Reclaiming Liberal Democracy in the Postfactual Age

1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-3-11-222296-6
Verlag: De Gruyter

Buch, Englisch, 214 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 230 mm, Gewicht: 451 g

Reihe: ISSN

is a systematic exploration of the many ways in which post-truth politics constitutes a fundamental challenge and, indeed, an existential threat to liberal democracy as we know it.

The book addresses this existential threat by exploring the dynamic interplay of the various phenomena that constitute the post-truth condition, while also exploring possible responses aimed at reclaiming liberal democracy. The book's guiding assumption is that post-truth politics must be conceptualized as the ideal-typical endpoint of ongoing developments of liberal-democratic political culture. These developments are intimately connected to the ongoing transformation of the information environment, brought about by social/digital media and the recent rise of artificial intelligence. But they are also connected to the resurgence of populism and decreasing trust in once-trusted sources of information, in particular mainstream quality journalism, exacerbated by targeted disinformation campaigns at the hands of foreign powers.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Conrad, Maximilian

Newman, Saul

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaften Kommunikationswissenschaften

Über Autor(innen)

Maximilian Conrad is Professor of Political Science at the University of Iceland. His main research interests include European integration and political theory, in particular issues connected to democracy, communication, civil society, and the public sphere. Ongoing research includes work on disinformation and post-truth politics. Conrad was the Academic Coordinator for the EU-funded Horizon Europe project RECLAIM – Reclaiming Liberal Democracy in the Postfactual Age (2022–2025). Recent publications include the co-edited volumes (Palgrave/Springer 2023) and (Palgrave/Springer 2024). Conrad is currently also one of three editors of the journal Scandinavian Political Studies.

Saul Newman is Professor of Politics at Goldsmiths University of London. His research is in the area of contemporary political and democratic theory, including topics such radical political thought, political theology, populism, and post-truth politics. He was a researcher on EU-funded Horizon Europe project RECLAIM – Reclaiming Liberal Democracy in the Postfactual Age (2022–2025). Recent books include: (with Peter Langford) (SUNY Press, 2022), (with Massimo La Torre) (Edinburgh University Press, 2024), and (with Maximilian Conrad eds.) (Palgrave Springer, 2024).