How a lack of truthfulness can undermine democratic representation: The case of post-referendum Brexit discourses
Hansson, S; Kröger, S
Date: 14 December 2020
Article
Journal
The British Journal of Politics and International Relations
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Publisher DOI
Abstract
This article draws attention to how the ethics of democratic representation operates as a
discreet factor in a crisis of representation afflicting Western democracies by identifying the
ways a disregard for truthfulness can harm democratic representation. We argue that such a
disregard undermines democratic representation by (a) ...
This article draws attention to how the ethics of democratic representation operates as a
discreet factor in a crisis of representation afflicting Western democracies by identifying the
ways a disregard for truthfulness can harm democratic representation. We argue that such a
disregard undermines democratic representation by (a) reducing freedom and equality, (b)
weakening accountability, (c) undermining citizens’ trust in democratic institutions, and (d)
jeopardising the ability to compromise. We illustrate the processes that produce these effects
by analysing examples of untruthful communication about Brexit by senior British politicians
in the post-referendum debates. We show how all four of these effects were triggered by the
ways they misled the public by (1) making claims about overwhelming popular support for
their policy, (2) misrepresenting the power relations between the EU and the national
government, and (3) seriously downplaying the complexity of negotiations involved in
leaving the EU and reaching trade deals thereafter
Social and Political Sciences, Philosophy, and Anthropology
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Item views 0
Full item downloads 0