Abstrakti
The paper ventures a reading of Russian postcommunist politics from the perspective of the
messianic turn in continental political philosophy, specifically Giorgio Agamben’s conception of
the ‘end of history’. Taking its point of departure from a retrospective construction in the
Russian political discourse of the 1990s as a period of ‘timelessness’, the paper argues that
postcommunism may indeed be viewed as a paradoxical ‘time out of time’, a rupture in the
ordinary temporality that entirely dispenses with the teleological horizon of politics. While the
problematic of the ‘end of history’ has been popularised by Francis Fukuyama’s liberal recasting
of Kojeve’s reading of Hegel, the Russian experience is entirely contrary to this complacent and
self-gratifying account of the triumph of liberalism but rather accords with Agamben’s
understanding of the end of history as the deactivation of the teleological dimension of politics as
such. The paper concludes with outlining the implications of this reading of Russian
postcommunism for understanding the present conjuncture of Russian politics, particularly the
difference between the Yeltsin and the Putin presidencies.
messianic turn in continental political philosophy, specifically Giorgio Agamben’s conception of
the ‘end of history’. Taking its point of departure from a retrospective construction in the
Russian political discourse of the 1990s as a period of ‘timelessness’, the paper argues that
postcommunism may indeed be viewed as a paradoxical ‘time out of time’, a rupture in the
ordinary temporality that entirely dispenses with the teleological horizon of politics. While the
problematic of the ‘end of history’ has been popularised by Francis Fukuyama’s liberal recasting
of Kojeve’s reading of Hegel, the Russian experience is entirely contrary to this complacent and
self-gratifying account of the triumph of liberalism but rather accords with Agamben’s
understanding of the end of history as the deactivation of the teleological dimension of politics as
such. The paper concludes with outlining the implications of this reading of Russian
postcommunism for understanding the present conjuncture of Russian politics, particularly the
difference between the Yeltsin and the Putin presidencies.
| Alkuperäiskieli | englanti |
|---|
| Julkaisupaikka | Copenhagen, Denmark |
|---|---|
| Kustantaja | Danish Institute for International Studies |
| Sivumäärä | 26 |
| ISBN (painettu) | 87-7605-152-8 |
| Tila | Julkaistu - 2006 |
| OKM-julkaisutyyppi | D4 Julkaistu kehittämis- tai tutkimusraportti taikka -selvitys |
Julkaisusarja
| Nimi | DIIS working paper |
|---|---|
| Numero | 2006/17 |