La crisis de la política de la presencia: de Hannah Arendt a las políticas de la diferencia / Crisis of the Politics of the Presence: From Hannah Arendt to the Politics of the Difference

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Urabayen ◽  
Jorge León

ABSTRACTWith the arrival of Modernity, philosophical reflection about politics had progressively penetrated into the relevance of public space as a place of appearance and, therefore, of action. These are the axes of Arendt’s work that seek to delimit the political space and the role of the citizenry at the moment of constituting and maintaining that space by way of action that requires presence. On the other hand, in Arendt’s thought one does not find an exploration of these new possibilities of action, or the absent political space, which are opened-up to us via the technologies of communication. In the following section the postures of Derrida and Virilio, authors that undertake a critique of the politics of presence, each investigating a different aspect, will be developed. Continuing along the line of Virilio’s critique, one arrives at the defense of the rhyzomatic multitudes that pursue “Open Source”, and which are defended by Negri as being a new political subject. This presupposes entering into the irremediable losses that the use of the CTI involve for a politics of presence.RESUMENCon la Modernidad, la reflexión filosófica sobre la política ha incidido progresivamente en la relevancia del espacio público como lugar de aparición y, por tanto, de acción. Estos son los ejes de la obra arendtiana que intenta delimi-tar el espacio político y el papel de la ciudadanía a la hora de constituir y mantener este espacio por medio de una acción que requiere la presencia. En cambio, en el pensamiento de Arendt no se abordan las nuevas posibilidades de acción y espacio político ausente que abren las tecnologías de la comunicación. En el segundo apartado se analizarán las posturas de Derrida y Virilio, autores que emprenden una crítica a la política de la presencia, incidiendo en dos aspectos diferentes. Continuando la crítica de Virilio se llegará a la apología de las multitudes rizomáticas “Open Source” defendidas por Negri como nuevo sujeto político, lo que supone incidir en las pérdidas irremediables que el empleo de las TIC implican para una política de la presencia.

Author(s):  
Herbert Kawadza

A number of landmark judicial review decisions and the resultant political backlash are arguably to supportive of the claim that political and legal constitutionalism are entrenched in South Africa. The common thread in the legislature and executive's reaction to judicial review decisions is that government supremacy is under threat from legal constitutionalism. More specifically, there is a perception that courts are meddling in the political space through judgments that are aimed at weakening the government's authority and power. Nonetheless, such decisions have had an effect of reinforcing the judiciary's legal constitutional role of reviewing the lawfulness of the other branches' activities. There is need for strategies to minimize this tension as the continued antagonism can have unintended consequences such as the delegitimisation of the judiciary    


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. V. Gavrilyuk ◽  
V. V. Malenkov

The authors consider the new working class as consisting of both industrial workers and employed in the service sector. The article aims at identifying changes in the social-political status of the new working class and at describing the civil-political component of its political subjectivity. The authors attempt to theoretically reconstruct the idea of the working class as a political subject. The first part of the article presents conceptual approaches to the analysis of the working class as a political subject. The authors identify three periods: 1) classical works that laid the foundation for the study of the working class as a political subject and its special historical role; 2) studies of the marginal political status of the working class in Western countries, when leading theorists described the transformation of workers into an object of manipulation in the era of mass communications and the widespread consumerism ideology; 3) works of contemporary authors (including the new working class studies) opposing the policy of the traditional industrial working class and the new working class exclusion from the social-political space, which is pursued by the ruling class of the neoliberal international. The empirical part of the article describes the political subjectivity of the working class in Russia and its position in the political space at the institutional and individual levels. Despite the underrepresentation of workers in politics, since 2010, we have witnessed a return of the working class to the public space. The representative survey conducted in three regions of the Ural Federal District and narrative interviews prove a weak interest of the new working class youth in politics, their tendency of non-participation in it, and a high level of national patriotic identity.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-70
Author(s):  
Sonja Weiss

This paper reconsiders the role of memory in Plotinus' philosophy, in view of the mystical unity (hénosis) of the soul with intelligible truths, and a less desirable unification with its objects of memory during its earthly existence. As a rule, the mystical experience precludes memory, since the latter is related to time and binds a man to his individuality. Nevertheless, the capacity to remember remains an important part of the philosophical áskesis leading to this experience, since the memory is the only faculty of the soul that is able to travel through time, even though it is part of the process of discursive thinking and consequently is in a way imprisoned in time. Memory therefore turns out to be a double-edged power, which leaves us to question when we can regard it as an instrument of preserving what is inherent to us, and when, on the other hand, it is simply chaining us to the lower reality of the sensible world. The difference between the anagogical power of the Platonic recollection (anámnesis) and the memory as the state keeping us from unity with the intelligible world is important for identifying the moment when a man must let go of what he has been clinging to. This moment, however, is not set in time, but depends on the moral disposition of a man's soul leading a timeless existence outside, as well as inside, the body.


