Visions of Council Democracy: Castoriadis, Arendt, Lefort

This book explores the neglected theories of the council system in the 20th century and reconstructs the history of the century council system. It puts it into dialogue with theoretical formulations of council democracy from Karl Marx to Hannah Arendt and focuses on neglected parts of their political thought. It introduces a novel theoretical vocabulary through which to understand the historical experiences of the council system and contributes to the literature on radical democracy. The book analyses the contemporary relevance of council democracy in the light of the contemporary square movements.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 204 pages
Publication date: 27 January 2023
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

This book examines the historical emergence of the council system in Russia and Germany by the end of the First World War,reconstructing the intellectual history of council democracy in 20th century political theory,and providing in-depth analysis of council democracy in the political thought of Cornelius Castoriadis,Claude Lefort and Hannah Arendt. Popp-Madsen argues that council democracy can productively be interpreted through the prism of constituent power: the form-giving power of the people to decide on their own institutional forms of political co-existence. Whereas other interpreters of constituent power claim an unbridgeable gap between constituent power and constituted power,this book asserts that council democracy discloses a historically grounded way of institutionalising the constituent power. Council democracy,in this interpretation,becomes a way of controlling the constituent power without completely exhausting it,thereby giving the citizenry continua.

This book is a groundbreaking exploration of the neglected theories of the council system in the 20th century. It reconstructs the history of the century council system and places it in dialogue with theoretical formulations of council democracy from Karl Marx to Hannah Arendt. Focusing on neglected parts, such as the council system, of the political thought of Castoriadis, Arendt, and Lefort, the book reinterprets their political thinking in the light of the council system. It introduces a novel theoretical vocabulary through which to understand the historical experiences of the council system and contributes to the literature on radical democracy by situating council democracy as an alternative to both liberal democracy and radical democracy.

Analysing the contemporary relevance of council democracy in the light of the contemporary square movements, this book provides a comprehensive and insightful examination of the council system's potential for shaping our political future. It is a must-read for anyone interested in political theory, social movements, and the possibilities for democratic renewal in the 21st century.

Weight: 378g
Dimension: 156 x 233 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781474456326