Political messianism and democracy: On possibility of political self-transformation of democracy

In: Filozofija i društvo, Band 27, Heft 3, S. 644-663

Abstract

The article deals with the relation of political messianism to ongoing debate
on the crisis of democracy. The conceptual framework of political messianism
is the convenient analytical tool because it makes the concept of crisis a
starting point for formulating a different politics of redemption. Three
conceptions of political messianism are being analyzed: as a revolutionary
policies, as critical tool, as well as open possibility of radical changes.
It shows in all three cases that deep beliefs play an important role in
politics and that it is not possible to immunize political order from them.
The second part of the paper points to the significance of these insights for
understanding the discourse on the crisis of democracy which important part
represents the loss of faith in the ability of democratic institutions to
formulate a framework for meaningful political actions of citizens. As a
result, there has been a transformation of the concept of democracy which now
sees political actions of citizens-amateurs as a nuisance. Such a condition
produces tensions which are burdening the functioning of democratic regimes.
In conclusion, it is noted that contemporary democracies are not able to
restore faith in the fundamentals of its existence as long as they insist on
the primacy of the form of democracy, which in the meantime has become the
norm, but fails to convince the citizens in their intrinsic values.