Articulations of Desire: Populism and the Future of Democracy

ended

This project argues for a coherent concept of political desire as a necessary step toward understanding the limitations of democratic institutions. As democracies around the world react to unprecedented challenges, distrust of the various national and supranational institutions presiding over North American and European democracy has risen sharply. This skepticism has led to unstable political conditions and an agitated populace. The uncertain future of democratic institutions is magnified by populist resurgences that challenge existing norms and defy conventional political wisdom. A mounting concern to philosophers and political scientists alike, populism has been identified as a significant result – and sometimes source – of political turmoil. However, an understanding of precisely how and why these movements arise and gain traction has not been given due attention from a broader philosophical position. “Articulations of Desire” (AoD) contends that there is more at stake in populism than unrest, demagoguery, and mob rule. Seen through a lenses of order and disorder, rationality and irrationality, populism is thought to be the chaotic and ungovernable whims of the masses. However, this project approaches populism as the eruption of repressed collective desire. This project assert that unresponsiveness to desire often does jeopardize democratic processes, but precisely because it delegitimizes institutional claims to sovereign democratic authority. Here, desire can be defined as a positive vector of expression and demand that is a foundational force of collectivity. By developing a concept of political desire and examining the nature of populism, this project seeks a new understanding of democratic collectivity that challenges dominant Liberal models. By developing this line of inquiry, this project seeks to expand the possibilities for future democratic thought and provide useful conceptual tools for further inquiries into political philosophy and democracy.