Compromises in Democracy

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

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2. Introduction

   • Sandrine Baume, Stéphanie Novak

   Pages 1-17

3. Compromise and the People’s Two Bodies

   • Alin Fumurescu

   Pages 19-46

4. Compromise and Majority Rule: How Their Dynamic Affects Democracy

   • Patrick Overeem

   Pages 47-67

5. Compromise and Publicity in Democracy: An Ambiguous Relationship

   • Sandrine Baume, Stéphanie Novak

   Pages 69-94

6. Agonistic Compromise

   • Manon Westphal

   Pages 95-120

7. Compromise Between Incommensurable Ethical Values

   • Martijn Boot

   Pages 121-147

8. Cultural Compromise

   • Dominik Gerber

   Pages 149-173

9. Militant Consociational Democracy: The Political Exclusion of the Extreme Right in Belgium

   • Matthijs Bogaards

   Pages 175-200

10. Towards a Sociology of Social Compromise: Social Compromise Amongst Victims of Conflict in Northern Ireland, South Africa and Sri Lanka

    • John D. Brewer

    Pages 201-223

11. Back Matter

    Pages 225-242

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This book provides an interdisciplinary examination of the relationship between compromise and democracy. Compromises have played a significant role in our representative democracies and yet the nature of the relationship between compromise and democracy has generally raised tricky theoretical questions and generated ambiguous evaluations. This book focuses on the relationship between compromise and liberal democracies from both a cultural and institutional perspective and addresses new and lesser-explored aspects of the relationship. It explores a variety of topics including: compromise and in-commensurable values,  antagonist paradigms, compromise and majority decisions, compromise and publicity, compromise and post-conflict societies, compromise and anti-system political parties, and compromise and the understanding of political representation. Compromises in Democracy offers an original perspective on the topic by assembling contributions from the fields of philosophy, sociology, political theory, political science and history of ideas.

• political theory
• political sociology
• multicultural compromise
• crime and society
• victims
• conflict
• peace
• majority rule
• plurality
• institutional settings
• collective decisions
• political compromise
• political philosophy
• competing values
• criminal justice
• democracy

“This impressive volume has the great merit of examining blind spots and neglected aspects of compromises in the context of democracy or of democratisation processes. By challenging common and widespread ideas, the chapters gathered in this collection offer a fine-grained picture of the role of compromises in political decision-making” (Professor Arendt Lijphart, University of California, San Diego, US)

“This collection of essays is an excellent guide to the important and troubling topic of the relation between democracy and compromise. It is instructive and insightful” (Professor Avishai Margalit, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)

“As efforts to bring to compromise after conflict increase around the world, understanding how societies make this transition is crucial. This important book brings together key scholars in the field to identify the strategies that work most effectively. The book is essential reading for policymakers and scholars interested in ending longstanding societal conflicts” (Professor Ian McAllister, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia)

“Compromises in Democracy is a timely contribution when conflict, protest, violence seem to legitimate the idea of an “antagonistic democracy”. By contrast, the authors and contributors of this innovative book offer a sophisticated analysis of how compromise is and remains at the very heart of the democratic project in particular at a time of unbound populism” (Professor Yves Mény (European University Institute, Italy)

• Centre for Public Law, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

  Sandrine Baume

• Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Venice, Italy

  Stéphanie Novak

Sandrine Baume is Professor at the Centre for Public Law of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. She is a political theorist and a historian of ideas.  Her research focuses mainly on democratic theory. Her recent work concentrates on the imperative of transparency in public affairs, the value of compromise in democracy and the impact of misinformation on the quality of the democratic process
 
Stéphanie Novak is Associate Professor of political science and international relations at the University Ca’ Foscari of Venice, Italy. Her research interests include decisional processes, EU institutions, informal norms,  transparency and accountability.

Policies and ethics