Neo-democracy: ‘Useful Idiot’ of Neo-liberalism?

Abstract

This article explores a possible link between 'neo-democratic' states (the subject of a recent book by the author) and the underlying politico-economic ideology of our post-1989 world, neoliberalism. Taking the UK and the US as examples, it argues that the shift in our way of looking at the world that neo-liberalism represents involves a forsaking of many of the assumptions of the social democratic polity of the 20 th century. However this is not a leap into an unknown future so much as it is a return to a particular past. In the threatened transition to fully-fledged neo-liberalism, 'neodemocracy' fulfils a useful role as mask that hides from us the great political, ethical and legal changes entailed in such a move.

The State of Freedom in Europe

“…So far as the states are concerned, there has been a temptation to deploy the emergency powers designed to counter terrorism so as to curb dissent against the havoc caused by the imposition of harsh, austerity-based policies. 101 The EU has not had the capacity (and surely not had the inclination) to engage in the same level of repressive control, much less follow the logic of liberal authoritarianism into true coercion: 'European economic and monetary crisis management has not yet resorted to banning political parties or relied on marauding black shirts, aggressive storm troopers, the removal of unwanted people or the shutdown of constitutional courts'. 102 The engaged citizen is caught in a bind: 'While resistance against EU policies is pointless at home, it is largely homeless in the Union'.…”