Reclaiming Liberal Democracy in the Postfactual Age is a systematic exploration of the many ways in which post-truth politics constitutes a fundamental challenge and, indeed, an existential threat to liberal democracy as we know it.

The book addresses this existential threat by exploring the dynamic interplay of the various phenomena that constitute the post-truth condition, while also exploring possible responses aimed at reclaiming liberal democracy. The book's guiding assumption is that post-truth politics must be conceptualized as the ideal-typical endpoint of ongoing developments of liberal-democratic political culture. These developments are intimately connected to the ongoing transformation of the information environment, brought about by social/digital media and the recent rise of artificial intelligence. But they are also connected to the resurgence of populism and decreasing trust in once-trusted sources of information, in particular mainstream quality journalism, exacerbated by targeted disinformation campaigns at the hands of foreign powers.

Autorentext

Maximilian Conrad is Professor of Political Science at the University of Iceland. His main research interests include European integration and political theory, in particular issues connected to democracy, communication, civil society, and the public sphere. Ongoing research includes work on disinformation and post-truth politics. Conrad was the Academic Coordinator for the EU-funded Horizon Europe project RECLAIM - Reclaiming Liberal Democracy in the Postfactual Age (2022-2025). Recent publications include the co-edited volumes Europe in the Age of Post-Truth Politics (Palgrave/Springer 2023) and Post-Truth Populism: A New Political Paradigm (Palgrave/Springer 2024). Conrad is currently also one of three editors of the journal Scandinavian Political Studies.

Saul Newman is Professor of Politics at Goldsmiths University of London. His research is in the area of contemporary political and democratic theory, including topics such radical political thought, political theology, populism, and post-truth politics. He was a researcher on EU-funded Horizon Europe project RECLAIM - Reclaiming Liberal Democracy in the Postfactual Age (2022-2025). Recent books include: Order, Crisis and Redemption: Political Theology after Schmitt (with Peter Langford) (SUNY Press, 2022), The Anarchist Before the Law: Law without Authority (with Massimo La Torre) (Edinburgh University Press, 2024), and Post-Truth Populism: a New Political Paradigm (with Maximilian Conrad eds.) (Palgrave Springer, 2024).