Re-evaluating the role of representative institutions in radical democratic theory: lessons from democratic identity construction in Latvia
Date
2023-01-03
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Abstract
Käesolev väitekiri panustab poliitilise esindatuse kontseptuaalsesse diskussiooni, osundades teatud puudujääkidele postfundamentalistlikus teoorias ja illustreerides seda Läti juhtumiuuringu kaudu. Doktoritöö uurib kodanike võõrandumist oma poliitilistest esindajatest ning usaldamatust nende vastu radikaalse demokraatia vaatenurgast. Radikaalsed teoreetikud peavad neid probleeme neoliberaalse demokraatia kriisi tagajärgedeks ja pooldavad uute kollektiivsete subjektsuste kujunemist, mis vastustaks olemasolevad hegemooniad. Selle lähenemise silmapaistvaks esindajaks on Ernesto Laclau ja tema koostöös Chantal Mouffe’iga välja arendatud populismi kontseptsioon ning hegemooniateooria.
Doktoritöö analüüsib kriitiliselt esindusinstitutsioonide rolli Laclau töödes, käsitledes seda Läti juhtumi kontekstis, kus järjepidev valitsusvastane ja „rahva“-meelne diskursus ei ole suutnud tuua muutusi poliitilisele maastikule. Läti demokraatliku identiteedi konstrueerimine on toimunud hoopis esindusinstitutsioonide eitamise ja esindatuse tõrjumise kaudu, samas rõhutades „rahva“ demokraatlikku suveräänsust, mis tuleks saavutada otsedemokraatia kaudu. Läti riigi ja rahvuse pikaajalise diskursiivse konstrueerimise analüüsiga näidatakse, kuidas „rahva“ poliitiline subjektsus on moodustunud kas isolatsioonis või otseses vastuseisus esindusinstitutsioonidega nagu parlament, poliitilised parteid ja valitsus.
Läti juhtum kinnitab demokraatlikus teoorias laialt levinud skeptitsismi otsedemokraatia kui esindusdemokraatia hädade parandaja suhtes. Samal ajal on see juhtum vastukaaluks paljudele radikaalse demokraatia suuna esindajatele omasele kriitikale, mille kohaselt on poliitilised institutsioonid pelgalt liberaalse demokraatia instrumentideks. Selle asemel võtab käesolev uurimus omaks Claude Lefort'i vaate demokraatliku võimu kohast (mis on institutsionaalselt määratletud) ja kasutab Läti juhtumit, näitamaks institutsioonide normatiivset ja praktilist väärtust demokraatia toimimise ja püsimajäämise seisukohast. "Rahva" oletatava vahetu kohalolu ja "rahva" institutsionaalse kehastuse vahelise esindatuse "lõhe" eitamine raskendab demokraatliku identiteedi ülesehitamist Lätis. Lefort'i jaoks on esindusinstitutsioonid peamiseks mehhanismiks, mis seda lõhet taastoodab.
Doktoritöö kinnitab taas kord ja tõstab esile esindusinstitutsioonide sümboolset rolli radikaalse demokraatia teoorias. Lisaks avab doktoritöö uusi mõttesuundi demokraatlikust siirdest postkommunistlikus kontekstis. Levinumad teaduslikud käsitlused pigem ülehindavad kultuuriliste ja ajalooliste tegurite rolli Ida-Euroopas ning eeldavad hierarhilise suhte olemasolu Ida-Euroopa ja Lääne demokraatiate vahel. Piirkonna kultuurilised eripärad võivad tõepoolest aidata mõista seal esinevat rahulolematust demokraatiaga, kuid neid kultuurilisi eripärasid tuleb vaadelda kui identiteedi muutuvaid enesekäsitlusi, mitte kui monoliitseid plokke, milles poliitilised identiteedid on ette määratud. Doktoritöö väidab, et demokraatlike institutsioonide sümboolse rolli käsitlused vajavad värskendamist – need peaksid arvesse võtma olemasolevate poliitiliste süsteemide radikaalset kriitikat ja pakkuma uusi esindusinstitutsioonide vorme, tulemaks toime demokraatia nüüdisaegsete väljakutsetega.
