Deliberation and Justice

Author(s):  
Stefan Rummens

Discussions of the relationship between justice and democracy are generally premised on the assumption that they are two different things, only contingently and externally related. As a result, genuine conflicts seem possible whereby we are forced to decide whether democracy should trump justice or whether justice has priority over democracy. By focusing on the work of Jürgen Habermas and Rainer Forst, this chapter aims to show that deliberative democracy can provide a constructivist conception of justice which challenges this premise by explaining the internal relationship between justice and democracy. There is no justice without democracy in the sense that only citizens can democratically determine the specific content of justice. At the same time, there is also no democracy without justice in the sense that democratic outcomes are legitimate only to the extent that they can be understood as proper elaborations of the substantive but abstract ideal of justice-as-impartiality.

1980 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 721-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
James T Knauer

Hannah Arendt's work is of major importance primarily because of the categories of thought she originates, especially her concept of political action. But this concept has frequently been criticized for being irrelevant to, or incapable of comprehending, strategic concerns. This criticism however, is based on a misreading of Arendt on the relationship of specific motives and goals to political action. The critical interpretations of three commentators are considered here: Kirk Thompson, Jürgen Habermas, and Martin Jay. A detailed explication of the relevant texts from Arendt demonstrates the misreading of Arendt on which these criticisms are based and at the same time reveals the subtlety and power of Arendt's conception of the relationship between instrumentality and meaning in political action. Once this relationship is correctly understood, it becomes possible to appreciate the implications of Arendt's work for questions of political strategy.


Author(s):  
Bente Rosenbeck

The article deals with the revival of Jürgen Habermas and critical theory in the debate of feminist theory and method. At the conceptual level the relationship between discourse and identity and the question of a non-discoursive concept of experience are discussed. Several feminist researchers who have been attracted by poststructuralist thinking now aim at a combination of Habermas and Foucault. (e.g. Lois McNay). Also Seyla Benhabib and her critical  questions about postmodernism and emancipation enjoy great prominence. Can feminist theory be postmodernist and still retain an interest in emancipation? The article encourages to consider the possible combination of Foucalt's critique of institutions and of power/knowledge with the utopian thinking of Habermas.


Author(s):  
Dieter Grimm

This chapter examines the question of who is sovereign in the relationship between the European Union and its Member States. It first considers the relevance of the debate over sovereignty in the EU and the development of the concept of sovereignty, paying attention to public powers form the substance of sovereignty, Jürgen Habermas’ theory of dual sovereignty, and the relevant provisions of the Lisbon Treaty. It then explores the problem of whether one should maintain the concept of sovereignty or recognize that the era of post-sovereignty has begun. It argues that it makes sense to address the question of who is sovereign in the EU, suggesting that the answer will determine the future course of European integration. It also analyses which concept of sovereignty is best suited to understand and explain the EU.


2016 ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Ana Pamela García

ResumenSe discute aquí el carácter de la “opinión pública” como categoría conceptual en el marco de las perspectivas de Jürgen Habermas, Niklas Luhmann y Pierre Bourdieu. Sus lecturas sobre este fenómeno psico-socio-político y comunicativo, todavía polémico dentro del debate sobre las formas sociales de la democracia representativa, se abordan considerando: primero, la relación de continuidad de sus propuestas con las principales tradiciones de la teoría social contemporánea; segundo, su potencialidad crítica para un esclarecimiento sociológico de la relación entre opinión pública y “medios masivos de comunicación”; tercero, sus diferentes concepciones del “espacio público” como categoría central oresidual en la comprensión del sentido de la acción social.Palabras clave: opinión pública, medios masivos, espacio público, sociología política, democracia.The problem of public opinion in the sociological thought of Habermas, Luhmann and Bourdieu: political, communicational and ideologicaldisquisitions on a “democratic?” phenomenonAbstractThis paper discusses the character of “public opinion” as a conceptualcategory within the perspectives of Jürgen Habermas, Pierre Bourdieu and Niklas Luhmann. Their literature about this psycho-socio-political andcommunicative phenomenon, still controversial in the discussion on thesocial forms of representative democracy, are addressed considering: First,the relationship of continuity of their proposals with the main traditions ofcontemporary social theory; second, its critical potential for a sociologicalclarification of the relationship between public opinion and “mass media”;third, their different conceptions of “public space” as a central or residualcategory in understanding the meaning of social action.Keywords: public opinion, mass media, public space, political sociology,democracy.O problema da opinião pública no pensamento sociológico de Habermas, Luhmann e Bourdieu: discussões políticas, comunicacionais e ideológicos sobre um fenômeno ¿democrático?ResumoDiscute-se aqui o caráter da “opinião pública” como categoria conceitualno marco das perspectivas de Jürgen Habermas, Niklas Luhmann ePierre Bourdieu. Suas leituras sobre este fenômeno psico-sócio-político ecomunicativo, ainda polêmico dentro do debate sobre as formas sociais dademocracia representativa, abordam-se considerando: primeiro, a relação de continuidade de suas propostas com as principais tradições da teoria social contemporânea; segundo, sua potencialidade crítica para um esclarecimento sociológico da relação entre a opinião pública e “meios massivos de comunicação”; terceiro, suas diferentes concepções do “espaço público”como categoria central ou residual na compreensão do sentido da ação social.Palavras-chave: opinião pública, meios massivos de comunicação, espaçopúblico, sociologia política, democracia.


