Conditions of critique and the non-irreversibility of politics

In: Journal of international political theory: JIPT, Band 13, Heft 1, S. 122-140

Abstract

Critique is a driving force not only for the development of political ideas and concepts but also for protecting humane and democratic politics against the perils of epistemic and political ideologies. Yet, while there is much debate about the question of ' What is critique?' the conditions of critique appear largely under-reflected in International Politics and the Social Sciences more generally. This article goes beyond the question of what critique in politics and social science might consist of and holds that critique is not an end in itself, but rather requires a yardstick to discuss and judge its generative conditions, that is, its foundation, legitimization and direction that it must pertain to be meaningful. The following article will explore the oeuvres of twentieth-century political and social theorists Hans J. Morgenthau, Herbert Marcuse and Eric Voegelin and argues that the three principles of 'perspectivity', 'negation' and 'noesis' that can be concluded from their work provide such generative conditions of critique, practically leading to a novel policy framework of the non-irreversibility of politics.