Prefiguring Democratic Futures
Cultural and Theoretical Responses to the Crisis of Political Imagination
Prefiguring Democratic Futures (PREDEF) proceeds from the assumption that the much-discussed crisis of democracy is not simply a crisis of the political system. Rather, it has become difficult to even imagine democratic alternatives as well as possibilities to expand and radicalize democracy in the future. Democratic imagination is rejected under the neoliberal hegemony of the ‘TINA-principle’ and the rise of neo-authoritarianism. The demise of democratic imagination is accompanied by a loss of belief in a more open, equal, and democratic future.
If this assessment holds, then it does not suffice to defend existing democratic achievements. Addressing the crisis of democracy requires broadening the horizon of democratic possibilities by exploring potentials for deepening and pluralizing democracy. To contribute to this goal, PREDEF goes beyond the sphere of politics narrowly defined as the body of existing political institutions (i.e., the minimal institutional framework of Western liberal democracy) and conventional channels for political participation. The project turns to the fields of culture, art, and the history of ideas, as these fields hold hitherto untapped potentials for expanding our democratic imagination and disclosing emancipatory alternatives.
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