scholarly journals On Truth and Emancipation

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Hjort Bundgaard
Keyword(s):  
First Principles ◽  
Radical Democracy ◽  
Discourse Theory ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ernesto Laclau ◽  
Chantal Mouffe ◽  
The Status ◽  
Point Of Departure

This article has two main currents. First, it argues that an affinity or similarity can be identified between the philosophy of Gianni Vattimo (the so-called “Weak Thinking”) and the “Discourse Theory” of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe. The two theorizations are engaged with related problems, but have conceptualized them differently; they share central insights, but understand them with different vocabularies. The article furthermore illuminates in what this affinity consists in, and it discusses the differences and similarities between the two theoretical positions. The second current of the article takes the ‘postmodern’ philosophical problems of anti-foundationalism and nihilism as its point of departure. It raises the questions of: 1) how it is possible at the same time to take the critique of universality and objectivity seriously and still believe in the value of ethics and science; and, 2) how we are to understand emancipation if there is no necessary relationship between truth and freedom. The article investigates the status, meaning and interconnection of the categories of truth, knowledge, ethics, politics and emancipation in the light of the absence of metaphysical first principles. The article concludes that: A) faith can constitute a “weak foundation” of knowledge and ethics; and, B) nihilism can be combined with the political and ethical ambitions of universal human emancipation and radical democracy.

Radical Democracy with what Demos?

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry Alan Busk ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Radical Democracy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Political Ontology ◽  
Ernesto Laclau ◽  
Chantal Mouffe ◽  
Right Wing Populism

This paper considers the radical democratic theory of Chantal Mouffe and Ernesto Laclau with reference to the recent rise of Right-wing populism. I argue that even as Mouffe and Laclau develop a critical political ontology that regards democracy as an end in itself, they simultaneously exclude certain elements of the demos. In other words, they appeal to formal categories but decide the political content in advance, disqualifying Right-wing movements and discourses without justification. This ambivalence between form and content reveals the limits of Mouffe and Laclau’s brand of radical democracy for understanding and critiquing the present political conjuncture.

scholarly journals Humanización y deshumanización: de Laclau, Mouffe y Schmitt al conflicto armado en Colombia / Humanization and dehumanization: from Laclau, Mouffe and Schmitt to the Colombian armed conflict

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-20
Author(s):  
Daniel Arturo Palma Álvarez
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
The Other ◽  
Discourse Theory ◽  
Carl Schmitt ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ernesto Laclau ◽  
Chantal Mouffe ◽  
History Of ◽  
Siglo Xx

ABSTRACTThis paper analyses how dehumanisation presents itself in armed conflicts and tries to demonstrate that, in most cases, the ‘discursive’ and the ‘violent’ coexist so the ‘other’ is a blurred construction that changes according to the context. As a consequence, a clear division between ‘enemy’ and ‘adversary’ cannot be established, so it has to be accepted that this relationship is much more complex. For this analysis, the history of the Colombian armed conflict is revised from the mid-twentieth century, using Chantal Mouffe and Ernesto Laclau’s post-structuralist discourse theory, and Carl Schmitt’s concept of the ‘political’.RESUMENEste documento analiza cómo se presenta la deshumanización en los conflictos armados e intenta demostrar que, en la mayoría de los casos, lo ‘discursivo’ y lo ‘violento’ coexisten de modo que el ‘otro’ es una construcción difusa que cambia según el contexto. Como consecuencia, no puede establecerse una división clara entre ‘enemigo’ y ‘adversario’, por lo que debe aceptarse que dicha relación es mucho más compleja. Para esto, se revisa la historia del conflicto armado colombiano desde mediados del siglo XX, usando la teoría posestructuralista del discurso de Chantal Mouffe y Ernesto Laclau, y el concepto de lo ‘político’ de Carl Schmitt.

Radical Democracy: Hegemony, Reason, Time and Space

1995 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Natter
Keyword(s):  
Radical Democracy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Present Essay ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
Point Of Departure

Taking her present essay as my point of departure, I elaborate key aspects of Chantal Mouffe's theorization of radical and plural democracy. In particular, I stress the importance of rearticulating hegemony, reason, and time and space for a theory of politics and the political commensurate with radical democracy.

scholarly journals Hvordan skabes et alternativ? Om det radikale demokratis mulighedsbetingelser

Politik ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jannick Schou
Keyword(s):  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Radical Democracy ◽  
Discourse Theory ◽  
Democratic Institutions ◽  
Chantal Mouffe ◽  
Democratic Practices ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Conditions Of Possibility ◽  
Over Time

How can an alternative to liberal democracy and neoliberalism be developed? This question has occupied a number of political theorists from the Left, including Chantal Mouffe. This paper provides a discussion of Mouffe’s notion of radical democracy by drawing on concepts from Ernesto Laclau’s discourse theory. The paper starts out by providing a detailed description of Mouffe’s model with a focus on its underlying conditions of possibility. Here, two factors are highlighted: an allegiance to ‘liberty’ and ‘equality’ and a common trust in democratic institutions. By reading these conditions through the work of Laclau, the paper argues for an increased attentiveness towards the ways in which discourses become sedimented and neutralized over time. The paper argues that Mouffe tends to downplay the role of normativity and institutions in favor of democratic practices. Highlighting these areas, this article argues, is a call for a further radicalization of radical democracy going forward.

