Cover; Contents; Preface and Acknowledgements; Guide to Abbreviations of Political Parties; 1 The Neglect of Citizens in the Measurement of Liberal Democracy; 2 Liberal Institutions, Illiberal Democracy? ; 3 Political Pluralism in the Mathematical or the Philosophical Sense?; 4 Publics and Counterpublics in Serbia; 5 Disenchantment without Coherence in Bulgaria; Conclusion: Evaluating Democracy through the Public Sphere; Postscript: On the Bulgarian Protests of 2013 and the Spectre of Authoritarian Populism in Serbia; Bibliography ; Index
Summary
Starting from the premise that citizens can only uphold the institutions of liberal democracy when they understand and identify with the principles enshrined in them, the author applies normative public sphere theory to the analysis of political discourse and everyday discussion in Serbia and Bulgaria. Moving beyond the narrow focus on institutions that currently prevails in studies of democratization, this book demonstrates the value of a more ethnographic and society-oriented approach
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 193-205) and index
