Radical Democracy

"Obama and the ‘Arab Spring’: desire, hope and the manufacture of disappointment. Implications for a transformative pedagogy"

by John Schostak

paper just published with co-author Lorna Roberts. It develops themes and arguments in earlier conference versions available on academia.edu: see: ‘Democracy matters in race matters’: Obama, desire, hope and the manufacture of disappointment.

For a period, in the run up to the election (2007–2008) and the months after the election, the name ‘Obama’ signified... more For a period, in the run up to the election (2007–2008) and the months after the election, the name ‘Obama’ signified hope for millions, not just in America but across the world. As the hope turned to disappointment, the financial crisis deepened and the Arab Spring renewed a call for a ‘humanity’ that could transcend the differences of nations and faiths. What can be learnt from such events about the pedagogies of hope, disappointment and public action? Are there lessons for a transformative pedagogy, an education that could underpin and continuously create the conditions for a politics of freedom and social justice? A range of print, broadcast and digital/Internet news media is analysed to explore the political/rhetorical/pedagogical strategies already set into play that ‘manufacture disappointment’ in order to undermine and negate the transformative, transgressive symbolic significance of ‘Obama’ and thus manage the theme of change to reassert the same.

Review - John Holloway, Crack Capitalism (London, 2010)

by Uday Chandra

Politično ako agonizmus. Feministická interpretácia

by Ľubica Kobová

Dizertačná práca. Katedra filozofie a dejín filozofie Filozofickej fakulty Univerzity Komenského. Školiteľka doc. PhDr. Zuzana Kiczková, PhD. Bratislava 2012, 98 s. / The Political as Agonism: A Feminist Interpretation. PhD Thesis (Dissertation). Department of Philosophy and History of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava. Thesis Supervisor: doc. PhDr. Zuzana Kiczková, PhD. Bratislava 2012. 98 pp.

Práca sa zaoberá možnými prístupmi k termínu „politično“, ktorý sa vo feministickej teórii objavil v 90. rokoch ako... more Práca sa zaoberá možnými prístupmi k termínu „politično“, ktorý sa vo feministickej teórii objavil v 90. rokoch ako reakcia na spochybnenie základov feminizmu, predovšetkým subjektu feminizmu, žien. Okrem opisu politična ako kontingencie sa tomuto termínu vo feministickej teórii nedostalo širšieho pojmového rozpracovania. Práca sa preto zameriava na konkrétne prístupy ku kontingentnému političnu ako agonizmu, ako ich rozpracúva demokratická teória a konkretizuje ich možné i existujúce feministické čítanie. Pojem agonizmus sprostredkúva názor, že v duchu demokracie by mal spor, zápas, agon, zasahovať samotné princípy a procedúry, ktoré regulujú politický život. Práca sa zameriava predovšetkým na opis a analýzu dvoch druhov agonizmu: pragmatický a expresívny. Pragmatický agonizmus Chantal Mouffe sa vymedzuje voči antagonizmu, ktorý hrozí vážnym poškodením politického spoločenstva. Nosným pojmom pragmatického agonizmu je koncepcia univerzálneho, pohlavnú odlišnosť zneefektívňujúceho, občianstva. Expresivistický agonizmus vychádza z politickej teórie Hannah Arendt a politiku chápe v prvom rade ako slobodné konanie a tvorbu sveta. Pre feminizmus ho interpretuje Linda Zerilli a prostredníctvom tohto zamerania politického konania na svet uvoľňuje normatívne predstavy o feminizme spod zovretia interpretácií feminizmu ako otázky subjektu a sociálnej otázky. Feministická politika v arendtovskom duchu oceňuje začínanie nového a súdenie o ňom. Práca sa napokon oblúkom vracia k historicko-politickému problému antagonizmu, ako ho do svojej strategicko-agonistickej koncepcie začleňuje Jacques Rancière. Práca zastáva názor, že teoretizovanie o politike nemá predpisujúci charakter. Preto je aj ona ponukou istého spôsobu súdenia o tom, čo je a čo by mohlo byť. Agonizmus v tomto súdení slúži ako pracovný nástroj rozkrývajúci sedimentované vrstvy politických zápasov a provokuje k ich nasledovaniu.

The thesis deals with several possible approaches to the concept of the political. In feminist theory the concept emerged as a counter reaction to disputed foundations of feminism, the subject of women, primarily. The political was identified with contingency and contingent foundations; no thorough exploration of the term was carried out within the field of feminist theorizing though. Therefore the focus of the thesis is various conceptualizations of the political in democratic theory, especially those approaching the political as agonism. Agonism signifies a fundamental contestability of the terms, principles and procedures governing democratic political life. Two strands of agonism are dealt with in particular: pragmatic agonism of Chantal Mouffe and expressivist agonism of Hannah Arendt and her feminist follower Linda Zerilli. In Mouffe´s pragmatic reading, agonism is supposed to suspend the explosion of antagonisms whose detrimental effects on the political communities are sadly known. Mouffe´s proposal towards feminism consists in her concept of citizenship, which aims to make sexual (gender) difference ineffective. Expressivist agonism of Hannah Arendt conceptualizes politics as world-building and practice of freedom. Arendt´s political theory offers rather novel approach for feminists, since it makes feminist centeredness on subject and social issues less relevant if not irrelevant completely. Instead, following Zerilli´s account of feminist politics as making judgments, the thesis engages in the practice of judgment when analyzing two exemplars of novel political action that arose in the aftermath of the French Revolution. Lastly, the thesis introduces yet another strand of agonism, that of strategic agonism developed by Jacques Rancière. It argues that Rancière’s approach engages the return to the antagonism in a provocative way that might prove useful for feminists, too. The thesis contends that agonism can be of use as a theoretical tool exposing the sedimented layers of past political struggles and uncovering them as exemplars for future political action.

