Laclau & Muoffe's Radical Democracy: A Response to the Confusion of the New Left: A Critique on the Book “Hegemony and Socialist Strategy”

Tavana, Mohammad Ali; Azarkamand, Farzad

doi:10.30465/crtls.2023.40145.2523

Document Type : Research

Authors

¹ Associate Professor of Political Science (Political Thoughts), Academic staff of Shiraz University, School of Law and Political Science, Shiraz, Iran

² PhD Student in Political Science, Yasouj University, Yasouj, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30465/crtls.2023.40145.2523

Abstract

Hegemony and socialist strategy; towards radical democratic politics of Laclau and Moff (1985), in the face of the confusion of the new left proposed the theory of radical democracy. This theory is progressive in at least two respects: 1. Democracy based on antagonistic politics. Laclau and Muoffe stated that controversy is a part of politics and hegemony is the only way to control it, but in contingent situations, the demands of opposing discourses can be articulated around an empty signifier and a new hegemony can replace previous hegemony. This process opens the way beyond Hobbesian pessimistic realism (and its authoritarianism) and Kant's moral idealism (and its conciliatory democracy); 2- Positive postmodernism in the form of the idea of post-fundamentalism. By accepting open and temporary hegemony, Laclau and Muoffe not only supported pluralism and its accompanying particularism, but also established an authority (reference) for political decisions and actions, thus it moves beyond universal fundamentalism to the Habermasian type and specifical anti-fundamentalism to the Deleuze type. The former implies accepting the authority of reason to eliminate differences in the process of communicative action, and the latter implies the separation of minorities from the majority and the rejection of any general authority for political action. Nevertheless, there are still fundamental criticisms of Laclau and Muoffe's intellectual project, including the superiority of the political over the economic and the social; the weakness of the subject's action; Western-centerism, and the Tendency to neo-Kantian transcendence.

Keywords

Main Subjects

political science

References

Bashiriyeh, H. (2008A). Political Thoughts in the 20th century; History of Marxist Thoughts, Tehran: Nashrene. [in Persian]

Bashiriyeh, H. (2008B). Transition to democracy (theoretical debates), Tehran: Negah-Maaser. [in Persian]

Foucault, M. (1990).The History of Sexuality, V 1: An Introduction, New York: Vintag Books.

Futures. London: Routledge.

Haghighat, S. (2008). Political Science Methodology, Qom: Mofid University. [in Persian]

Harvey, K. (2012). Democratic Agonism: Conflict and Contestation in Divided Societies. https://www.e-ir.info/2012/10/20/democratic-agonism-conflict-and-contestation-in-divided-societies/.

Heywood, A. (2010). Politics, translated by Abdurrahman Alam, Tehran: Nashreney. [in Persian]

Horkheimer M. & T. Adorno (2016). Dialectic of Enlightenment, translated by Murad Farhadpour and Omid Mehrgan, 6th edition, Tehran: Hermes.

Howarth, D. (2011). "Discourse Theory" in the book Methodology and Theory in Political Science, authored by David Marsh and Jerry Stoker, translated by Amir Mohammad Haji Yousefi, Tehran: Research Institute of Strategic Studies. [in Persian]

Howarth. D. (2015). Ernesto Laclau; Post-Marxism, Pupolism and Criticue, London: Routledge Innovators in Political Theory.

Jorgensen, Y. & L. Phillips (2010). Discourse Analysis as Theory and Method, translated by Hadi Jalili, Tehran: Nashreney. [in Persian]

Laclau, A. & Mouffe, Ch. (2012). Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics, translated by Mohammad Rezaei, Tehran: Thaleth..

Laclau, A. (1400). On Populist Reason, translated by Murad Farhadpour and Javad Ganji. Tehran: Markaz. [in Persian]

Laclau, E. (2006) “Ideology and post-Marxism”, Journal of Political Ideologies, Volume 11, Issue 2: Special Tenth Anniversary Issue: The Meaning of Ideology: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives (II), Pages 103-114.

