics. 16 (1): 16–35. .
- Hay, Colin (2007). Why We Hate Politics. Cambridge: Polity Press. ISBN 978-0-745-63099-1.
- Huber, Amelie; Joshi, Deepa (December 2015). "Hydropower, Anti-Politics, and the Opening of New Political Spaces in the Eastern Himalayas". World Development. 76: 13–25. .
- Kajsiu, Blendi (19 December 2021). "Beyond populism: the ideological dimensions of anti-politics". S2CID 245367379.
- Nadasdy, Paul (2005). "The Anti-Politics of TEK: The Institutionalization of Co-Management Discourse and Practice". Anthropologica. 47 (2): 215–232. JSTOR 25606237.
- Rogers, Alisdair; Castree, Noel; Kitchin, Rob, eds. (2013). "anti-politics". A Dictionary of Human Geography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-175806-5.
- Russell, Francis (20 May 2022). "Pox populi: Anti-vaxx, anti-politics". Journal of Sociology. 59 (3): 699–715. S2CID 260808301.
- Vines, Emma; Marsh, David (December 2018). "Anti-politics: beyond supply-side versus demand-side explanations". British Politics. 13 (4): 433–453. S2CID 157423901.
- Wood, Matthew (2 January 2022). "The Political Ideas Underpinning Political Distrust: Analysing Four Types of Anti-politics". Representation. 58 (1): 27–48. S2CID 239662865.