Local Struggles

by G. Honor Fagan

Book Review: Saul Newman - The Politics of Postanarchism

by Michael Larson

Published in Radical Philosophy Review 14.1 (2011)
pages 105-109

Writing the history of the victors? Discourse, social change and (radical) democracy.

by Felicitas Macgilchrist

Macgilchrist, F., & van Praet, E. (2013/in press). Writing the history of the victors? Discourse, social change and (radical) democracy.
In: Journal of Language and Politics.

Recently, interest in radical democracy and communism has increased dramatically among cultural theorists. This paper... more Recently, interest in radical democracy and communism has increased dramatically among cultural theorists. This paper draws attention to two other fields in which a similar shift is visible. First, popular scholarly writing on communism, anarchism and socialism. Second, curricular materials for history teaching. Drawing on ethnographic field work at an educational publishers in Germany, the paper analyses the production of a history textbook. Analysis identifies ambiguities and tensions in the way forms of political organisation and practice are discussed and changes made. One change involves the subtle revalorization of the 1918 revolution and the early days of the Weimar Republic, which could be considered an attempt at shaping a ‘radical democracy’. The study contributes to emerging work on discourse and social change which aims to not only critique dominant discourse but also explore fissures in hegemonic formations. By analysing the production of these history materials, we explore competing discursive possibilities – ways of understanding and enacting democracy – circulating today.

Key words: history, democracy, textbooks, discourse analysis, ethnography, editorial meetings, political theory

The Ballot Vote as Embedded Ritual: A Radical Critique of Liberal-Democratic Approaches to Media and Elections in Africa

by Wendy Willems

Published in: African Studies 71(1): 91-107.

A significant part of scholarship on media in Africa has adopted the normative ideal of liberal democracy, which... more A significant part of scholarship on media in Africa has adopted the normative ideal of liberal democracy, which defines democracy primarily as electoral democracy. Media institutions, in this regard, are considered to play an important role in strengthening the democratic process and making government more accountable to its citizens. Media are seen as constituting a discursive space or Habermasian public sphere where issues of public concern can be deliberated. Audiences are treated as citizens engaged in public dialogue in and through the media. In this approach, a major task of modern mass media is to offer information in order to enable citizens to participate meaningfully in political life such as providing fair and ‘objective’ coverage on all major candidates in elections that would allow citizens to make a well-informed choice. This article critiques the tendency in work on media in Africa to equate democracy with a form of electoral democracy. First of all, the article advocates a more substantive definition of democracy which goes beyond merely the regular conduct of free and fair elections, a multi-party system, respect for human rights and press freedom. Adopting radical democracy as a normative ideal reveals the crucial role of media – beyond merely elections – in democratising power relations and correcting structural inequalities. Secondly, the article argues that liberal-democratic approaches to media and elections presuppose a universal meaning of elections, hereby ignoring the particular embedded meaning that elections obtain in the African context. Instead of treating media as the neutral arbiters of information on election candidates, I offer an alternative, critical research agenda that considers the engagement between media institutions and political actors as a symbiotic relationship that ultimately seeks to legitimise certain election candidates and condone election rituals as democratic events par excellence.

The rhetorical world of George Bush

by Jan Blommaert

A paper written in 2003, out of anger. It was never circulated in English.

Caste and democratization in postcolonial India: an ethnographic examination of lower caste politics in Bihar

by Jeffrey Witsoe

Rethinking Postcolonial Democracy: An Examination of the Politics of Lower-Caste Empowerment in North India

by Jeffrey Witsoe

Hvorfor driter vi i politikken?

by Ingerid S. Straume

Tale i Studentersamfunnet, Bergen 15. februar 2012. Møtets tittel: Kvifor drit vi i klima?

Quo Vadis lokale Demokratie?

by tino buchholz

Buchholz, Tino (2010): Quo vadis lokale Demokratie? Anmerkungen zu Reichweite ziviler gesellschaftlicher Protestformen und städtischen Bewegungen in den Niederlanden. Paper für die Tagung ‚Perspektiven der Demokratie’ Interdisziplinäre Tagung am 1./2. Oktober 2010 in Düsseldorf

Public Space as emancipation: meditations on anarchism, radical democracy, neoliberalism and violence

by Simon Springer

Springer, S. 2011. Public Space as emancipation: meditations on anarchism, radical democracy, neoliberalism and violence. Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography. 43 (2), 525-562.

