Overview

‘No democracy without deconstruction': Deconstruction and Democracy evaluates and substantiates Derrida's provocative claim, assessing the importance of this influential and controversial contemporary philosopher's work for political thought. Derrida addressed political questions more and more explicitly in his writing, yet there is still confusion over the politics of deconstruction. Alex Thomson argues for a fresh understanding of Derrida's work, which acknowledges both the political dimension of deconstruction and its potential contribution to our thinking about politics. The book provides cogent analysis and exegesis of Derrida's political writings; explores the implications for political theory and practice of Derrida's work; and brings Derrida's work into dialogue with other major strands of contemporary political thought. Deconstruction and Democracy is the clearest and most detailed engagement available with the politics of deconstruction, and is a major contribution to scholarship on the later works of Jacques Derrida, most notably his Politics of Friendship.

Full Product Details

Author:   Dr Alex Thomson
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.40cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.510kg
ISBN:  

9780826475770

ISBN 10:   0826475779
Pages:   238
Publication Date:   15 February 2005
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Language:   English

Table of Contents

Introduction Part One: Democracy and Deconstruction 1. No Democracy without Deconstruction? 2. Deconstruction and Liberal Democracy 3. Deconstruction and Radical Democracy Part Two: Deconstruction as Political Practice 4. Deconstruction and Philosophical Nationalism 5. The Politics of Exemplarity: Derrida and Heidegger 6. Hospitality and the Cosmopolitical Part Three: Politics against Ethics 7. Economy of Violence: Derrida and Levinas 8. Against Community Part Four: Deconstruction and Depoliticization 9. The Spectrality of Politics 10. Depoliticization and Repoliticization 11. The Politics of Spectrality 12. Deconstruction and Depoliticization Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

Reviews

The greatest achievement of Thomson's book lies in its structure...Alex Thomson shows here a great capacity of overcoming his intellectual doubts toward the Derridean project thanks to his unconstrained belief in its intrinsic value and unspoken intentions. Alex Cistelecan, Metapsychology, Vol. 12 No. 27, July 1st, 2008

Thomson offers a detailed engagement with Derrida's work and the arguments of Derrida's critics. As a primer on the voluminous and often obscure body of work developed by a philosopher whose works have been widely influential, reaching from philosophy to literary criticism, cultural studies, sociology, and beyond, Deconstruction and Democracy offers a useful and accessible interdisciplinary resource. --Jeff Shantz, Philosophy in Review

Author Information

Alex Thomson is a lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Edinburgh.

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