Author(s):  
Hedi Hedi

This paper aims to illustrate Habermas's thoughts on post-secularism, especially in regards to stretching religion which he believes that after secularism religion should be considered as in the public space. The study uses a political philosophy approach. In his findings, Habermas concluded that the role of religion can no longer be denied its presence in the political space. To minimize religious totalitarianism, Habermas divides public space into formal and informal settings, in which religion and politics appear to influence one to another. According to Habermas, religion can only present in an informal space. If people want to contribute in a formal space, they have to translate religious language into secular language.[Artikel ini menelaah pemikiran Habermas tentang pos-sekulerisme, khususnya berkenaan dengan kelonggaran peran agama yang ia yakini bahwa setelah terjadinya sekularisme, agama harus turut berperan dalam ruang publik. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan filsafat politik. Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa, Habermas memandang saat ini (era pos-sekularisme) peran agama tidak lagi dapat ditolak kehadirannya di ruang publik. Untuk meminimalisir totalitarianisme agama, Habermas  membagi ruang publik menjadi aturan formal dan aturan informal, yang mana agama dan politik saling berkelindan dan mempengaruhi satu sama lain. Menurut Habermas, agama hanya dapat hadir dalam ruang informal. Jika masyarakat yang agamis hendak turut berkontribusi dalam ranah publik formal, mereka harus menerjemahkan bahasa agama mereka menjadi bahasa sekuler.]


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-70
Author(s):  
Sonja Weiss

This paper reconsiders the role of memory in Plotinus' philosophy, in view of the mystical unity (hénosis) of the soul with intelligible truths, and a less desirable unification with its objects of memory during its earthly existence. As a rule, the mystical experience precludes memory, since the latter is related to time and binds a man to his individuality. Nevertheless, the capacity to remember remains an important part of the philosophical áskesis leading to this experience, since the memory is the only faculty of the soul that is able to travel through time, even though it is part of the process of discursive thinking and consequently is in a way imprisoned in time. Memory therefore turns out to be a double-edged power, which leaves us to question when we can regard it as an instrument of preserving what is inherent to us, and when, on the other hand, it is simply chaining us to the lower reality of the sensible world. The difference between the anagogical power of the Platonic recollection (anámnesis) and the memory as the state keeping us from unity with the intelligible world is important for identifying the moment when a man must let go of what he has been clinging to. This moment, however, is not set in time, but depends on the moral disposition of a man's soul leading a timeless existence outside, as well as inside, the body.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 401-428
Author(s):  
Miriam R. Lowi

Studies of identity and belonging in Gulf monarchies tend to privilege tribal or religious affiliation, if not the protective role of the ruler as paterfamilias. I focus instead on the ubiquitous foreigner and explore ways in which s/he contributes to the definition of national community in contemporary gcc states. Building upon and moving beyond the scholarly literature on imported labor in the Gulf, I suggest that the different ‘categories’ of foreigners impact identity and the consolidation of a community of privilege, in keeping with the national project of ruling families. Furthermore, I argue that the ‘European,’ the non-gcc Arab, and the predominantly Asian (and increasingly African) laborer play similar, but also distinct roles in the delineation of national community: while they are differentially incorporated in ways that protect the ‘nation’ and appease the citizen-subject, varying degrees of marginality reflect Gulf society’s perceptions or aspirations of the difference between itself and ‘the other(s).’


