Dancing with the devil? Emmanuel Macron, Marine Le Pen and the articulation of a new political divide in France

Herman, Lise Esther and Lorimer, Marta ORCID: 0000-0002-9214-3898 (2024) Dancing with the devil? Emmanuel Macron, Marine Le Pen and the articulation of a new political divide in France. Nations and Nationalism. ISSN 1354-5078

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Abstract

This paper investigates how political challengers articulate new political divides in European political party systems and with what implications for representative democracy. Focusing on the case of France and the discourse and practices of Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, the paper identifies three strategies these actors have used to articulate a new political division beyond Left and Right: the discursive rejection of traditional Left/Right politics, the combination of elements from across the Left/Right divide and the identification of each other as opposite sides on a new cleavage. Our analysis also suggests that rather than addressing the democratic pathologies associated with the traditional Left/Right party system, this new divide has largely contributed to deepen them. Specifically, the new dichotomy carries risks in terms of representative deficits, electoral demobilisation and the further legitimation of illiberal politics.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14698129
Additional Information:	© 2024 The Author(s)
Divisions:	European Institute
Subjects:	J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) J Political Science > JC Political theory
Date Deposited:	17 Jan 2024 09:54
Last Modified:	01 Apr 2024 08:40
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/121392

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