Anti-politics

Anti-politics is a term used to describe opposition to, or distrust in, traditional politics. It is closely connected with anti-establishment sentiment and public disengagement from formal politics. Anti-politics can indicate practices and actors that seek to remove political contestation from the public arena, leading to political apathy among citizens;^[1] when used this way the term is similar to depoliticisation. Alternatively, if politics is understood as encompassing all social institutions and power relations, anti-politics can mean political activity stemming from a rejection of "politics as usual".^[2]

Anti-politics tends to focus on negative assessments of politicians and political elites by civic organisations, the media and citizens,^[3] whereas political apathy may involve disaffection with other elements of a political system, such as the electoral system or party system.^[4] Since the 2000s, increasing dissatisfaction with democracy has been a theme of scholarship in both the Americas and Europe, with some political scientists describing high levels of political antipathy as a 'crisis' which risks democratic deconsolidation.^[5][6] Anti-politics has become a key concept in accounts of political dysfunction in liberal democracies, typically dissatisfaction with politics and mistrust of politicians.^[7]

Possible causes of anti-political sentiment include the processes associated with depoliticisation, especially an increase in technocratic forms of governance,^[8] as well as citizens' perceptions of incompetent governance and the poor performance of politicians.^[9] Political distrust can originate from, and increase support for, a range of different political ideologies, including both left-wing and right-wing positions and the extremes of these.^[10] Healthy levels of mistrust in politics are often seen as legitimate scepticism and considered beneficial for democratic functioning.^[11] High distrust can increase the divide between policy-makers (politicians, or the political establishment) and citizens, which provides opportunities for populist rhetoric.^[9] Anti-politics is often expressed through appeals to "the people" and is consequently linked with populism, particularly, but not exclusively, right-wing populism.^[12]