Freedom as non-domination and the defense of politics: the neo-republican perspective

No abstractDrawing on a rich tradition of republican and civic humanist political thought, neorepublicanism in political science aims to combine democratic concerns and liberal procedural guarantees. Focusing on the structural concept of freedom as non-domination, neo-republican writing investigates the conditions which generate dependence and domination and explores the possibilities for building institutions that ensure that citizens do not fall into a condition of avoidable dependence on others. The overarching debate between liberals and republicans gradually subsumes other perspectives on the relations between procedural rules and the good life, such as the ones associated with communita- rianism. The paper argues that neo-republicanism offers a distinctive democratic prism for approaching politics and policy against a background of globalization and Europeanization. In a period marked by the growing influence of economics over politics, the application of a neo-republican perspective to the politics and the institutional culture of the emerging political system of the European Union offers valuable normative and analytical prisms for defending politics and assessing relevant developments