Suchergebnisse

This article focuses on the agonistic account of renewal and discusses its place within the broader horizon of radical democracy. It suggests that while the emphasis which agonistic theorists place on difference and popular struggles (particularly social movement politics) ensures some common ground with other theories of radical democracy, their account of renewal also displays some marked differences. The article explores these differences and discusses whether agonism is sufficient to address the limits of the current neoliberal order. Honig B (2013) Antigone, Interrupted. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Wenman M (2013) Agonistic Democracy: Constituent Power in the Era of Globalisation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Nichols R and Singh J (eds) (2014) Freedom and Democracy in an Imperial Context – Dialogues with James Tully. Abingdon, New York: Routledge Mouffe C (2013) Agonistics. London: Verso. Tully J (ed.) (2014) On Global Citizenship: James Tully in Dialogue. London; New York: Bloomsbury Academics.

Viewed either as a limited undertaking or a process in the making, European citizenship appears to be caught at an impasse. While the dominant approaches fail to break from the confines of the demos/no demos thesis, the challenges confronting Union citizenship ironically converge with those posed to citizenship discourse. Can European citizenship escape from this impasse? To address this question the article shows how the agonistic emphasis on contestation opens the way for a different reading of European citizenship. On this reading, Union citizenship is not simply taken as a means to participation, but as a channel for political mobilisation. Constructed out of an affective identification with the negative, with that we oppose rather than endorse, the agonistic conception, argues the article, insightfully shifts the terms of debating Union citizenship.