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Critical Theory and Contemporary Europe (Critical Theory and Contemporary Society)
by William OuthwaiteCritical Theory and Contemporary Europe introduces the major contributions critical theorists made to the study of Europe, from the interwar years to the present time. The work begins with theorists such as Adorno who addressed Nazism and the Holocaust, then moves on to discuss the postwar affluence of capitalist Europe. It proceeds to examine how critical theorists provided much of the analysis that motivated the student and youth movements of 1968 and subsequent alternative social movements. Lastly, it relates the development of a critical theory of state socialism, looking at the works of thinkers such as Arato, Offe, and Habermas and how critical theory is now addressing social issues such as European xenophobia and the future of Europe.This new volume in the Critical Theory and Contemporary Society series brings together critical theory and European studies in a clear, accessible manner and shows the relevance of critical theory to practical political issues.
Critical Theory and Contemporary Europe (Critical Theory and Contemporary Society)
by William OuthwaiteCritical Theory and Contemporary Europe introduces the major contributions critical theorists made to the study of Europe, from the interwar years to the present time. The work begins with theorists such as Adorno who addressed Nazism and the Holocaust, then moves on to discuss the postwar affluence of capitalist Europe. It proceeds to examine how critical theorists provided much of the analysis that motivated the student and youth movements of 1968 and subsequent alternative social movements. Lastly, it relates the development of a critical theory of state socialism, looking at the works of thinkers such as Arato, Offe, and Habermas and how critical theory is now addressing social issues such as European xenophobia and the future of Europe.This new volume in the Critical Theory and Contemporary Society series brings together critical theory and European studies in a clear, accessible manner and shows the relevance of critical theory to practical political issues.
Critical Theory and Disability: A Phenomenological Approach (Critical Theory and Contemporary Society)
by Teodor MladenovCritical Theory and Disability explores social and ontological issues encountered by present-day disabled people, applying ideas from disability studies and phenomenology. It focuses on disabling contexts in order to highlight and criticize the ontological assumptions of contemporary society, particularly those related to the meaning of human being. In empirical terms, the book explores critically social practices that undermine disabled people's well being, drawing on cases from contemporary Bulgaria. It includes in-depth examination of key mechanisms such as disability assessment, personal assistance (direct payments) and disability-based discrimination. On this basis, wider sociological and ontological claims are made concerning the body, identity, otherness, and exclusion.
Critical Theory and Disability: A Phenomenological Approach (Critical Theory and Contemporary Society)
by Teodor MladenovCritical Theory and Disability explores social and ontological issues encountered by present-day disabled people, applying ideas from disability studies and phenomenology. It focuses on disabling contexts in order to highlight and criticize the ontological assumptions of contemporary society, particularly those related to the meaning of human being. In empirical terms, the book explores critically social practices that undermine disabled people's well being, drawing on cases from contemporary Bulgaria. It includes in-depth examination of key mechanisms such as disability assessment, personal assistance (direct payments) and disability-based discrimination. On this basis, wider sociological and ontological claims are made concerning the body, identity, otherness, and exclusion.
Critical Theory and Economics: Philosophical Notes on Contemporary Inequality (Routledge Frontiers of Political Economy)
by Robin MaialehThis book expands upon a range of economic insights within the overall context of critical theory, particularly with respect to the question of socioeconomic inequalities, and presents an explanation of how critical theory provides a number of interesting perspectives for economists. Economic agents, deliberately imprisoned in their instrumental rationality as a means to survive under competitive relationships, are microscopic constituents of systemic forces which exist beyond their will. Despite the subjective rationality of such agents in terms of formally logical transitivity and consistency, aggregate market distributional mechanisms also display non-rational patterns. The crucial aspect of the dynamics of this system consists of the paralysing effect of the high level of socioeconomic inequality, which is driven by a permanent struggle for self-preservation under competitive rules; it is a reminiscence of natural, uncivilised relationships that constituted the reproduction process of the whole. These reified agents thus become instruments of their socially constructed powers on the one hand, and objects of their existential conditionality on the other. Hence, the dialectical approach adopted by the author aims to uncover the way in which structurally genetic market forces govern individual behaviour, as well as how individual behaviour shapes these structurally genetic forces, which, together, form the transcending principles of unequal distribution. This book will be of particular interest to scholars of the political economy, philosophy and the methodology of the social sciences, especially those concerned with inequality issues. This book includes a preface written by Professor Martin Jay.
