What is it about?
The article explores the main concepts of "post-structuralist discourse theory" developed by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe. It highlights how antagonisms and political frontiers play an essential tool in constructing identity, social meaning and institutions. Rather than viewing these processes as a only problematic, the article also looks at them as valuable tools for questioning and transforming existing power structures and beliefs.
Featured Image
Photo by Marcel Strauß on Unsplash
Why is it important?
This article provides a clear and accessible entry point to the complex ideas of Laclau and Mouffe, who are key theorists in political and discourse theory. It introduces the concept of antagonism and explains how these conflicts create the boundaries that define political debates and social orders. By presenting antagonism as both a limit and a productive force, the article helps readers understand the foundational idea behind Laclau and Mouffe's theory of radical democracy, where politics is seen as an ongoing struggle over meaning and identity rather than fixed categories.
Perspectives
This article was born out of a personal need to understand the complex theory of Laclau and Mouffe. Grappling with concepts such as discourse, hegemony, and antagonism, I gradually pieced together their ideas through extensive reading and note-taking. This process inspired me to organize and clarify the main arguments of post-structuralist discourse theory. My hope is that this will be helpful to scholars who choose to engage with it.
Matteo De Toffoli
Universita degli Studi di Milano
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Limits, frontiers, antagonism, Journal of Language and Politics, September 2024, John Benjamins,
DOI: 10.1075/jlp.22175.det.
You can read the full text:
Resources
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
