Alasia Nuti, a Senior Lecturer in Political Theory at the University of York, discusses her co-authored work on political liberalism. She explores the dynamics of containing illiberal views in democratic societies, emphasizing the balance between inclusion and core values. The conversation delves into the rise of right-wing populism and the responsibilities of citizens in defending democracy. Nuti highlights the role of social media in democratic backsliding and advocates for a proactive approach to uphold liberal ideals in contemporary political discourse.
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insights INSIGHT
Defining Liberalism
The book focuses on liberal theories that prioritize equal rights and opportunities.
It also emphasizes adequate resources for exercising these rights, distinguishing it from libertarianism.
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Political Liberalism
Political liberalism recognizes disagreement as inherent in pluralistic societies.
It emphasizes public reason, where political actors justify decisions with arguments acceptable to any reasonable person.
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Politicizing the Framework
The book 'politicizes' political liberalism by incorporating realistic aspects of politics.
This includes acknowledging that creating liberal citizens requires effort and that coercion is inevitable.
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On the Containment of Illiberal and Anti-Democratic Views
Gabriele Badano
Alasia Nuti
Alasia Nuti and Gabriele Badano's "Politicizing Political Liberalism" offers a normative framework for liberal democratic self-defense. The book tackles the challenge of countering illiberal and anti-democratic views while upholding liberal values. It examines the roles of various actors, including citizens, political parties, and municipalities, in this process. The authors build upon John Rawls's concept of political liberalism, addressing the need to contain unreasonable views that reject the principles of freedom and equality for all. The book provides insightful solutions to complex issues within political liberalism, offering a nuanced approach to real-world political challenges.
How should broadly liberal democratic societies stop illiberal and antidemocratic views from gaining influence while honouring liberal democratic values? This question has become particularly pressing after the recent successes of right-wing populist leaders and parties across Europe, in the US, and beyond. Politicizing Political Liberalism: On the Containment of Illiberal and Antidemocratic Views(Oxford University Press, 2024) by Alasia Nuti and Gabriele Badano develops a normative account of liberal democratic self-defence that denounces the failures of real-world societies without excusing those supporting illiberal and antidemocratic political actors. This account is innovative in focusing not only on the role of the state but also on the duties of nonstate actors including citizens, partisans, and municipalities. Consequently, it also addresses cases where the central government has at least been partly captured by illiberal and antidemocratic agents. Gabriele Badano and Alasia Nuti's approach builds on John Rawls's treatment of political liberalism and his awareness of the need to 'contain' unreasonable views, that is, views denying that society should treat every person as free and equal through a mutually acceptable system of social cooperation where pluralism is to be expected. The authors offer original solutions to vexed problems within political liberalism by putting forward a new account of the relation between ideal and non-ideal theory, explaining why it is justifiable to exclude unreasonable persons from the constituency of public reason, and showing that the strictures of public reason do not apply to those suffering from severe injustice. In doing so, the book further politicizes political liberalism and turns it into a framework that can insightfully respond to the challenges of real politics.
Alasia Nuti is senior Lecturer in Political Theory at the University of York. Her work is situated at the intersection of analytical political theory, critical theory, gender studies and critical race theory
Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature.