This course examines contemporary democratic theory through the lens of its intrinsic paradoxes. Far from being a settled or harmonious form of government, democracy constantly negotiates tensions that shape both its promise and its fragility. We will explore the opposition between the search for consensus and the irreducible presence of conflict, the tension between political equality and the need to delimit the demos in order to make collective decisions, as well as the dilemmas raised by globalization, populism, digital technologies, and social inequality. Particular attention will be given to the theories of Jürgen Habermas, Chantal Mouffe, David Held, Nadia Urbinati, Engin F. Isin, Gayatri Spivak, Arash Abizadeh, and Étienne Balibar, whose works foreground the conflicting demands of deliberation and antagonism, universal rights and political boundaries, citizenship and exclusion. By engaging with these perspectives, the course invites a critical exploration of democracy as a site of ongoing struggles over inclusion, recognition, and decision-making—struggles that make it at once indispensable and perpetually unfinished.
The course is divided into three parts. The first two sessions will be devoted to an introduction to the main topics and theories, and students will be expected to have already read at least two of the key texts listed below. The third part is conceived as a two-day event, which will combine student presentations, discussions of texts, and debates around the main topics at stake.
- Dozent/in: Juliette Monvoisin