Abstract
This chapter assesses the significance of micro-politics for Butler's understanding of radical democratic practice, and examines the politics of radical democracy, not just its theoretical contours. To this end, it focuses on two interrelated forms of micro-politics: ‘talking back’ (or linguistic resignification) and transformative bodily practices (or corporeal resignification). Although applauding her radicalism, the chapter nevertheless contends that what these two examples reveal are the limitations, from a democratic perspective, of Butler's project: its neglect of the anti-egalitarian tendencies rife within civil society and associational politics; its failure to attend to the numerical dimension of democratic politics; and its abandonment of the state as a site of democratic transformation.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | The Politics of Radical Democracy |
Editors | Adrian Little, Moya Lloyd |
Place of Publication | Edinburgh |
Publisher | Edinburgh University Press |
Pages | 73-91 |
Number of pages | 19 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780748633999 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 30 Nov 2008 |
Keywords
- Judith Butler
- micro-politics
- corporeal resignification
- radicalism
- democratic politics
- associational politics
- civil society