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By the People, For the People, Without the People?

The Emergence of (Anti)Political Sentiment in Israel and in Western Democracies

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  • Cover Type: E-Book
  • Number Of Pages: 401 Pages

This book is an outgrowth of an international workshop entitled "Anti-Politics: Citizens, Politics and the Political Profession" convened by IDI in 2008. Written by the conference participants, its articles represent various theoretical approaches, research methods, and points of view regarding the changing relations between citizens and the democratic political systems in which they live.

In many democratic countries today, there is a great deal of political disenchantment. Broad sectors of the public no longer hold politics and politicians in high esteem; rather, they relate to them with aversion, derision, and cynicism. Although people may not be taking to the streets and demonstrating and may not be in direct conflict with the agents and agencies of government, many citizens are effectively turning their backs on their elected government. Consequently, the government that is supposed to be "by the people and for the people" is essentially "without the people."

In December 2008, IDI convened an international workshop entitled Anti-Politics: Citizens, Politics and the Political Profession in Jerusalem in order to address these changes and their implications. The articles in By the People, For the People, Without the People? are an outgrowth of that workshop. Written by conference participants, they represent various theoretical approaches, research methods, and points of view regarding the changing relations between citizens and the democratic political systems in which they live.