Politicisation, Depoliticisation and Anti-Politics: Towards a Multilevel Research Agenda

The concepts of politicisation' and depoliticisation' have become increasingly used by political scientists over the last decade, in light of the presumed triumph' of neoliberal ideology in the 1990s, and its subsequent challenge (re-politicisation') by the 2008 financial crisis. Debate has emerged in the literature, however, over what conceptual strategy is best for critically analysing depoliticisation - broad' or narrow'. This article argues for attempting to find common ground among competing' definitions, by viewing politicisation and depoliticisation as multilevel' concepts, with theoretical, analytical and empirical purchase. The uniting theme, it is argued, is a critical analysis of the dynamics of neoliberalism as a paradigm of political thought, and how that paradigm allegedly leads to the rise of anti-politics'. Thinking about (de)politicisation in this way helps avoid facile conceptual reinvention and stimulates a coherent yet pluralistic research agenda focused on translating insights and criticism across macro, meso and micro levels.