The Wisconsin Recalls: Navigating Democracy through Competing Cultural Codes

• In Event: 1432 - Open Topic on Political Sociology

Abstract

This study is an analysis of the commentary surrounding the attempted recall of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in 2012. Drawing upon the cultural theory of Jeffrey Alexander, I argue that recalls represent a unique form of political crisis in which actors contend with the fundamental questions surrounding democracy via two competing cultural codes: liberal and popular democracy. I use qualitative data drawn from editorials and letters to the editor to demonstrate the distinctions between these codes and why they matter in moments of political crisis. The liberal democratic code views democracy as means of social reproduction which work via overarching social structures, whereas the popular democratic code views democracy as an engine of social change through which the popular will expresses itself. These competing conceptions of democracy ensure that actors are not always able to rely on a simple democratic/counter-democratic template for civil behavior. I conclude with a discussion of the importance of these findings for research and theory in political culture. In particular, democracy’s contradictory nature points toward its inherent vulnerabilities: A system of government predicated on representation and rule by consent carries such symbolic power that actors risk overlooking the means through which consent can be manipulated and representation can be abstracted and distorted.

Author

• Mark H. K. Pharris, University of Minnesota