In this article, I argue that the vote for Brexit can be understood as an instance of fugitive democracy, aimed at contesting the legitimacy of a status quo in which ordinary citizens are economically marginalised and excluded from political power.
A renowned critic of American politics and economy, Wolin’s political thought is instructive in helping us make sense of our current moment and the forces which led us here. This is the conception of democracy – known as “fugitive democracy” – advanced by the political theorist Sheldon Wolin (b.1922 – d.2015). But what if democracy is understood differently, in more radical terms: not as a ritualised form of government by socioeconomic elites, but as an episodic phenomenon that is inherently disruptive and in which ordinary citizens become active political agents? And in one sense, of course, it is true: democracy as an institutional formation featuring periodic elections did not end with the Brexit vote. It is a refrain most commonly deployed as an argument for a second referendum, with the implicit belief that it would yield a different outcome.
We often hear these words from steadfast Remainers who wish to reverse the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.
“Democracy didn’t end after the referendum!”
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