The Return of the Demagogue and the Negation of Politics

Project Description

The aim of this project is to critically assess historical portrayals of the leader of the people – the demagogue – in both political thought as well as through literary representations of the figure in order to better understand what rhetorical and political function(s) the figure of the demagogue has served in political discourse. Through these portrayals, different ideas of how politics should work emerge as a counterpart to the figure of the demagogue. By paying attention to both these sides, the project seeks to assess how these portrayals are part of a political struggle that seeks to defend or challenge a certain idea of what politics ought to be. By doing so, the project ultimately seeks to better understand in what way the current situation within many Western democracies today can be regarded as a struggle over the very definition of politics.