Aletta J. Norval is Reader in Political Theory in the Department of Government at the University of Essex. She is the author of Deconstructing Apartheid Discourse (1996).

• Introduction: towards an aversive account of democracy; 1. Democracy, universalization and (dis)agreement; 2. Democratic argumentation: rhetoric and imagination; 3. Democratic identification and aspect change; 4. Democratic subjectivity: the promise of democratic community; 5. Conclusion: aversive democracy: exemplarity, imagination and passion.

'A profoundly thoughtful work that establishes Aletta Norval in the front rank of contemporary political theorists. Through a reciprocal elucidation of the insights and illusions of deliberative and post-structuralist approaches to democracy, Norval grounds a compelling argument for the value of a Wittgensteinian turn in democratic theory. Aversive Democracy promises to become a pivotal text for the future direction of radical democratic thought.' David Owen, University of Southampton