Planning Against the Political. Democratic Deficits in European Territorial Governance

This book brings together a number of highly innovative and thought provoking contributions from European researchers in territorial governance-related fields such as human geography, planning studies, sociology, and management studies. The contributions share the ambition of highlighting troubling contemporary tendencies where spatial planning and territorial governance can be seen to circumscribe or subvert ‘due democratic practice’ and the democratic ethos. The book also functions as an introduction to some of the central strands of contemporary political philosophy, discussing their relevance for the wider field of planning studies and the development of new planning practices.

Contents:
Chapter 1 The contested terrain of European territorial governance: new perspectives on democratic deficits and political displacements - Jonathan Metzger, Philip Allmendinger, Stijn Oosterlynck
Chapter 2 Post-political Regimes in English Planning: From Third Way to Big Society - Philip Allmendinger, Graham Haughton
Chapter 3 In search of the irreducible political moment: Or why planning shouldn’t be too hung up on conflictuality - Kristina Grange
Chapter 4 Opposing the Postpolitical Swedish Urban Discourse - Moa Tunström, Karin Bradley
Chapter 5 Rethinking politics and the (post-)political through Deleuze-Guattarian micropolitics - Matthias Loepfe, Joris van Wezemael
Chapter 6 Impossible common ground: planning and reconciliation - John Pløger
Chapter 7 Hopeless postpolitics, professional idiots, and the fate of public space in Stockholm Parklife - Jonas Bylund, Andrew Byerley
Chapter 8 Conflict Management, Democratic Demands, and the Post-Politics of Privatisation - Mike Raco
Chapter 9 Planning as War by Other Means - Mekonnen Tesfahuney, Richard Ek
Chapter 10 The moose are protesting: trans-species politics in transport infrastructure development - Jonathan Metzger
Chapter 11 Insurgent Architects and the Spectral Return of the Urban Political - Erik Swyngedouw, Japhy Wilson