Liberal democratic representation and the politicization of religion

Abstract

Political representation, as key concept of liberal democracy, is under multiple pressures. Across many liberal democracies, populist parties, who claim to have a mandate for more direct representation, are on the rise. In their rhetoric, religion plays a crucial role. Religion is, however, not only relevant on a discursive level but in fact involved in all dimensions of political representation and their crises. I deploy Hanna F. Pitkin!s concept of representation together with Michael Saward!s concept of discursive representation and discuss examples from empirical research on the politicization of religion in Austria in the context of migration. This case is of particular interest when discussing the crisis of representation, as political representation in contemporary Austria is characterized by a strong populist far right party and a recent renunciation of a longstanding inclusive tradition towards politics of religion. I conclude by discussing empirical analyses that show strong exclusionary tendencies towards Muslims while representatives freuquently claim to act as, and speak for, Christians against the increasing pressure on liberalism.