Antagonism, the Perfect Partenaire of Populism

Main Article Content

Graciela Ferrás

Abstract

The objective of this work is to link the political theory of Ernesto Laclau with the role of the discursive construction of the enemy in the times of neoliberalism. The question of antagonism guides this work which begins with a context-setting on the discussion between populism and polarization and then moves towards the discursive construction of the enemy. This idea contains, from our perspective, two theoretical assumptions: in the first place, that the enemy is not a hostis; and, secondly, that this type of antagonism -which, for Laclau, is the only possible type in the context of neoliberalism- cannot be thought as an opposition between real objects or as a dialectical contradiction. To do this, we will organize the text into three sections. In the first two, we will consider the reasons for these assumptions; lastly, in the third section, we will try to outline why antagonism appears as a “barrier” to the logic of neutralization of neoliberalism.

Article Details

How to Cite
Ferrás, G. (2022). Antagonism, the Perfect Partenaire of Populism. Revista Stultifera, 5(2), 81–100. https://doi.org/10.4206/rev.stultifera.2022.v5n2-04
Section
Artículos del dossier polarización perniciosa, democracia y populismo
Author Biography

Graciela Ferrás, Universidad del Salvador, IIGG- UBA, Argentina.

Craciela Ferrás es Doctora en Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) y Docteur en Philosophie, Paris 8. Se desempeña como Profesora Titular de Teoría Política y Social y de Historia del Pensamiento Político Argentino y Latinoamericano, Universidad del Salvador. Investigadora del Instituto de Investigaciones Gino Germani, Universidad de Buenos Aires. BA.