Hannah Arendt and Participatory Democracy

Abstract

translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Hannah Arendt and International Relations

“…Similar issues in the relationship of action, power, and law can be raised regarding the international application of Arendt's arguments about federalism. Several works in Arendt studies engage with international federation, or what Arendt envisions as "a world-wide federated structure," by tracing her writings on postwar European reconstruction and Israel-Palestine relations (Arendt, 1968, p. 93;Rubin, 2015;Selinger, 2016;Ashcroft, 2017;Lederman, 2019). Early IR scholarship that attends to Arendt's thoughts seldom elaborates the international implications of her federalism (Owens, 2007, p. 145;Hayden, 2009, p. 26;Lang & Williams, 2005).…”

Evil, thinking, and emotions in Hannah Arendt’s political philosophy: Implications for the teaching of democratic citizenship

“…That such remoteness from reality and such thoughtlessness can wreak more havoc than all evil instincts taken together which, perhaps are inherent in man-that was, in fact, the lesson one could learn in Jerusalem. (1963: 287-288) It is this lesson that led Arendt to investigate the nature of thinking-what it means to think, what makes us think, how thinking is practiced, and so on (Lederman, 2019). For Arendt, the evil of Nazism illuminates the fact that individuals can no longer rely on morality as social institution to dictate their actions, but rather it is the faculty of thinking that has a major role to play in making people avoid evildoing (Waxman, 2009).…”

The real promise of federalism: A case study of Arendt’s international thought

“…Thus, the principle of plurality that denies a definite center of power should be effective at both the national and the individual levels of politics. Finally, Arendt’s federalism concerns not merely the external federation of states or nations but also their internal federalization (Lederman, 2019: 13). This is evident when Arendt (1994: 114, also 2007: 400) applauds the French resistance movements which recognize that “a federative structure of Europe must be based on similarly federated structures in the constituent states.” For Arendt (1972: 231–233), a good candidate for the small units of such internal federalization is federated grassroots councils.…”

“…In the pioneering works applying Arendt’s thinking to international politics, her views on federalism only constitute a small segment (Axtmann, 2006: 107; Hayden, 2009: 26; Owens, 2007: 145). Recent engagement with Arendt’s accounts of federation and the role of councils in her thinking is inspiring, but its discussion of international federalism is rather sporadic (Ashcroft, 2017: 436; Lederman, 2019: 30; Selinger, 2016: 418). Certainly, several attempts to relate Arendt’s thought to supranational institutions such as the European Union exist (Benhabib, 2006: 13–80; Rensmann, 2019; Verovšek, 2014: 403–410).…”