Illiberalism of Their Own Making? A Post-Liberal Critique of Illiberalism Research

Abstract

Abstract Illiberalism research has helped unpack the exclusion and violence wrought by regressive regimes across the world, but faces contradictions regarding the liberal-democratic ideal against which illiberal politics are analyzed and regarding its theoretical and historical grounding. This chapter elaborates these lines of critique and indicates how a post-liberal framework can better capture and reconcile the complexity of globally entangled political rule. It starts by engaging with recent illiberalism research, pointing to the risk of overlooking regressive and violent forms of ordering in liberal-democratic countries. The next section unpacks these coercive, identitarian, and authoritarian workings of post-World War II liberal democracy, complicating the prevalent narrative that illiberal politics are merely aberrations of otherwise liberal-democratic systems. The fourth section engages with the imperial and (de-)colonial critique of liberal democracy that reveal the racialized nature of the current capitalist order. The conclusion offers reflections on dialogue and analysis needed to consolidate these perspectives.