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Europe: Start Voting Now! Democracy, Participation and Diversity in the Eurovision Song Contest

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Eurovisions: Identity and the International Politics of the Eurovision Song Contest since 1956

Abstract

This chapter explores the way in which the ideals of democracy are manifest in the Eurovision Song Contest. Through an analysis of the Contest’s voting methods, I argue that that the institutional characteristics of modern democracy have always been present at Eurovision, with a shift over time that has mirrored the expansion of the franchise and the ‘democratisation’ of southern and eastern European states, as well as an increasing demand for direct democracy in the established European democracies. The chapter also explores the myriad ways in which participating countries choose their own acts, highlighting some of the uneasy democratic tensions that arise in balancing demands for greater popular participation with the goal of selecting acts that mirror the diversity and traditions of the competing nation.

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Acknowledgement

Thanks to Jordan McSwiney for excellent research assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Anika Gauja

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  1. Anika Gauja
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Correspondence to Anika Gauja .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Julie Kalman

  2. Politics and International Relations, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Ben Wellings

  3. Politics and International Relations, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Keshia Jacotine

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Gauja, A. (2019). Europe: Start Voting Now! Democracy, Participation and Diversity in the Eurovision Song Contest. In: Kalman, J., Wellings, B., Jacotine, K. (eds) Eurovisions: Identity and the International Politics of the Eurovision Song Contest since 1956. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9427-0_10

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