From the theory of 'deliberative democracy' to the politics of the 'third way',
the present Zeitgeist is characterized by attempts to deny what Chantal Mouffe c
ontends is the inherently conflictual nature of democratic politics. Far from be
ing signs of progress, such ideas constitute a serious threat to democratic inst
itutions. Taking issue with John Rawls and Jurgen Habermas on one side, and the
political tenets of Blair, Clinton and Schroder on the other, Mouffe brings to t
he fore the paradoxical nature of modern liberal democracy in which the category
of the 'adversary' plays a central role.