1998 ◽  
Vol 47 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 153-160
Author(s):  
S. A. Gruszewska

AbstractTaking into consideration two facts: that the structure of social life forces twins to part and that the presented roles in a pair are not equal, (one of the twins plays the role of a leader (L) and the other, the subordinate (P.)), one can ask the question — what meaning does the moment of parting have and what are its consequences?In order to do that, a survey was conducted, (a sample of 31 pairs of twins above the age of 30), in which every pair was asked the question: “Which one of you made the decision about parting?” The answer had two options: A – I, B – brother/sister. Out of 31 pairs of twins, 16 pairs chose the variant different from his brother or sister – that is A, B, admitting that the interpersonal conflict was the result of the parting. In 7 pairs, both twins chose the B variant – they withdrew from the conflict; and in 8 pairs they chose the A variant – looking for a compromise as the means of agreement.When analyzing the results of the survey, we can state the following:– in the relationship of twins, there is an interpersonal conflict;– the decision about parting is difficult with prevalent feelings of sadness and sorrow;– after parting, at least one of the twins has problems with preserving his identity and integrity of psychological space.Since the moment of parting is necessary and difficult, specialists and mainly parents are required to consciously change their position towards the relationship of twins. It has to be the result of applied educational methods which aim at creating subjectivity and equality of each of the twins before the moment of parting.


2003 ◽  
Vol 29 (S1) ◽  
pp. 199-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karena Shaw

We find ourselves amidst an explosion of literature about how our worlds are being fundamentally changed (or not) through processes that have come to be clumped under the vague title of ‘globalisation’. As we wander our way through this literature, we might find ourselves – with others – feeling perplexed and anxious about the loss of a clear sense of what politics is, where it happens, what it is about, and what we need to know to understand and engage in it. This in turn leads many of us to contribute to a slightly smaller literature, such as this Special Issue, seeking to theorise how the space and character of politics might be changing, and how we might adapt our research strategies to accommodate these changes and maintain the confidence that we, and the disciplines we contribute to, still have relevant things to say about international politics. While this is not a difficult thing to claim, and it is not difficult to find others to reassure us that it is true, I want to suggest here that it is worth lingering a little longer in our anxiety than might be comfortable. I suggest this because it seems to me that there is, or at least should be, more on the table than we're yet grappling with. In particular, I argue here that any attempt to theorise the political today needs to take into account not only that the character and space of politics are changing, but that the way we study or theorise it – not only the subjects of our study but the very kind of knowledge we produce, and for whom – may need to change as well. As many others have argued, the project of progressive politics these days is not especially clear. It no longer seems safe to assume, for example, that the capture of the state or the establishment of benign forms of global governance should be our primary object. However, just as the project of progressive politics is in question, so is the role of knowledge, and knowledge production, under contemporary circumstances. I think there are possibilities embedded in explicitly engaging these questions together that are far from realisation. There are also serious dangers in trying to separate them, or assume the one while engaging the other, however ‘obvious’ the answers to one or the other may appear to be. Simultaneous with theorising the political ‘out there’ in the international must be an engagement with the politics of theorising ‘in here,’ in academic contexts. My project here is to explore how this challenge might be taken up in the contemporary study of politics, particularly in relation to emerging forms of political practice, such as those developed by activists in a variety of contexts. My argument is for an approach to theorising the political that shifts the disciplinary assumptions about for what purpose and for whom we should we produce knowledge in contemporary times, through an emphasis on the strategic knowledges produced through political practice. Such an approach would potentially provide us with understandings of contemporary political institutions and practices that are both more incisive and more enabling than can be produced through more familiarly disciplined approaches.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
ERNESTO GANUZA ◽  
Heloise Nez ◽  
Ernesto Morales

The emergence of new participatory mechanisms, such as participatory budgeting, in towns and cities in recent years, has given rise to a conflict between the old protagonists of local participation and the new citizens invited to participate. These mechanisms offer a logic of collective action different to what has been the usual fare in the cities – one that is based on proposal rather than demand. As a result, it requires urban social movements to transform their own dynamics in order to make room for a new political subject (the citizenry and the non-organised participant) and to act upon a stage where deliberative dynamics now apply. The present article aims to analyse this conflict in three different cities that set up participatory budgeting at different times: Porto Alegre, Cordova and Paris. The associations in the three cities took up a position against the new participatory mechanism and demanded a bigger role in the political arena. Through a piece of ethnographic research, we shall see that the responses of the agents involved (politicians, associations and citizens) in the three cities share some arguments, although the conflict was resolved differently in each of them. The article concludes with reflections on the consequences this conflict could have for contemporary political theory, especially with respect to the role of associations in the processes of democratisation and the setting forth of a new way of doing politics by means of deliberative procedures.


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