Contemporary societies are characterised by pluralism (for example, a pluralism of worldviews, identities etc.) and face multiple conflicts about what the right course of action in politics would be. What does this mean for democracy? How can or should democracy work under the conditions of pluralism and the conflictual nature of politics, which is often called the ‘agonistic’ quality of politics in the literature. This seminar deals with different approaches to understanding ‘pluralism’ and ‘agonism’ in contemporary democratic theory. Particular emphasis will be placed on so-called agonistic democratic theories, which are united by the view that pluralism gives rise to deep disagreements and therefore undermines any attempt to solve political conflicts through a search for consensus. Key objectives of the seminar are to analyse the both the underlying assumptions of this view and its consequences. What does an ‘agonistic’ form of democratic politics look like? How can disagreements and conflicts be dealt with productively in democratic politics if a consensus cannot be reached? These questions will be dealt with mainly on the basis of selected texts by agonistic democratic theorists such as Chantal Mouffe, William Connolly, James Tully and Bonnie Honig.
- Lehrende/r: Manon Westphal