Habermas and the Crisis of Democracy

"Emilie Prattico has used the lens of a discourse-theoretic conception of deliberative democracy to engage eight prominent colleagues in stimulating interviews. They critically illuminate the various ways that a sound democratic regime depends upon the deliberative milieu of an inclusive public sphere." - Jürgen Habermas

The continued rise of populism and authoritarianism throughout the world has witnessed an alarming attack on basic democratic freedoms and led to a divided political and social world. Few thinkers have done as much as Jürgen Habermas to understand and critique these problems, perhaps most famously through his notions of the public sphere, deliberative democracy, and discourse ethics.

In this fascinating book, Emilie Prattico considers the crisis of democracy from a Habermasian standpoint via engaging interviews with an outstanding lineup of leading philosophers and thinkers. The following key topics are unpacked and explored:



Can some basic rights and liberties be given up to safeguard democracy? With Hauke Brunkhorst How does actual deliberation confer legitimacy to democratic decisions? With Cristina Lafont Why is "fake news" a crisis of democracy? With Michael Lynch How can we build a public sphere together and share it in a world characterized by divisiveness and tribalism? With Barbara Fultner Can democracy survive without the voice of experts? With Kenneth Baynes How dangerous are the current forms of authoritarianism we are seeing take hold all over the world? With María Pía Lara What does the public sphere look like with new technologies? With Gertrud Koch What duties do we owe descendants of slaves and how do we reckon with our antidemocratic and oppressive past? With Lorenzo Simpson Also including a Foreword by Habermas himself, this book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the challenges facing democracy and liberalism today. It will be of great interest to those in philosophy, sociology, and politics as well as related fields such as religion and law.