Critical Theory and Economics: Philosophical Notes on Contemporary Inequality (Routledge Frontiers of Political Economy)
by Robin MaialehThis book expands upon a range of economic insights within the overall context of critical theory, particularly with respect to the question of socioeconomic inequalities, and presents an explanation of how critical theory provides a number of interesting perspectives for economists. Economic agents, deliberately imprisoned in their instrumental rationality as a means to survive under competitive relationships, are microscopic constituents of systemic forces which exist beyond their will. Despite the subjective rationality of such agents in terms of formally logical transitivity and consistency, aggregate market distributional mechanisms also display non-rational patterns. The crucial aspect of the dynamics of this system consists of the paralysing effect of the high level of socioeconomic inequality, which is driven by a permanent struggle for self-preservation under competitive rules; it is a reminiscence of natural, uncivilised relationships that constituted the reproduction process of the whole. These reified agents thus become instruments of their socially constructed powers on the one hand, and objects of their existential conditionality on the other. Hence, the dialectical approach adopted by the author aims to uncover the way in which structurally genetic market forces govern individual behaviour, as well as how individual behaviour shapes these structurally genetic forces, which, together, form the transcending principles of unequal distribution. This book will be of particular interest to scholars of the political economy, philosophy and the methodology of the social sciences, especially those concerned with inequality issues. This book includes a preface written by Professor Martin Jay.
Critical theory and feeling: The affective politics of the early Frankfurt School (G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects)
by Simon MussellThis book examines the vital role of affect and feeling within the work of the early Frankfurt School. The author investigates a range of concepts – including melancholia, hope, (un)happiness, objects, and mimesis – and argues that a contemporary reading of critical theory needs to accommodate an adequate understanding of affect.
Critical theory and feeling: The affective politics of the early Frankfurt School (Critical Theory and Contemporary Society)
by Simon MussellThis book examines the vital role of affect and feeling within the work of the early Frankfurt School. The author investigates a range of concepts – including melancholia, hope, (un)happiness, objects, and mimesis – and argues that a contemporary reading of critical theory needs to accommodate an adequate understanding of affect.
Critical theory and international relations: Knowledge, power and practice (Critical Theory and Contemporary Society)
by Stephen HobdenCritical theory is one of the most important and exciting areas within the study of international relations. Its purpose is not only to describe how the world operates but also to help us imagine how we might achieve a more equitable and sustainable way of life. Presenting key concepts and thinkers, notably Theodor Adorno and Michel Foucault, this book provides an evaluation of the field and suggests how critical thinking can contribute to confronting the challenges of the twenty-first century. It argues that current critiques of critical theory in international relations can only be overcome if we engage with ideas from outside of the western tradition.
Critical theory and international relations: Knowledge, power and practice (Critical Theory and Contemporary Society)
by Stephen HobdenCritical theory is one of the most important and exciting areas within the study of international relations. Its purpose is not only to describe how the world operates but also to help us imagine how we might achieve a more equitable and sustainable way of life. Presenting key concepts and thinkers, notably Theodor Adorno and Michel Foucault, this book provides an evaluation of the field and suggests how critical thinking can contribute to confronting the challenges of the twenty-first century. It argues that current critiques of critical theory in international relations can only be overcome if we engage with ideas from outside of the western tradition.
Critical Theory and Political Engagement: From May 1968 to the Arab Spring
by C. PawlingIn this timely study, Pawling argues for a renewal of the 'politics of intellectual life', calling for an engaged critical theory written in the spirit of May 1968, as exemplified in the works of figures such as Sartre, Derrida, Badiou, Jameson and Said.
Critical Theory and Political Modernity
by José Maurício DominguesThis book draws together philosophy, jurisprudence, political science, and international relations to study the main categories of political modernity and its development trends. Grounded in critical theory—from Marx to later currents such as the Frankfurt School—Critical Theory and Political Modernity circulates around state power and oligarchy as well as emancipatory possibilities from their foundations to the present, such as radical democracy. Domingues analyzes the main categories of political modernity, including the juridical dimension, to conceptually articulate its long-term processes of development. In so doing, he examines rights, law and citizenship, state and domination abstract and concrete, the political system, state power, freedom and autonomy, scalar configurations, political regimes, oligarchy and democracy.
