Constructions of the people and ‘we’ in phases of rupture and crisis – parliamentary debate and media discourse

Claims that “we (and only we) are the people” are recurrent in numerous populist movements and parties and are abundantly referred to in academic and public debate. A bit less so are claims of climate movements and activists like “we don’t have time”, speaking in the name of a global “we”. Both illustrate that contested constructions of demos and “we” do convey 1) understandings of democracy and 2) particular patterns of inclusion and exclusion which underlie those conceptions of democracy. In my paper, I will focus on selected discursive demos-constructions in contemporary and historical phases of rupture and crisis, based on multidisciplinary analysis of parliamentary debate and media coverage. The analysis will show that shifts of conceptions of democracy are mirrored in their inherent patterns of inclusion and exclusion. I will argue that in phases of crisis and transformation those shifts become more visible and that they may also indicate democratic change.