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OverviewThe current perception of democratic crisis in Western Europe gives a renewed urgency to a new perspective on the way democracy was reconstructed after World War II and the principles that underpinned its postwar transformation. This study accounts for the formation of the postwar democratic order in Western Europe by studying how the main political actors in France, West Germany and Italy conceptualized democracy and strove over its meaning. Based upon a wide range of librarian and archival sources from these countries, it tracks changing conceptions of democracy among leading politicians, political parties, and leaders of social movements, and unveils how they were deeply divided over key principles of postwar democracy – such as the political party, the free market economy, representation, and civic participation. By comparing three national debates on the question what democracy meant and how it should be institutionalized and practiced, this study argues that only in the 1970s conceptions of democracy converged and key political actors accepted each other as democrats with similar conceptions of democracy. This study thereby deconstructs the myth of the quick emergence of one consensual Western European model of democracy after 1945, demonstrates that its formation was a long and contentious process in which national differences were often of crucial importance, and contributes to an enhanced understanding of the historical roots of the current sentiment of democratic crisis. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Pepijn Corduwener (University of Utrecht, The Netherlands)Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd Imprint: Routledge Volume: 33 Dimensions: Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 22.90cm Weight: 0.430kg ISBN: 9781138690639ISBN 10: 1138690635 Pages: 212 Publication Date: 15 September 2016 Audience: College/higher education , Tertiary & Higher Education , Undergraduate Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Transforming Democracy After the Second World War 2. Contesting Democratic Legitimacy During the Cold War 3. Converging Conceptions of Democracy at the Turn of the 1960s 4. Political Elites and the Challenge to the Parliamentary Model 5. Democracy Between Crisis and Consensus After the 1973 Oil Crisis ConclusionReviewsAuthor InformationPepijn Corduwener is an Assistant Professor in History at Utrecht University. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |