Book review: Critique on the Couch: Why Critical Theory Needs Psychoanalysis
In: Thesis eleven: critical theory and historical sociology, Band 180, Heft 1, S. 149-154
ISSN: 1461-7455, 0725-5136
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In: Thesis eleven: critical theory and historical sociology, Band 180, Heft 1, S. 149-154
ISSN: 1461-7455, 0725-5136
In: PS: political science & politics, Band 57, Heft 1, S. 97-99
In: German politics and society, Band 41, Heft 3, S. 22-43
ISSN: 1558-5441
Abstract
As the leading public intellectual of postwar West Germany, Jürgen Habermas was a prominent opponent of the unification of the two Germanies after 1989. While his fears regarding the identity, collective memory, Western orientation, and economic power of a united Germany are important, in contrast to the existing literature, I argue that Habermas's objections are primarily procedural, focusing on the normative deficiencies in Chancellor Helmut Kohl's executive-led, administrative approach to reunification. In Habermas's eyes this procedure short-circuited the democratic processes of public opinion- and will-formation necessary to fulfill the normative presuppositions of popular self-determination. Methodologically, I make this point by reading Habermas's "short political writings" alongside his theoretical writings, especially his early postwar readings of the German constitutional theory. In addition to reframing the debate over his opposition to unification, I also oppose realist critiques of his work by showing that Habermas's theoretical writings have direct implications for contemporary politics.
In: Review of international studies: RIS, Band 50, Heft 4, S. 682-699
ISSN: 1469-9044
AbstractThe globalisation of political power into structures 'above' or 'beyond' the nation-state has increasingly been called into question as part of a 'sovereigntist turn' in contemporary politics. While such demands for local control by bounded peoples may be democratic, empirically they often also take a nationalist form. Building on Hannah Arendt's analysis of how 'the nation conquered the state', I argue that the slippage from democratic to national sovereigntism is rooted in fundamental conceptual instabilities within the concept of the nation-state. Whereas the first term in this hyphenated construct favours certain individuals based on their ethnic background, the latter is a universal concept that demands the equal treatment of all. My basic thesis is that these internal contradictions help to explain the nationalist tendency in calls to return political power to the nation-state. I illustrate these points by drawing on examples from the 'illiberal democracies' of Central-Eastern Europe, focusing on Poland and Hungary.
In: Constellations: an international journal of critical and democratic theory, Band 30, Heft 1, S. 34-41
ISSN: 1467-8675
In: The review of politics, Band 84, Heft 3, S. 397-421
ISSN: 1748-6858
AbstractPoliticians and scholars alike have blamed postmodernism—and the identity politics that have emerged in its wake—for the pathologies of the early twenty-first century. Despite his limited defense of the Enlightenment and his disputes with his French contemporaries, I argue that Habermas's philosophy displays many postmodern characteristics that are often overlooked. These include its decentering of the autonomous subject, its skepticism towards metaphysics, and its rejection of stadial philosophies of history. In light of the fact that Habermas adopts weaker versions of many postmodern commitments, I reconsider his disputes with Foucault and Derrida regarding the legacy of the Enlightenment. I conclude that rather than interpreting Habermas as a conservative critic of his more radical counterparts in France, we should instead see these three thinkers as part of a shared attempt to come to terms with the problems of postwar Europe in a public, discursive manner.
In: The review of politics, Band 84, Heft 2, S. 252-257
ISSN: 1748-6858
In: Angermion: yearbook for Anglo-German literary criticism, intellectual history and cultural transfer ; Jahrbuch für britisch-deutsche Kulturbeziehungen ; yearbook of the Centre for Anglo-German Cultural Relations at Queen Mary, University of London, Band 14, Heft 1, S. 193-216
ISSN: 1868-9426
In: Political studies: the journal of the Political Studies Association of the United Kingdom, Band 71, Heft 2, S. 398-417
ISSN: 1467-9248
Recent developments have highlighted the tension between democracy and late capitalist economics. In the wake of the Great Recession, international market forces have increasingly taken de facto control of politics. My basic thesis is that a modified version of Jürgen Habermas' colonization thesis, which opposes the takeover of social and political life by the forces of power (administration) and money (economics), productively conceptualizes these developments. I argue that this framework can help to both diagnose and combat the dangers associated with the overexpansion of functional systemic forces, as well as the broader instrumentalization that they promote. By drawing on his political writings on the future of the European Union after the crisis of the Eurozone, I oppose interpretations of Habermas as a pacified liberal by demonstrating that he shares Karl Marx's commitment to combatting naturalized views of economics and material reproduction as a force that lie outside of human control.
In: European journal of social theory, Band 24, Heft 4, S. 526-544
ISSN: 1461-7137
Realists and supporters of 'democratic underlabouring' have recently challenged the traditional separation between political theory and practice. Although both attack Jürgen Habermas for being an idealist whose philosophy is too removed from politics, I argue that this interpretation is inaccurate. While Habermas's social and political theory is indeed oriented to truth and understanding, he has sought realize his communicative conception of democracy by increasing the quality of political debate as a public intellectual. Building on his approach, I argue that giving the theorist a direct role in public policy undermines theory as an enterprise oriented towards truth while overlooking the contingency, participatory nature and complicated internal logics of social and political practice. My basic thesis is that Habermas's understanding of the relationship between theory and practice overcomes these difficulties by providing an account of theory that is independent but simultaneously also allows philosophers to participate in politics as public intellectuals.
In: Contemporary political theory: CPT, Band 21, Heft S1, S. 15-18
ISSN: 1476-9336
In: Modern intellectual history: MIH, Band 19, Heft 2, S. 638-648
ISSN: 1479-2451
In 2016 the democratic world experienced two major shocks. Although support for illiberal nationalism has been on the rise for at least a decade, the events of that year, starting with the narrow victory of the Leave campaign in the United Kingdom's 23 June referendum on its membership in the European Union (EU), followed less than six months later by Donald J. Trump's election as president of the United States on 8 November, constituted a clear break. In contrast to the postwar liberal democratic order, which legitimized itself through the provision of welfare benefits and effective management of competing interests, these two developments seemingly signaled a return to the more rough-and-tumble, unstable politics of the interwar period.
In: Perspectives on politics, Band 18, Heft 4, S. 1204-1205
ISSN: 1541-0986
In: Contemporary political theory: CPT, Band 20, Heft S1, S. 25-28
ISSN: 1476-9336
In: Constellations: an international journal of critical and democratic theory, Band 27, Heft 3, S. 561-563
ISSN: 1467-8675