This dissertation contributes to the conceptual debate on political representation by identifying certain significant blind spots in post-foundational theory and illustrating this with an empirical case study of Latvia. It explores citizens’ alienation from and mistrust of their political representatives from radical democratic perspectives. Radical theorists view these issues as resulting from the crisis of neoliberal democracy and argue for the formation of new collective subjectivities that would challenge the existing hegemonies. A notable example of this position is Ernesto Laclau’s conceptualization of populism and the theory of hegemony he developed with Chantal Mouffe. The dissertation critically examines the role of representative institutions in Laclau’s work, drawing on the case of Latvia, where continuous anti-government and pro-‘people’ discourse has not brought any substantial change to the political landscape. Instead, Latvian democratic identity construction is defined by the negation of representative institutions and the rejection of representation while embracing the democratic sovereignty of ‘the people’, to be achieved via direct democracy. Through a long-durée analysis of the discursive construction of the Latvian nation and state, I show how the political subjectivity of ‘the people’ has been constituted either in isolation or in direct antagonism to representative institutions such as the parliament, political parties, and the government. Latvia’s case confirms the widespread scepticism in democratic theory about direct democracy being a corrective to the ills of representative democracy. At the same time, it counters the criticism, typical for many radical democratic perspectives, of political institutions being instruments of liberal democracy. Instead, this study adopts Claude Lefort’s view of the democratic place of power (institutionally defined), and uses the case of Latvia to demonstrate the normative and practical value of institutions for the functioning and survival of democracy. The rejection of the representative ‘gap’ between the presumed unmediated presence of ‘the people’ and its embodiment through institutions complicates the construction of a democratic identity in Latvia. For Lefort, representative institutions are the key mechanism for explaining how this gap remains open. The dissertation thus re-states and highlights the symbolic role of representative institutions in radical democratic theory. Furthermore, the dissertation opens new ways of thinking about democratic transition in the post-communist context. The dominant scholarly perspectives risk overstating the role of cultural and historical factors in Eastern Europe by assuming its hierarchal relation to Western democracies. The cultural specifics of the region can indeed help to understand its democratic discontents, but they must be viewed as shifting self-representations of identity, not monolithic blocks that pre-determine political identities. Overall, the dissertation argues for a revitalized perspective on the symbolic role of institutions in democracy, which should consider the radical critiques of existing political systems and envision new forms of representative institutions to tackle the contemporary challenges to democracy.
This dissertation contributes to the conceptual debate on political representation by identifying certain significant blind spots in post-foundational theory and illustrating this with an empirical case study of Latvia. It explores citizens’ alienation from and mistrust of their political representatives from radical democratic perspectives. Radical theorists view these issues as resulting from the crisis of neoliberal democracy and argue for the formation of new collective subjectivities that would challenge the existing hegemonies. A notable example of this position is Ernesto Laclau’s conceptualization of populism and the theory of hegemony he developed with Chantal Mouffe. The dissertation critically examines the role of representative institutions in Laclau’s work, drawing on the case of Latvia, where continuous anti-government and pro-‘people’ discourse has not brought any substantial change to the political landscape. Instead, Latvian democratic identity construction is defined by the negation of representative institutions and the rejection of representation while embracing the democratic sovereignty of ‘the people’, to be achieved via direct democracy. Through a long-durée analysis of the discursive construction of the Latvian nation and state, I show how the political subjectivity of ‘the people’ has been constituted either in isolation or in direct antagonism to representative institutions such as the parliament, political parties, and the government. Latvia’s case confirms the widespread scepticism in democratic theory about direct democracy being a corrective to the ills of representative democracy. At the same time, it counters the criticism, typical for many radical democratic perspectives, of political institutions being instruments of liberal democracy. Instead, this study adopts Claude Lefort’s view of the democratic place of power (institutionally defined), and uses the case of Latvia to demonstrate the normative and practical value of institutions for the functioning and survival of democracy. The rejection of the representative ‘gap’ between the presumed unmediated presence of ‘the people’ and its embodiment through institutions complicates the construction of a democratic identity in Latvia. For Lefort, representative institutions are the key mechanism for explaining how this gap remains open. The dissertation thus re-states and highlights the symbolic role of representative institutions in radical democratic theory. Furthermore, the dissertation opens new ways of thinking about democratic transition in the post-communist context. The dominant scholarly perspectives risk overstating the role of cultural and historical factors in Eastern Europe by assuming its hierarchal relation to Western democracies. The cultural specifics of the region can indeed help to understand its democratic discontents, but they must be viewed as shifting self-representations of identity, not monolithic blocks that pre-determine political identities. Overall, the dissertation argues for a revitalized perspective on the symbolic role of institutions in democracy, which should consider the radical critiques of existing political systems and envision new forms of representative institutions to tackle the contemporary challenges to democracy.
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Keywords
representative democracy, institutions, identity, Latvia