Apocalyptic Democracy

Apocalyptic consciousness, which is now common in campaigns on climate change as well as in theological political movements, is often understood as incompatible with a commitment to democracy. However, in this article, I contest the straightforward opposition between the apocalypse and democracy. It is first argued that democratic anti-apocalypticism, whereby democratic processes are protected by encouraging people to abandon their apocalypticism, is not viable. Instead, what is required is a form of apocalyptic democracy, in which the two terms come together to the mutual benefit of both. To develop this claim, I focus on three political thinkers: Percy Bysshe Shelley, W. E. B. Du Bois and Roger Hallam. These theorists use the apocalypse to, on the one hand, identify the irredeemable corruptions of current political institutions and, on the other, posit new forms of democracy established through the struggles of people in the face of apocalyptic threats.