Book•
The Scandal of Reason: A Critical Theory of Political Judgment
27 Mar 2012-
TL;DR: Azmanova as discussed by the authors proposes a critical consensus model of judgment that serves the normative ideals of a just society without the help of ideal theory, arguing that the more politically realistic the theory, the weaker its moral ambition, rendering it unsound and equally useless.
Abstract: Theories of justice are haunted by a paradox: the more ambitious the ideal of justice, the less applicable and useful the model is to political practice; yet the more politically realistic the theory, the weaker its moral ambition, rendering it unsound and equally useless. Brokering a resolution to this “judgment paradox,” Albena Azmanova advances a “critical consensus model” of judgment that serves the normative ideals of a just society without the help of ideal theory.
Tracing the evolution of two major traditions in political philosophy—critical theory and philosophical liberalism—and the way they confront the judgment paradox, Azmanova critiques prevailing models of deliberative democracy and their preference for ideal theory over political applicability. Instead, she replaces the reliance on normative models of democracy with an account of the dynamics of reasoned judgment produced in democratic practices of open dialogues. Combining Hannah Arendt’s study of judgment with Pierre Bourdieu’s social critique of power relations, and incorporating elements of political epistemology from Kant, Wittgenstein, H. L. A. Hart, Max Weber, and American philosophical pragmatism, Azmanova centers her inquiry on the way participants in moral conflicts attribute meaning to their grievances of injustice. She then demonstrates the emancipatory potential of the model of critical deliberative judgment she forges and its capacity to guide policy making.
This model’s critical force yields from its capacity to disclose the common structural sources of injustice behind conflicting claims to justice. Moving beyond the conflict between universalist and pluralist positions, Azmanova grounds the question of “what is justice?” in the empirical reality of “who suffers?” in order to discern attainable possibilities for a less unjust world.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors define "demoicracy" as "a Union of peoples, understood both as states and as citizens, who govern together but not as one" and argue that the concept is best understood as a third way, distinct from both national and supranational versions of single demos polities.
Abstract: This article offers an overview and reconsideration of the idea of European demoicracy in the context of the current crisis. It defines ‘demoicracy’ as ‘a Union of peoples, understood both as states and as citizens, who govern together but not as one’, and argues that the concept is best understood as a third way, distinct from both national and supranational versions of single demos polities. The concept of ‘demoicracy’can serve both as an analytical lens for the European Union-as-is and as a normative benchmark, but one which cannot simply be inferred from its praxis. Instead, the article deploys a ‘normative-inductive’ approach according to which the EU’s normative core ‐ transnational non-domination and transnational mutual recognition ‐ is grounded on what the EU still seeks to escape. Such norms need to be protected and perfected if the EU is to live up to its demoicratic nature. The article suggests ten tentative guiding principles for the EU to continue turning these norms into practice.
241 citations
Cites background from "The Scandal of Reason: A Critical T..."
...As with Adorno’s immanent critique, we can try to contextualize our object of investigation and its implicit ideational basis by discerning evolving aspirations, tensions and contradictions within this world observed (Azmanova, 2012)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a short overview of the current debate on managerialism, seeking to deliver some preliminary approximations on a possible definition of managerialism and its ideological project.
Abstract: The term ‘managerialism’ has been widely used but theoretical publications on managerialism remain rare while theory development continues to be insufficient. This article is a contribution to the current discussion on managerialism. Managerialism is a deeply ideological project transcending its traditional position when entering into society. The following theoretical rather than empirical article sets out to present a short overview of the current debate on managerialism, seeking to deliver some preliminary approximations on a possible definition of managerialism and its ideological project. The second part highlights what distinguishes managerialism from neo-liberalism. It is followed by a brief discussion on ideology. Clarifications on managerialism and ideology set the scene for a few preliminary introductory thoughts in ‘Early Signposts for a Future Critical Theory of Managerialism’. The conclusion provides a brief emancipatory note on what lies beyond managerialism.
135 citations
Book•
24 Mar 2014TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the reasons that move the imagination: politics at its best, and why it is good to be a member of a democratic polity, and beyond the nation: governance and deliberative democracy.
Abstract: Introduction 1. Reasons that move the imagination: politics at its best 2. Democracy and openness 3. Reflexive pluralism and the conjectural turn 4. Hyperpluralism and the multivariate democratic polity 5. Cuius religio, eius res publica: on multiple democracies 6. Multiculturalism: negation or completion of liberalism? 7. Beyond the nation: governance and deliberative democracy 8. Truth, justification and political liberalism Conclusion.
63 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide a condition for accessing publications that users recognize and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights and remove access to the work immediately and investigate their claim.
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60 citations
Book•
20 Sep 2018TL;DR: Praxis as discussed by the authors investigates both the existing practices of international politics and relations during and after the Cold War, and the issue of whether problems of praxis (individual and collective choices) can be subjected to a "theoretical treatment".
Abstract: Praxis investigates both the existing practices of international politics and relations during and after the Cold War, and the issue of whether problems of praxis (individual and collective choices) can be subjected to a 'theoretical treatment'. The book comes in two parts: the first deals with the constitution of international relations and the role of theoretical norms in guiding decisions, in areas such as sanctions, the punishment of international crimes, governance and 'constitutional' concern, the second is devoted to 'theory building'. While a 'theorization' of praxis has often been attempted, Kratochwil argues that such endeavours do not attend to certain important elements characteristic of practical choices. Praxis presents a shift from the accepted international relations standard of theorizing, by arguing for the analysis of policy decisions made in non-ideal conditions within a broader framework of practical choices, emphasizing both historicity and contingency.
55 citations