Liberalism without Agreement: Political Autonomy and Agonistic Citizenship

Brink, Bert van den

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511610325.013

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 154 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It should be pointed out that rationalism is criticized as a starting point for political theorizing from within the liberal tradition as well (Friedman, 2000;Waldron, 1999, 149-163;van den Brink, 2005). For a critique of Mouffe's arguments on this point, see Knops (2007).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, the distinction between emancipatory agonism and perfectionist agonism is neither exhaustive nor exclusive. Arguments for an agonistic conception of politics are also made on pragmatic grounds, according to which dealing with disagreement is better than attempting to overcome it (van den Brink, 2005), and for postfoundationalist theoretical concerns (Hatab, 1995). However, I submit that the issues of contention between agonistic and liberal theory can only be addressed once we get clear on the normative commitments that inform agonistic theorizing.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Agonistic Critiques of Liberalism: Perfection and Emancipation

Fossen

2008

Contemp Polit Theory

102

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Agonism is a political theory that places contestation at the heart of politics. Agonistic theorists charge liberal theory with a depoliticization of pluralism through an excessive focus on consensus. This paper examines the agonistic critiques of liberalism from a normative perspective. I argue that by itself the argument from pluralism is not sufficient to support an agonistic account of politics, but points to further normative commitments. Analyzing the work of Mouffe, Honig, Connolly, and Owen, I identify two normative currents of agonistic theory: emancipatory agonism, aimed at challenging violence and exclusion, and perfectionist agonism, aimed at the cultivation of nobility. From a normative perspective the former presents an internal challenge to liberalism, while the latter constitutes an external challenge to liberalism by providing a competing account of the ends of politics. Recognition of the distinction between emancipatory and perfectionist agonism is crucial in assessing the purchase of agonistic critiques of liberalism. Furthermore, this analysis draws us beyond the simple opposition between contestation and consensus. It is not simply a question of valuing genuine pluralism and therefore criticizing consensus; rather the question comes to be: what are the ends of politics?

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%