Restrained democracy and its radical alternatives after 1989: The threefold crisis of democracy in the 'Former West'

Abstract

This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part argues that the fall of communism did not mean the end of radical left-wing politics. It analyzes in more detail the notion shared by the editors and the contributors to this section that democracy is actually in crisis. The part examines the victory of democracy is about to be undone. By all means, the fall of the Berlin Wall was a triumph of democracy. After 1989, it was repeatedly confirmed that liberal democracy was ‘the only game in town.’ The wave of democratization in Eastern Europe not only caught up with the development of democracy in the West, but actually contributed to the innovation of democracy beyond the confirmation of the uncontested dominance of liberal democracy. In the wake of the crisis in parliamentary and party democracy, new forms of political engagement have emerged.