An introduction to the special issue on ‘Discourse Theory: Ways forward for theory development and research practice’

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin De Cleen ◽  
Jana Goyvaerts ◽  
Nico Carpentier ◽  
Jason Glynos ◽  
Yannis Stavrakakis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Theory Development ◽  
Discourse Theory ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Ernesto Laclau ◽  
Chantal Mouffe ◽  
Language And Politics

Abstract This article introduces the special issue of the Journal of Language and Politics on ‘Discourse Theory: Ways forward for theory development and research practice.’ In this introduction we discuss the aims and structure of this special issue focused on the development of the poststructuralist and post-Marxist discourse theory originally developed by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe.

Populism and ‘People’: Precarities and Polarizations as a Challenge and Task for a Public Theology

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-368
Author(s):  
Rudolf von Sinner ◽  
Celso Gabatz
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Theological Reflection ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
The Political ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Ernesto Laclau ◽  
Chantal Mouffe ◽  
The People ◽  
And Task

Abstract Two main elements pervade the argument. First, we argue that both ‘populism” and ‘the people’ are precarious concepts that can neither easily be defined, nor easily be claimed by any representative. We hold this to be true both in political and in theological terms, empirically referring to the civil and the religious population and their construction as ‘a people’, respectively. Second, in view of a common disregard for the people, namely as plebs, we reaffirm the importance of participatory popular subjects as a necessary part of both the political system and Christian communities. This bibliographical and conceptual essay contextualizes and explains the precariousness of realities and concepts, then analyses the concepts of populism and ‘people’. It seeks to deepen the discussion of populism by means of dialogue with Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, and then through a theological reflection by way of a public theology.

In Search of Radical Democracy: The Ideological Character of Current Political Advocacies for Culture Change in Planning

2014 ◽  
Vol 46 (11) ◽  
pp. 2670-2685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Grange
Keyword(s):  
Social Order ◽  
Culture Change ◽  
Democratic Society ◽  
Radical Democracy ◽  
Structural Reform ◽  
Ernesto Laclau ◽  
Chantal Mouffe ◽  
Ideological Commitment

This paper argues that current attempts to situate the crisis in planning in demoralised or old planning cultures are playing a key role in strengthening the ideological commitment of planning to an advanced liberal social order. In order to provide planners with the means to understand some of the ideological mechanisms at work in such processes, the 2007 Danish structural reform and the parallel advocacy for culture change in planning are analysed. Drawing on post-Marxist theories of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, the analysis draws attention to the need for reflection on whether the current ideological commitment of planning is that which best serves a democratic society.

Thinking Radical Democracy Spatially

1995 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doreen Massey
Keyword(s):  
Radical Democracy ◽  
Ernesto Laclau ◽  
Chantal Mouffe

In this paper I reflect upon the project of radical democracy as developed by Chantal Mouffe and Ernesto Laclau, and in particular on Mouffe's article “Post-Marxism, democracy and identity”. In the first part of the paper I consider some interesting parallels between the project of radical democracy and certain recent lines of thought within geography, and argue that the two areas of work could helpfully inform each other. In the second part of the paper I raise some general issues about radical democracy, including questions of identity, anti-essentialism and universalism.

scholarly journals Affinity and antagonism: Structuralism, comparison and transformation in pluralist political ontology

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-49
Author(s):  
Ben Turner
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Frame Of Reference ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Ontology ◽  
Ontological Commitments ◽  
Ernesto Laclau ◽  
Political Experience ◽  
Chantal Mouffe ◽  
Ontological Turn

This article develops a comparative and recursive approach to political ontology by drawing on the ontological turn in anthropology. It claims that if ontological commitments define reality, then the use of ontology by recent pluralist political theorists must undercut pluralism. By charting contemporary anthropology’s rereading of structuralism as part of a plural understanding of ontology, it will be shown that any political ontology places limits on the political, and thus cannot exhaust political experience. This position will be established through an analysis of the role of Claude Lévi-Strauss in the work of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe and a comparison with the political ontology represented by perspectivism and potential affinity. Anthropology’s lesson for political theory is that ontology cannot simply be revised and treated in the singular, but that political ontologies must be analysed comparatively to reveal the shortcomings of, and recursively alter, one’s own political frame of reference.

scholarly journals Segnico, simbolico, politico

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo De Toffoli
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ernesto Laclau ◽  
Chantal Mouffe ◽  
Empty Signifier

This article explores some central features of the theory of signification put forward by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, taking into account both Hegemony and Socialist Strategy and some further reflections developed by Laclau alone. Through the analysis of the concepts of discourse, empty signifier, dislocation and antagonism it is argued that, in the discourse-theoretical framework, the Saussurean “arbitrariness of the sign” can be limited only through the symbolic unification of a discourse and the drawing of antagonistic frontiers, and that these latter processes rest on contingent decisions, that is operations pertaining to the order of the political.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document