The Meaning of Partisanship

by Jonathan White, Lea Ypi

For a century at least, parties have been central to the study of politics. Yet their typical conceptual reduction to a network of power-seeking elites has left many to wonder why parties were ever thought crucial to democracy. This book seeks to retrieve a richer conception of partisanship, drawing on modern political thought and extending it in the light of contemporary democratic theory and practice. Looking beyond the party as organization, the book develops an original account of what it is to be a partisan. It examines the ideas, orientations, obligations, and practices constitutive of partisanship properly understood, and how these intersect with the core features of democratic life. Such an account serves to underline in distinctive fashion why democracy needs its partisans, and puts in relief some of the key trends of contemporary politics.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy

272 pages, Hardcover

First published December 6, 2016

About the author

Jonathan P.J. White is Professor of Politics at the London School of Economics. He currently holds an Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung fellowship at the Hertie School, and has previously held visiting positions at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Harvard, Stanford, the Humboldt University, Sciences Po in Paris, and the Australian National University. Jonathan White's research interests lie in the fields of political sociology and applied political theory, with a focus on contemporary European democracy and the European Union.

Reviews

[Joe Olipo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Of the class of erudite scholarship which produces tenure and the shibboleth as a waste product.