CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2018
| Author | Mukherjee, Nirjhar |
|---|---|
| Title | Chantal Mouffe's Agonism- A Theory For Democratic Socialism? |
| Summary | This thesis explores the agonist theory of radical democracy of Chantal Mouffe. Through a critical reading of her works, the thesis assesses Mouffe’s critique of liberalism and her understanding of the political. It goes on to understand her theory of agonism as a theory of a radical democracy and its relevance to contemporary democratic socialists. The thesis affirms that through its understanding of the political, recognition of the role of hegemony in political order, and the critique of post-political illusions, Mouffe’s theory is of great pertinence to democratic socialists. It agrees with Mouffe and recommends that democratic socialists recognize the centrality of conflict in society and create an alternative democratic socialist hegemony to challenge that of the neoliberal order. Following Mouffe, it recognizes the possibility of creating a radically different polity within the ambit of democratic pluralism through a counter-hegemonic project. While being appreciative of many aspects of her theory, the thesis finds it lacking on the exact nature of political order in her radical democracy. However, it understands that her theory is largely compatible with a broad framework of liberalism (which she doesn’t negate completely). |
| Supervisor | Dimitrijevic, Nenad |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2018/mukherjee_nirjhar.pdf |
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