Demos- und Wir-Konstruktionen und die Transformation der Demokratie

What do we mean by the demos of democracy? How do understandings of the people and ‘we’ change in political discourse? And what does this imply for changes to democracy itself? These questions are addressed in this book from both a theoretical and an empirical perspective. Concrete analyses of political debates in times of historical and current crises show that reinterpretations of demos and ‘we’ in political disputes always indicate a transformation in democracy. Change to democracy turns out to be a multi-layered process that requires an intersectional perspective. This shows that reinterpretations of democracy can accompany democratisation, but often advance anti-democratic agendas.