Critical Theory and Political Theology: The Aftermath of the Enlightenment
by Paul S. ChungThis book deals with the aftermath of the enlightenment and its legacy in the political, social, and racial context. It discusses the incomplete project of modernity in terms of social contract theory, racial justice issues, and political theology in the postcolonial context. Hermeneutical realism and cultural linguistic inquiry become substantial features in elaborating postcolonial political theology and its ethical stance against the colonization of lifeworld and its pathologies. A study of critical theory and political theology is of a reconstructive character in seeking to relocate critical theory and political ethics in the context of alternative modernities at the level of postcolonial theory.
Critical theory and social pathology: The Frankfurt School beyond recognition (Critical Theory and Contemporary Society)
by Neal HarrisIn the neoliberal world of the twenty-first century, the progressive academy urgently needs a vehicle for normative social research. Critical theory once answered this call, but today its programme is in crisis. The ‘pathologies of recognition’ approach, popular among contemporary critical theorists, aids neoliberalism rather than challenging it, in part because it is unable to grasp the structural nature of power.To offer an alternative, this book returns to the work of Erich Fromm and Herbert Marcuse, using it as the basis for a revivified social theoretical foundation. As the first generation of critical theorists knew, thought itself can be reified, our imaginations debased, and our desires artificially induced. We need to think beyond recognition and embrace a more potent and aggressive form of social critique, true to the founding spirit of the Frankfurt School.
Critical Theory and World Politics: Citizenship, Sovereignty and Humanity
by Andrew LinklaterAndrew Linklater has been one of the most innovative thinkers in international relations, introducing critical and ethical elements into the discipline which has forced it to rethink many of its basic assumptions. This book builds on this body of work to develop a radical new theory that calls for a cosmopolitan approach to international relations. Key subjects covered in the book include: citizenship and humanity critical theory and political community the problem of harm the sociology of states-systems.
Critical Theory and World Politics: Citizenship, Sovereignty and Humanity
by Andrew LinklaterAndrew Linklater has been one of the most innovative thinkers in international relations, introducing critical and ethical elements into the discipline which has forced it to rethink many of its basic assumptions. This book builds on this body of work to develop a radical new theory that calls for a cosmopolitan approach to international relations. Key subjects covered in the book include: citizenship and humanity critical theory and political community the problem of harm the sociology of states-systems.
A Critical Theory for the Anthropocene (Anthropocene – Humanities and Social Sciences)
by Nathanaël WallenhorstThis volume, which is rooted in biogeophysical studies, addresses conceptions of political action in the Anthropocene and the tension between a desire to accomplish the Promethean project of modernity and a post-Promethean approach. This work explores the idea of an anthropological mutation of political consolidation from a “post-Promethean togetherness”, to creating the capacity to act together. The political thinking of the human condition developed by Hannah Arendt is important here as a resource for thinking about humanity in terms of human adventure. This has three dimensions: hubris, the world and coexistence referring respectively to the logic of profit of the homo oeconomicus, the logic of responsibility of the homo collectivus and the logic of the hospitality of the homo religatus. The intellectual and political attitude outlined in this book is an extension of critical theory: the work also puts forward a critique of what poses a problem in our relationship to the world and suggests how to overcome it, the ultimate goal being social transformation. The author propose an uprising and an anthropological consolidation of politics based on the revitalization that is brought about by the sharing of a conviviality both between humans and with what is non-human. The identification of conviviality as an educational paradigm to survive the Anthropocene gives us the much needed reason for hope despite this heritage of the Anthropocene. In addition to Arendtian thinking, this critical theory for the Anthropocene draws on the political thinking of several contemporary authors including Maurice Bellet, Hartmut Rosa, Andreas Weber, Dominique Bourg, and Christian Arnsperger. This volume is of interest to researchers in the Anthropocene.
Critical Theory in International Relations and Security Studies: Interviews and Reflections
by Shannon Brincat Laura Lima João NunesThis book provides an assessment of the legacy, challenges and future directions of Critical Theory in the fields of International Relations and Security Studies. This book provides ‘first-hand’ interviews with some of the pioneers of Critical Theory in the fields of International Relations Theory and Security Studies. The interviews are combined innovatively with reflective essays to create an engaging and accessible discussion of the legacy and challenges of critical thinking. A unique forum that combines first-person discussion and secondary commentary on a variety of theoretical positions, the book explores in detail the interaction between different theories and approaches, including postcolonialism, feminism, and poststructuralism. Scholars from a variety of theoretical backgrounds reflect on the strengths and problems of critical theory, recasting the theoretical discussion about critical theory in the study of world politics and examining the future of the discipline. Both an introduction and an advanced engagement with theoretical developments over the past three decades, Critical Theory in International Relations and Security Studies will be of interest to students and scholars of International Politics, Security Studies and Philosophy.
