The Crisis of Liberal Democracy in Contemporary Novels

or The Continuation of History
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-032-87044-1
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd (Sales)

Buch, Englisch, 180 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 413 g

Reihe: Routledge Studies in Comparative Literature

This book explores how contemporary novels reflect a profound shift in Western culture, from the political optimism of the post-Cold War era to growing fears about the future of liberal democracy. Analysing four major works – Karl Ove Knausgård's My Struggle series, Zadie Smith's White Teeth, Boualem Sansal's 2084 and Michel Houellebecq's Submission – it shows how these novels illuminate current social discontents and engages the anxieties of our time. Where the so-called "end-of-history" narrative once promised a triumphant liberal democracy, novelistic fiction today reflects a more ominous outlook: progressives are haunted by dystopian visions of democratic decline, while reactionaries fear cultural displacement and yearn for a lost Golden Age. Bridging literary analysis and political theory, the book offers new perspectives on how literature engages with and challenges contemporary political narratives, making it a vital resource for those interested in the intersection of politics and literature.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Møller Gøttcke, Leander

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literarische Stoffe, Motive und Themen
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literarische Strömungen & Epochen
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Internationale Beziehungen Geopolitik
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements

Introduction: The Sense of an Ending

1. Liberal Democracy and the Modern Novel

2. Liberal Democracy and Its Discontents: Karl Ove Knausgård’s Struggle at the End of History

3. The End and Continuation of History: Zadie Smith’s Critique of Francis Fukuyama in White Teeth

4. The Reactionary Dystopia: Boualem Sansal’s 2084 vis-à-vis George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four

5. The Decline and Fall of Liberal Democracy: Michel Houellebecq’s Submission as Satire

Conclusion: Imaginary Futures and Political Realities

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Leander Møller Gøttcke holds a PhD from the Department for the Study of Culture at the University of Southern Denmark. He currently works as a research librarian at the University Library of Southern Denmark.