The 2015 UK General Election and the 2016 EU Referendum Towards a Democracy of the Spectacle

This book brings together the established field of political communication and the emerging field of critical event studies to develop new questions and approaches. Using this combined framework, it reflects upon how we should understand the expression of democratic participation in mainstream mass media during the 2015 UK General Election and the 2016 referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. Are we now living in an era where democratic participation is much more concerned with spectacle rather than substantive debate? The book addresses this conceptual journey and reflects on differing models of democratic participation, before applying that framework to the two identified case studies. Finally, the authors consider what it means to be living in a period of democratic spectacle, where political events have become evental politics. The book will be of use to students and scholars across the fields of political science and culture and media studies, as well as wide readers interested in the current issues facing British politics.

Introduction.- PART I.- 1: Bringing together political communication and critical event studies.- 2: Models of democracy.- PART II.- 3: The 2015 UK General Election.- 4: The 2016 EU Referendum.- 5: Conclusion.- Annex: Beyond the UK.

Ian R Lamond is Senior Lecturer in Event Studies at Leeds Beckett University, UK. He is one of the leading figures developing that field and was one of the first to use the term 'critical event studies', as it is understood in this book. His research encompasses critical approaches to the study of events, tourism and hospitality; discourse studies; the philosophy of crisis and event and protests as event.

Chelsea Reid is Part-Time Lecturer in the Faculty of Arts, Environment and Technology at Leeds Beckett University, UK, teaching both Creative Media and Digital Journalism. Her research interests include political activism, propaganda, and the dissemination of news via social media.