Critical Theory in International Relations and Security Studies: Interviews and Reflections
by Shannon Brincat Laura Lima Joao NunesThis book provides an assessment of the legacy, challenges and future directions of Critical Theory in the fields of International Relations and Security Studies. This book provides ‘first-hand’ interviews with some of the pioneers of Critical Theory in the fields of International Relations Theory and Security Studies. The interviews are combined innovatively with reflective essays to create an engaging and accessible discussion of the legacy and challenges of critical thinking. A unique forum that combines first-person discussion and secondary commentary on a variety of theoretical positions, the book explores in detail the interaction between different theories and approaches, including postcolonialism, feminism, and poststructuralism. Scholars from a variety of theoretical backgrounds reflect on the strengths and problems of critical theory, recasting the theoretical discussion about critical theory in the study of world politics and examining the future of the discipline. Both an introduction and an advanced engagement with theoretical developments over the past three decades, Critical Theory in International Relations and Security Studies will be of interest to students and scholars of International Politics, Security Studies and Philosophy.
Critical Theory in the Twenty-First Century (Critical Theory and Contemporary Society)
by Darrow SchecterCritical Theory in the Twenty-First Century provides a thorough overview of critical theory, looking at its history and shortfalls.First, the book explains the developments from the Frankfurt School and from more recent schools of thought, including Derrida, Deleuze, deconstruction, and post-structuralism. Then it looks at how critical theory has not kept pace with the changes and conflicts brought on by the post-Cold War world and globalization and how its deficits can be addressed. For the author, more than ever critical theory needs to synthesize theoretical perspective and empirical research. It also needs to be reconfigured in the light of the demands of new social movements, post-colonialism, and globalization.This volume is part of Critical Theory and Contemporary Society, a series that uses critical theory to explore contemporary society as a complex phenomenon and includes works on democracy, social movements, and terrorism. A unique resource, Critical Theory in the Twenty First Century will interest anyone researching issues in political theory, international relations theory, social theory, and critical theory.
Critical Theory in the Twenty-First Century (Critical Theory and Contemporary Society)
by Darrow SchecterCritical Theory in the Twenty-First Century provides a thorough overview of critical theory, looking at its history and shortfalls.First, the book explains the developments from the Frankfurt School and from more recent schools of thought, including Derrida, Deleuze, deconstruction, and post-structuralism. Then it looks at how critical theory has not kept pace with the changes and conflicts brought on by the post-Cold War world and globalization and how its deficits can be addressed. For the author, more than ever critical theory needs to synthesize theoretical perspective and empirical research. It also needs to be reconfigured in the light of the demands of new social movements, post-colonialism, and globalization.This volume is part of Critical Theory and Contemporary Society, a series that uses critical theory to explore contemporary society as a complex phenomenon and includes works on democracy, social movements, and terrorism. A unique resource, Critical Theory in the Twenty First Century will interest anyone researching issues in political theory, international relations theory, social theory, and critical theory.
A Critical Theory of Counterterrorism: Ontology, Epistemology and Normativity (Routledge Critical Terrorism Studies)
by Sondre LindahlThis book offers a theory and model of counterterrorism based on emancipation and non-violence. Critical Terrorism Studies (CTS) scholars have produced wide-ranging and rich critiques of terrorism-related research, as well as state counterterrorism policies and practices. This work aims to fill in a gap in the current literature by constructing an original and specifically CTS model of counterterrorism. The model outlines the basic assumptions, priorities, principles, strategies and tactics, measures and evaluation of counterterrorism. It challenges prevalent models of counterterrorism through a radical rethinking of the ontology, epistemology and the agenda of counterterrorism. The model aims to prevent future acts of terrorism by (1) re-conceptualising how we study and understand terrorism, and; (2) suggesting that our efforts to counter and prevent terrorism must commensurate with the goals we want to achieve. Essentially, this involves a commitment to emancipation, and a rejection of violence as a tool. The second part of the book is a case study of Norwegian counterterrorism which shows how the theory and model developed in the book can be used. This is the first substantial analysis of Norwegian counterterrorism in almost ten years, and produces encouraging findings which support the potential for non-violent solutions to terrorism. This book will be of particular interest to students of terrorism and counterterrorism, critical security studies, and international relations in general.
