Over the last thirty years, the work of the political theorist Ernesto Laclau has reinvigorated radical political and social theory. Taking concepts previously ignored or unused within mainstream political theory, such as the political, hegemony, discourse, identity, and representation, he has made them fundamental to thinking about politics and social theory. Resisting the dead end of postmodern politics, his work has drawn in stimulating ways on Gramscian, poststructuralist and psychoanalytic theory.
"Laclau: A Critical Reader "is the first full-length critical appraisal of Laclau's work and includes contributions from several leading philosophers and theorists. The first section examines Laclau's theory that the contest between universalism and particularism provides much of the philosophical background to political and social struggle, taking up the important place accorded to, amongst others, Hegel and Lacan in Laclau's work. The second section of the book considers what Laclau's "radical democracy" might look like and reflects on its ethical implications, particularly in relation to Laclau's post-Marxism and thinkers such as Jurgen Habermas. The final section investigates the place of hegemony in Laclau's work, the idea for which he is perhaps best-known.
This stimulating collection also includes replies to his critics by Laclau and the important exchange between Laclau and Judith Butler on equality, making it an excellent companion to Laclau's work and essential reading for students of political and social theory.

Over the last thirty years, the work of the political theorist Ernesto Laclau has reinvigorated radical political and social theory. Taking concepts previously ignored or unused within mainstream political theory, such as the political, hegemony, discourse, identity, and representation, he has made them fundamental to thinking about politics and social theory. Resisting the dead end of postmodern politics, his work has drawn in stimulating ways on Gramscian, poststructuralist and psychoanalytic theory.
"Laclau: A Critical Reader "is the first full-length critical appraisal of Laclau's work and includes contributions from several leading philosophers and theorists. The first section examines Laclau's theory that the contest between universalism and particularism provides much of the philosophical background to political and social struggle, taking up the important place accorded to, amongst others, Hegel and Lacan in Laclau's work. The second section of the book considers what Laclau's "radical democracy" might look like and reflects on its ethical implications, particularly in relation to Laclau's post-Marxism and thinkers such as Jurgen Habermas. The final section investigates the place of hegemony in Laclau's work, the idea for which he is perhaps best-known.
This stimulating collection also includes replies to his critics by Laclau and the important exchange between Laclau and Judith Butler on equality, making it an excellent companion to Laclau's work and essential reading for students of political and social theory.

Ernesto Laclau (1935-2014) was one of the major theoretical voices on the Left. His concept of antagonism is the cornerstone of his theory of hegemony and the organising concept in his political ontology. Oliver Marchart presents the main features of this ontology and tracks the development of antagonism from German Idealism via Marx to today's post-Marxism. In doing so, he demonstrates Laclau's significant contribution to the current 'ontological turn' in political thought. By carving out the philosophical implications of antagonism, Marchart proposes a new theory of 'thinking' as a collective, political and conflictual practice.

Dieser Sammelband vereint Beitrage aus unterschiedlichen Bereichen der Kulturpolitikforschung. Impulsgebend fur den Band war das Forschungsprojekt "Agonistische Kulturpolitik (AGONART) - Fallstudien zur konfliktiven Transformation von Kulturstandorten". Dieses verstand sich als interdisziplinarer Beitrag zwischen qualitativ-empirischer Grundlagenforschung in Politikwissenschaft (mit Schwerpunkt auf Kulturpolitik) und politischer Theorie (mit Schwerpunkt auf Konflikttheorie bzw. agonistischer Demokratietheorie). Das Buch regt somit zu einer wissenschaftlichen Auseinandersetzung mit Kulturpolitik(forschung) in OEsterreich, dem deutschsprachigen Raum und daruber hinaus an.

Das Werk Michel Foucaults hat das Feld politiktheoretisch informierter Analysen erheblich erweitert und dazu beigetragen, Grundbegriffe der Politischen Theorie neu zu verstehen. Der Band unternimmt erstmalig eine Bestandsaufnahme zum Spektrum der aktuellen Arbeiten mit und zu Foucault in der Politischen Theorie. Die Beitrage thematisieren Foucaults Konzeptionen von Freiheit, Kritik, Wahrheit, Macht oder Staat, verorten Foucault im Verhaltnis zu Latour, Bourdieu oder Haraway und problematisieren Foucault u.a. vor dem Hintergrund der Geschichte des Marxismus und der Gegenwart des Neoliberalismus. Der Inhalt* Foucault, die Politische Theorie und das Politische* Reflexion politiktheoretischer Grundbegriffe ("Theorie")* Komparatistische Studien ("Vergleich")* Neuperspektivierung konkreter Handlungsfelder ("Problematisierung") Die ZielgruppenStudierende, Lehrende und WissenschaftlerInnen in Politikwissenschaft, Soziologie, Kulturwissenschaft und Philosophie Die HerausgeberDr. Oliver Marchart ist Professor fur Politische Theorie am Institut fur Politikwissenschaft der Universitat Wien.Dr. Renate Martinsen ist Professorin fur Politische Theorie am Institut fur Politikwissenschaft der Universitat Duisburg-Essen.

A wide-ranging overview of the emergence of post-foundationalism and a survey of the work of its key contemporary exponents. This book presents the first systematic coverage of the conceptual difference between 'politics' (the practice of conventional politics: the political system or political forms of action) and 'the political' (a much more radical aspect which cannot be restricted to the realms of institutional politics). It is also the first introductory overview of post-foundationalism and the tradition of 'left Heideggerianism': the political thought of contemporary theorists who make frequent use of the idea of political difference: Jean-Luc Nancy, Claude Lefort, Alain Badiou and Ernesto Laclau. After an overview of current trends in social post-foundationalism and a genealogical chapter on the historical emergence of the difference between the concepts of 'politics' and 'the political', the work of individual theorists is presented and discussed at length. Individual chapters are presented on the political thought of Jean-Luc Nancy (including Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe), Claude Lefort, Alain Badiou, and Ernesto Laclau (including Chantal Mouffe). Overall the book offers an elaboration of the idea of a post-foundational conception of politics. Other titles in the Taking on the Political series: Valentine and Arditi/ Polemicisation 0 7486 1064 2 Shapiro/ Cinematic Political Thought 0 7486 1289 0 Chambers/ Language and the Politics of Untimeliness 0 7486 1766 3 Bowman/ Post-Marxism Versus Cultural Studies 978 0 7486 1762 3 Simons/ Critical Political Theory in the Media Age 0 7486 1583 0

Ernesto Laclau (1935-2014) was one of the major theoretical voices on the Left. His concept of antagonism is the cornerstone of his theory of hegemony and the organising concept in his political ontology. Oliver Marchart presents the main features of this ontology and tracks the development of antagonism from German Idealism via Marx to today's post-Marxism. In doing so, he demonstrates Laclau's significant contribution to the current 'ontological turn' in political thought. By carving out the philosophical implications of antagonism, Marchart proposes a new theory of 'thinking' as a collective, political and conflictual practice.