Politisierung, Politik und Demokratie. Zu Theorie und Konzeption eines komplexen politikwissenschaftlichen Begriffsgefüges

: Politicization currently is a topic and a concept that is quite much discussed in the Political and Social Sciences, but despite its frequent use, it often remains underspeci-fied. Against this backdrop it is the goal of this article to systematically discuss and devel-op the concept of politicization and its usage. The main focus is set on its normative and theoretical conceptualisation, the interrelations with two other key concepts in Political Science – politics and democracy – and the analytical focus of the concept. First, key ques-tions and theoretical steps related to conceptualizing politicization and its linkages to the concept of politics will be lined out. Two ideal-typical conceptions of politics will be discussed, i. e. a) an understanding of politics as a system, field or sphere, and b) an understanding of politics as action. The remainder of the argument is based on an action-orient-ed understanding of politics and politicization, arguing that politics and politicization po-tentially can take place anywhere and anytime. In the second section, the normative-theo-retical question if, and to what extent, politicization is compatible with representative democracy will be addressed. After this, existing and possible interrelations between politicization and democracy in the EU will be conceptualized, to conclude with a typology of four types of interrelations between politicization and democracy and a short research out-look.