Diagnosing the problem of anti-politicians: a review and an agenda
Diagnosing the problem of anti-politicians: a review and an agenda
In response to growing popular dissatisfaction with politics and politicians, several scholars have sought to explain the cause of this malaise and demonstrate what can be done about it. To tease out the significance of four recent additions to this discussion, this article reviews how they diagnose the problem of anti-politicians and what they consider the cure might be. Riddell and Flinders, it is argued, view the problem in terms of an expectations ‘gap’, while Kane and Patapan, and Medvic cast it as a leadership ‘paradox’ or an expectations ‘trap’. The former two primarily see greater citizen participation, generated via institutional reform or revived civic values, as the solution, whereas the latter two question whether the problem can or should be solved at all. The article concludes that while these books provide important insights, by and large they neglect to take serious or systematic account of the views, experiences and reflections of political leaders themselves. To take this research agenda forward, this omission warrants further attention.
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Corbett, Jack
ad651655-ac70-4072-a36f-92165e296ce2
Corbett, Jack
ad651655-ac70-4072-a36f-92165e296ce2
Corbett, Jack
(2015)
Diagnosing the problem of anti-politicians: a review and an agenda.
Political Studies Review, 14 (4), .
(doi:10.1111/1478-9302.12076).
Abstract
In response to growing popular dissatisfaction with politics and politicians, several scholars have sought to explain the cause of this malaise and demonstrate what can be done about it. To tease out the significance of four recent additions to this discussion, this article reviews how they diagnose the problem of anti-politicians and what they consider the cure might be. Riddell and Flinders, it is argued, view the problem in terms of an expectations ‘gap’, while Kane and Patapan, and Medvic cast it as a leadership ‘paradox’ or an expectations ‘trap’. The former two primarily see greater citizen participation, generated via institutional reform or revived civic values, as the solution, whereas the latter two question whether the problem can or should be solved at all. The article concludes that while these books provide important insights, by and large they neglect to take serious or systematic account of the views, experiences and reflections of political leaders themselves. To take this research agenda forward, this omission warrants further attention.
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Accepted/In Press date: 28 September 2014
e-pub ahead of print date: 12 February 2015
Organisations:
Politics & International Relations
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Local EPrints ID: 388373
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/388373
PURE UUID: 3d3619e4-1b20-451f-a859-8286d95aff32
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Date deposited: 24 Feb 2016 12:39
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 22:56
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