A Critical Theory of Counterterrorism: Ontology, Epistemology and Normativity (Routledge Critical Terrorism Studies)
by Sondre LindahlThis book offers a theory and model of counterterrorism based on emancipation and non-violence. Critical Terrorism Studies (CTS) scholars have produced wide-ranging and rich critiques of terrorism-related research, as well as state counterterrorism policies and practices. This work aims to fill in a gap in the current literature by constructing an original and specifically CTS model of counterterrorism. The model outlines the basic assumptions, priorities, principles, strategies and tactics, measures and evaluation of counterterrorism. It challenges prevalent models of counterterrorism through a radical rethinking of the ontology, epistemology and the agenda of counterterrorism. The model aims to prevent future acts of terrorism by (1) re-conceptualising how we study and understand terrorism, and; (2) suggesting that our efforts to counter and prevent terrorism must commensurate with the goals we want to achieve. Essentially, this involves a commitment to emancipation, and a rejection of violence as a tool. The second part of the book is a case study of Norwegian counterterrorism which shows how the theory and model developed in the book can be used. This is the first substantial analysis of Norwegian counterterrorism in almost ten years, and produces encouraging findings which support the potential for non-violent solutions to terrorism. This book will be of particular interest to students of terrorism and counterterrorism, critical security studies, and international relations in general.
A Critical Theory of Global Justice: The Frankfurt School and World Society
by Malte Frøslee IbsenThe idea of a critical theory is famous across the world, yet it is today rarely practised as originally conceived by the Frankfurt School. The waning influence of critical theory in the contemporary academy may be due to its lack of engagement with global problems and the postcolonial condition. This book offers the first systematic treatment of the idea of a critical theory of world society, advancing the conversation between critical theory and postcolonial and ecological thought. Malte Frøslee Ibsen develops a reconstruction of the Frankfurt School tradition as four paradigms of critical theory, in original interpretations of the work of Max Horkheimer, Theodor W. Adorno, Jürgen Habermas, and Axel Honneth, and considers how the global context has featured in their work and what might be salvaged for a critical theory of contemporary world society. Along the way, Ibsen advances new interpretations of the relationship between critical theory and justice, the idea of communicative freedom, and three conceptions of power in the Frankfurt School tradition. He further offers extended discussions of two emerging paradigms in the work of Amy Allen and Rainer Forst and argues that a critical theory of world society must combine and integrate a Kantian constructivist approach in a critique of global injustice, as Forst defends, with the reflexive check of a self-problematizing critique of its blind spots and taken-for-granted assumptions regarding the postcolonial condition, as defended by Allen. Finally, Ibsen rethinks the relationship between society and nature in critical theory, with far-reaching normative and methodological implications.
A Critical Theory of Global Justice: The Frankfurt School and World Society
by Malte Frøslee IbsenThe idea of a critical theory is famous across the world, yet it is today rarely practised as originally conceived by the Frankfurt School. The waning influence of critical theory in the contemporary academy may be due to its lack of engagement with global problems and the postcolonial condition. This book offers the first systematic treatment of the idea of a critical theory of world society, advancing the conversation between critical theory and postcolonial and ecological thought. Malte Frøslee Ibsen develops a reconstruction of the Frankfurt School tradition as four paradigms of critical theory, in original interpretations of the work of Max Horkheimer, Theodor W. Adorno, Jürgen Habermas, and Axel Honneth, and considers how the global context has featured in their work and what might be salvaged for a critical theory of contemporary world society. Along the way, Ibsen advances new interpretations of the relationship between critical theory and justice, the idea of communicative freedom, and three conceptions of power in the Frankfurt School tradition. He further offers extended discussions of two emerging paradigms in the work of Amy Allen and Rainer Forst and argues that a critical theory of world society must combine and integrate a Kantian constructivist approach in a critique of global injustice, as Forst defends, with the reflexive check of a self-problematizing critique of its blind spots and taken-for-granted assumptions regarding the postcolonial condition, as defended by Allen. Finally, Ibsen rethinks the relationship between society and nature in critical theory, with far-reaching normative and methodological implications.