In establishing an anarchic framework for understanding public space as a vision for radical democracy, this article... more In establishing an anarchic framework for understanding public space as a vision for radical democracy, this article proceeds as a theoretical inquiry into how an agonistic public space might become the basis of emancipation. Public space is presented as an opportunity to move beyond the technocratic elitism that often characterizes both civil societies and the neoliberal approach to development, and is further recognized as the battlefield on which the conflicting interests of the world's rich and poor are set. Contributing to the growing recognition that geographies of resistance are relational, where the “global” and the “local” are understood as co-constitutive, a radical democratic ideal grounded in material public space is presented as paramount to repealing archic power in general, and neoliberalism’s exclusionary logic in particular.

‘Democracy matters in race matters’: Obama, desire, hope and the manufacture of disappointment

by John Schostak

Lorna Roberts and I started talking about the prospects of an Obama administration back in late 2008 and early 2009. The theme of disappointment occurred to us and led to its exploration in this paper. It has subsequently formed some part of a paper to be published in July 2012 as part of a special issue of Discourse 33(3), July 2012. This new paper has drawn on our reflections on the "Arab Spring' and the Occupy Movement. It is called: Obama and the ‘Arab Spring’: Desire, hope and the manufacture of disappointment. Implications for a transformative pedagogy

Education under the ConDems

by John Schostak

This was a talk I gave at a conference held at Manchester Metropolitan University, in 2010. The conference was titled In Defense of Youth Work. In the UK due to 'austerity measures' instigated by the neoliberal coalition government composed of the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats youth work along with public services in general are under attack. The conference was an attempt to think of ways forward. There are videos of the talks given at the conference. See: http://www.indefenceofyouthwork.org.uk/wordpress/?page_id=760

Title of Presentation:Evaluation of UK Government Led Prevent Programme, Processes to Radicalisation in Local Communities in UK & Europe and Trans-National Network Connections of Faith-Based Radicalisation

by Owais Rajput

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:

To evaluate the prevent programme within the contest of UK’s effort at Global Counter Terrorism.  
Prevent... more To evaluate the prevent programme within the contest of UK’s effort at Global Counter Terrorism.  
Prevent Programme and Locality issue in UK & Europe.
Issue of Home-Grown Radicalisation
Processes to Radicalisation.
Social and Political Processes leads towards to Home-Grown Radicalisation and on later stage towards to Terrorism.

Introduction: Law and Agonistic Politics

by Andrew Schaap

in Law and Agonistic Politics, ed. Andrew Schaap. Farnham: Ashgate, 2009.

Contents:

1. The democratic Narcissus: the agonism of the ancients compared to that of the (post)moderns,... more Contents:

1. The democratic Narcissus: the agonism of the ancients compared to that of the (post)moderns, Andreas Kalyvas

2. Democratic agon: striving for distinction or struggle against domination and injustice?, Jean-Philippe Deranty and Emmanuel Renault

3. The opening: alegality and political agonism, Hans Lindahl

4. The expressive agon: on political agency in a constitutional democratic polity, David Owen

5. Staging dissensus: Frederick Douglass and 'we the people', Jason Frank

6. Polemos and agon, Alex Thomson

7. Questioning the law? On heteronomy in public autonomy, Bert van Roermund

8. Agonism, antagonism and the necessity of care, Keith Breen

9. The stranger in synagonistic politics, Nathalie Karagiannis and Peter Wagner

10. Passionate subjectivity, contestation and acknowledgement: rereading Austin and Cavell

11. Aletta J. Norval; On the rationality of disagreement and feeling: brethren, bombers and the construction of the common, Fiona Jenkins

12. The complex agon, Adrian Little

13. The absurd proposition of Aboriginal sovereignty, Andrew Schaap

Radical research: designing, developing and writing research to make a difference

by John Schostak

co-authored with Jill Schostak

Radical Research explores the view that research is not a neutral tool to be employed without bias in the search for... more Radical Research explores the view that research is not a neutral tool to be employed without bias in the search for truth. Rather the radical roots of research are to be seen in the focus on freedom and emancipation from blind allegiance to tradition, ‘common sense’, religion, or powerful individuals and organisations.

Radical Research introduces and draws upon leading contemporary debates and data gathered from a diversity of funded projects in; health, education, police training, youth and community, schools, business, and the use of information technology.

This book presents a radical view of research in a way that enables both beginner and the experienced professional researcher to explore its approaches in the formation of their own views and practices. It progressively leads the reader from discussions of case studies to critical explorations of the philosophical and methodological concepts, theories and arguments that are central to contemporary debates. In essence, this book shows how to design, develop and write radical research under conditions where ‘normal’ research rules apply and it offers a ground-breaking and proven alternative to traditional research techniques.

Researching and representing wrongs, injuries and disagreements: exploring strategies for radical research

by John Schostak

Wikileaks, Tahrir Square – their significance for re-thinking democracy

by John Schostak