BETWEEN POLIS AND PHYSIS: Democracy as a problem and a solution for the climate crisis

Abstract The debate on climate change has begun to influence public policies through technical documents which include predictions and impacts concerning the environment, society, the economy, and culture. Within this context, research and intellectual contributions on the theme have been focussing on the development of mechanisms designed to avoid or mitigate the approaching global crisis. In this review, setting itself a little apart from these perspectives, the work of Frank Fischer is presented which, in accepting the inevitability of the crisis, adopts a line of political debate on “the place of democracy” in a context of an established global disaster. His main arguments will be highlighted, such as the authoritarian tendencies which emerge as a means of facing the crisis along with the structures and development of mechanisms for defending democracy, bringing into the discussion perspectives of eco-localism and its associated elements., Furthermore, analysis will be made of the potential and also some of the weaknesses of Fischer’s arguments. Fischer is an author who has become established as a fundamental reference for those who are involved in the subject.