{"product_id":"ruling-the-void-the-hollowing-of-western-democracy-9781839767890","title":"Ruling the Void: The Hollowing of Western Democracy","description":"\u003cb\u003e A classic account of democracy's crisis of legitimacy\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe age of party democracy has passed, argues Peter Mair in \u003ci\u003eRuling the Void\u003c\/i\u003e. The major parties have become so disconnected from society that they no longer seem capable of sustaining democracy in its present form. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFirst published in 2013, \u003ci\u003eRuling the Void\u003c\/i\u003e presciently observed that the widening gap between citizens and their political leaders posed a crisis of legitimacy for the governing class, and was fuelling populist mobilizations against it. Europe's political elites had remodelled themselves as a homogeneous professional class, withdrawing into state institutions that offer relative stability in a world of fickle voters. Meanwhile, non-democratic agencies and practices proliferated - not least among them the European Union itself. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMair weighs the impact of these changes, and offers an authoritative assessment of the prospects for popular political representation today, not only in the varied democracies of Britain and the EU but throughout the developed world. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith a new Introduction by Chris Bickerton, author of \u003ci\u003eThe European Union: A Citizen's Guide\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePeter Mair\u003c\/b\u003e (1951-2011) was one of the leading political scientists of his generation. His books include \u003ci\u003eParty System Change\u003c\/i\u003e and, with Stefano Bartolini, \u003ci\u003eIdentity, Competition and Electoral Availability\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Verso","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50388918141202,"sku":"9781839767890","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_d6ddb971-e753-4e06-970d-7359fff17af4.jpg?v=1728911792","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/ruling-the-void-the-hollowing-of-western-democracy-9781839767890","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}