Author(s):  
William E. Scheuerman

This article analyses the changes in critical theory after Jürgen Habermas. It suggests that recent Habermasian attempts to tackle the normative and institutional quagmires of globalization offer a useful test for determining whether the paradigm of deliberative democracy should continue to occupy the energies of critical theorists. It contends that while Habermas-inspired deliberative democracy has undoubtedly enriched the ongoing debate about the prospects of transnational governance, it remains both programmatically and conceptually tension-ridden.


Author(s):  
Tim Unwin

This chapter explores the relationships between ICTs and ‘development’, drawing in particular on the Critical Theory of Jürgen Habermas, and highlighting the relationship between theory and practice, knowledge constitutive interests, and empowerment. It suggests that there are many different definitions of ‘development’, and that the hegemonic focus on ‘economic growth’ has inevitably led to greater inequality. This has been exacerbated by the rapid expansion of ICTs, which have widely been interpreted as being positive for development. There is, though, increasing recognition that whilst ICTs can indeed contribute to economic growth, they have also led to increasing inequality between those who have access to the latest technologies, and those who only have access to older ICTs or none at all. The book argues that there needs to be a refocusing on the interests of the poorest and most marginalized if ICTs are to be seen as contributing to effective development.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 37-54
Author(s):  
Lotar Rasiński

The aim of this article is to examine three currently dominant concepts of discourse, developed by Michel Foucault, Ernesto Laclau and Jürgen Habermas. I argue that these concepts of discourse constitute neither a coherent methodological agenda nor a coherent theoretical vision. That means that the reference to discourse will always imply engaging with a particular theoretical framework. I briefly discuss the theoretical traditions from which these concepts emerged and point to the essential elements which the respective concepts of discourse derived from these traditions. Concluding, I examine differences between and similarities in the discussed concepts, whereby I address, in particular, the relationship between discourse and everyday language, the notion of subjectivity and the concept of the social world.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-64
Author(s):  
Gilrandi A. Pramonojati

This article examines the relationship of the Church to politics in post-secularism popularized by Jurgen Habermas. The research method used in this research is literature study. This research finds that, Post-secularism offered by Habermas provides space for the Church to translate the wealth contained in religion into a public message. In the view of post-secularism the Church has an important role to fill in the empty spaces that cannot be achieved by rationality. Habermas's thoughts on post-secularism also serve as a bridge to harmonize faith and rationality, as well as to explain dual citizenship as an unrelated Christian political view.Artikel ini menelaah hubungan Gereja dengan politik dalam pos-sekulerisme yang dipopulerkan oleh Jurgen Habermas. Metode penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah studi pustaka. Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa, Pos-sekulerisme yang ditawarkan oleh Habermas memberi ruang Gereja untuk menerjemahkan kekayaan yang terkandung dalam agama menjadi pesan publik. Dalam pandangan pos-sekulerisme Gereja mempunyai peran penting untuk mengisi ruang kosong yang tidak dapat dijangkau oleh rasionalitas. Pemikiran Habermas mengenai pos-sekulerisme juga menjadi jembatan untuk menyelaraskan iman dan rasional, sekaligus menerangkan kewarganegaraan ganda sebagai pandangan politik Kristen yang selama ini tidka dimengerti.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 59-73
Author(s):  
Rafał Leśniczak

The author analyses several selected speeches of Italian politicians: the founder of the Forza Italia party, Silvio Berlusconi; the founder and leader of the Five Stars Movement, Beppe Grillo; and the current Prime Minister of Italy, Matteo Renzi. The study makes it possible to evaluate whether the conditions for the ideale Sprechsituation (the ideal speech situation) of Jürgen Habermas are fulfilled in analysing the public discourse. Particular attention will be given to the relationship between the persuasiveness of the communication and the problem of legitimacy.


Politik ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Malte Frøslee Ibsen

This article discusses the recent debate between Jürgen Habermas and Wolfgang Streeck on the relationship between capitalism and democracy in Europe. The article recounts Streeck’s analysis of the financial crisis, the transformation of the tax state into the debt state, and the development of the EU towards an international consolidation state, which informs Streeck’s call for a retreat from Europe to the nation-state as the last line of defense against neoliberal capitalism. The article proceeds to sketch Habermas’s criticism of Streeck’s argument, and it illustrates how Habermas’ proposal for a reconstitution of the EU as a supranational democracy is motivated by foundational concerns in his critical theory of society. Finally, the article argues that the debate results in an unresolved dilemma: while only a democratized EU can reestablish the supremacy of politics over globalized markets, the EU is more likely to become further entrenched as an international consolidation state.


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