Representative politics is in crisis. Trust in politicians
is at an all-time low. Fewer people are voting or joining political
parties, and our interest in parliamentary politics is declining
fast. Even oppositional and radical parties that should be
benefitting from public disenchantment with politics are
suffering.
But different forms of political activity are emerging to
replace representative politics: instant politics, direct action,
insurgent politics. We are leaving behind traditional
representation, and moving towards a politics without
representatives. In this provocative new book, Simon Tormey
explores the changes that are underway, drawing on a rich range of
examples from the Arab Spring to the Indignados uprising in Spain,
street protests in Brazil and Turkey to the emergence of new
initiatives such as Anonymous and Occupy.
Tormey argues that the easy assumptions that informed our thinking
about the nature and role of parties, and ‘party based
democracy’ have to be rethought. We are entering a period of
fast politics, evanescent politics, a politics of the street, of
the squares, of micro-parties, pop-up parties, and demonstrations.
This may well be the end of representative politics as we know it,
but an exciting new era of political engagement is just
beginning.

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