ABSTRACT

Agonist political theorists stress not only the irreducibility but the centrality of conflict to democratic politics. This sets them apart from pluralist or deliberative democrats who may acknowledge the impossibility of eliminating disputes, but whose efforts are directed towards institutions and processes which would foster co-operation and reconciliation rather than sustain antagonism. To an agonist, this is to commit one of two possible errors. Either it entails taking a weaker position, which may leave us exposed to the violent opposition of those who do not recognize the common space within which we offer to negotiate; or it deploys that sleight of hand whereby the most violent position, which seeks to extirpate its opponents from the political field, masquerades as the most peaceful. In contrast, agonist thinkers aim to remap our understanding of democracy in such a way that conflict becomes not that which politics seeks to eliminate but its very principle.