Leet, M. (1386). "Jürgen Habermas and Deliberative Democracy" in Liberal Democracy and Critics, edited by April Carter and Jeffrey Stokes, Tehran: Allameh Tabatabai University Press. [in Persian]

Lemke, T. (2016). Bio-politics: An advanced introduction, translated by Behrad Rahmani, Tehran: markaz.

Malpas, S. (2009). The Postmodern, translated by Bahram Behin, Tehran: Gognoos. [in Persian]

McNay, L. (2007). " Foucault and Agonistic Democracy" in Liberal Democracy and Critics, edited by April Carter and Geoffrey Stokes, Tehran: Allameh Tabatabai University Press. [in Persian]

Mills, C. (2013). The philosophy of Agamben, translated by Poya Imani, Tehran: Markaz. [in Persian]

Moshirzadeh, H. (2011). Evolution in the theories of international relations, Tehran: Samt. [in Persian]

Mouffe, Ch .(2000a).the democratic paradox,London: verso.

Mouffe, Ch .(2006).on the political, routledgetaylor and francis group, london and new york.

Mouffe, Ch. (2009). "Essay in support of the controversial model of democracy" translated by Hasan Abniki in the book "Political Theory in Transition", editor: Noel Osulivan, Tehran: Kavir, pp. 187-214. [in Persian]

Mouffe, Ch. (2000B). Deliberative Democracy or agonistic pluralism, institute fur Hoherstudien (Ihs), wien institute for advanced studies, Vienna..

Mouffe, Ch.(2007).Artistic activismand agonistic spase, art and research, a journal of ideas, contextsan ISSN 1752-6388.

Nash, K. (2009). Contemporary political sociology: globalization, politics, power, translated by Mohammad Taghi Delfrooz with an introduction by Hossein Bashirieh, Tehran: Kavir..

Negri, Antonio and Michael Hart (1387) Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire, 2nd edition, Tehran: Nashreney. [in Persian]

Negry, A. (2015) Negri on Hegemony: Gramsci, Togliatti, Laclau, in: https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/2179-negri-on-hegemony-gramsci-togliatti-laclau

Purcell, M (2008) Recapturing Democracy: Neoliberalization and the Struggle for Alternative Urban

Qadri, H. (1390). Political thoughts in the 20th century, Tehran: Samt. [in Persian]

Qavam, A. (2009). Comparative Politics, Tehran: Samt. [in Persian]

Rorty, R. (2006) Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity, translated by Payam Yazdanjo, Tehran: Markaz[in Persian].

Tajik, M. and P. Ashkurzadeh (2018) "Reflection on the possibility of the political subject according to Ernesto Laclau's theory", Political and International Approaches, Volume 10, Number 3 - Serial Number 3, Pages 52-73. [in Persian]

Tansey, A & Jackson, N. (2012). Politics: The Basics, translated by Jafar Mohseni Darehbidi, Tehran: Gognoos. [in Persian]

Ward, G. (2010). Postmodernism, translated by Qadir Fakhr Ranjbari and Abuzar Karmi, third edition, Tehran: Mahi. [in Persian]

Pizhuhish nāmah-i intiqādī-i mutūn va barnāmah hā-yi ̒ulūm-i insāni (Critical Studies in Texts & Programs of Human Sciences)

Laclau & Muoffe's Radical Democracy: A Response to the Confusion of the New Left: A Critique on the Book “Hegemony and Socialist Strategy”

References

References

Volume 23, Issue 3 - Serial Number 113
November 2023
Pages 137-165

Laclau & Muoffe's Radical Democracy: A Response to the Confusion of the New Left: A Critique on the Book “Hegemony and Socialist Strategy”

References

References

Volume 23, Issue 3 - Serial Number 113November 2023Pages 137-165

Volume 23, Issue 3 - Serial Number 113
November 2023
Pages 137-165