Trust, Enmity, and the Necessity of Atonement

• In Event: Between Trust and Contestation

Abstract

The defense of democracy against its enemies depends on the existence of a culture of basic trust. In the absence of such trust, it becomes easier for democracy’s enemies to exploit existing divisions and grow in influence. Yet how do efforts to respond to those anti-democratic threats affect that trust? This paper begins by distinguishing between two sorts of cases: cases where anti-democrats are effectively shut out of mainstream politics and society, and cases where some mainstream political actors have entered into unholy alliances with those anti-democratic forces – seemingly to the delight of a significant number of citizens. These two cases warrant different responses. I then show that while the struggle against democracy’s enemies in the former can clarify what the mainstream holds in common (potentially fortifying trust), the struggle in the latter risks aggravating distrust between members of what used to be mainstream – thereby making it even easier for democracy’s enemies to consolidate their influence. On this basis, I lay the groundwork for a more granular approach to the problem of how to deal with those who wish to do democracy harm – be they external or internal enemies – that juggles contestation, outreach, and atonement for the harms caused by (necessary) contestation.

Author

• Eric Cheng, Waseda University