In person icon Reclaiming Liberal Democracy in the Postfactual Age

Abstract

In recent years, it has become clear that what is frequently described as post-truth politics will be one of the central challenges facing liberal democracy in the 21st century. Drawing on a multi-disciplinary approach, this panel addresses the ways in which post-truth politics constitutes an existential threat to liberal democracy and analyzes the state of play as well as the implications of various dimensions of post-truth politics in Europe. These dimensions include central components of post-truth politics and address post-truth politics from the vantage points of populism, public sphere dynamics and impacts on political culture; the role of technological aspects in fostering the rise of post-truth politics; the twin roles of lack of trust, but at the same time also increased demands for quality journalism; strategic disinformation as an external challenge to liberal democracy; the impacts of regulatory responses to disinformation; and importantly also the role that citizenship education and media literacy can play in mitigating the challenge of post-truth politics. All contributions to this panel are rooted in the ongoing Horizon Europe project RECLAIM – Reclaiming Liberal Democracy in Europe, but potential additional contributions are warmly encouraged.

Title	Details
Citizenship Education in Italy: Needs and Gaps in a Changing Learning Environment	View Paper Details
Post-Truth Populism and the Decline of the Public Sphere	View Paper Details
There and Back Again. Policy Formulation, Alternatives and Future Outlooks in the EU Regulatory Response to Post-Truth Politics	View Paper Details
Post-Truth Narratives in European Parliamentary Debates: Migration and Beyond	View Paper Details
The Political Sociology of Post-Truth Politics	View Paper Details