ABSTRACT
In this chapter I argue that the presence of ritualised performances in politics is not necessarily a sign of societal immaturity or corruption. In democratic societies ‘the people’ are in charge – but who they are and what they stand for is ambiguous, contested and subject to revision. The public staging of political claim and counterclaim may afford an opportunity for ‘the people’ to see itself and reflect upon who it is, has been and might become. In political spectacles the audience is part of the performance – its source and object – and through the act of judging may also become a subject.
