Is environmentalism a remedy for the crisis of democracy ?
Résumé
Low turnout at the polls and public meetings, political dormancy between electoral campaigns, unapologetic careerism within the parties, campaign gimmicks – the list of obstacles to genuine democratic debate keeps growing. As the 2017 presidential election is approaching, that of 2002 still lurks in the memory. Jacques Chirac’s election after Lionel Jospin’s defeat in the first round administered a democratic and social jolt, which, nevertheless, did not bring about any change in the mainstream parties or any evolution in institutional practices. And, while the National Front has not (yet?) come to be considered as just another party, it nonetheless structures a large part of public debate over several issues – immigration, Islam, security, the rejection of Europe and globalization, and the denunciation of political scandals. If the campaign slogan “Anything but the National Front” comes to pervade the upcoming presidential and legislative electoral campaigns, that will mean that the political vision involving debate over real platforms has failed deeply and lastingly. In this context, one may wonder how “democracy can be made more democratic,” to use Sandra Laugier’s and Albert Ogien’s words (1), and whether commonly rec- ognized obstacles to democratic debate would be overcome if an environmental platform was adopted as the foundation of a new social contract.
Domaines
Science politique
Origine : Publication financée par une institution