Abstract

The term "post-politics" captures the paradox of contemporary democracy; that a system designed to enable popular social movements access to power has, in fact, closed down that very possibility. We are left with a system, as Caruso [2015] demonstrates, whereby elites manufacture a seemingly "open" democratic process only to assert their control over political institutions when necessary. The challenge for today's social movements is therefore how to navigate a political system that is, at its core, illegitimate. Do they circumvent or ignore post-political regimes? Or do they attempt to re-engage with the democratic state to rediscover its very purpose: to enact a society based on equality? It appears the latter choice is now being selected across Europe.