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5What does it take to be a true conservative?In Beckstein, Martin (2015). What does it take to be a true conservative? In: Johnson, Matthew; Garnett, Mark; Walker, David. Conservatism and Ideology. London: Routledge, 4-21, . pp. 4-21. 2015.
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1This paper explores the neglected relationship between conservatism as a political theory, and conservatism as political practice, using the example of recent immigration to Europe. A cursory glance at how European politicians have responded to migration challenges suggests that they roughly divide into a leftist ‘liberal’ and a rightist ‘conservative’ camp, between those that favour some form of an open-arms policy and those who prefer to close borders. The situation, however, is more complex. …Read more
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8Modeling Interpretation and the Practice of Political TheoryRoutledge. 2021.Modeling Interpretation and the Practice of Political Theory addresses these questions of political theory in a refreshing and hands-on manner. It does not only model in the abstract, but also test in practice eight basic schemes of interpretation with which any ambitious reader of political texts should be familiar.
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6KommunitarismusIn Michael G. Festl (ed.), Handbuch Liberalismus, J.b. Metzler. pp. 321-327. 2021.‚Kommunitarismus‘ bezeichnet keine vollumfängliche politische Theorie oder Ideologie, sondern eine Kritik an der kantianischKant, Immanuel motivierten, liberalen Theoriebildung sowie der Ausprägung eines übersteigerten Individualismus in modernen Gesellschaften. Zur Selbstcharakterisierung wurde die Bezeichnung kaum genutzt. Die Kritiker verstanden sich eher als dem Republikanismus oder einem „wohlverstandenen“ Liberalismus, mit Abstrichen auch dem Konservatismus verpflichtet. Tatsächlich ist kl…Read more
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330Das Paradox der ToleranzZeitschrift Für Politische Theorie 10 (2): 169-192. 2019.How should civil society deal with radical actors such as populists? Should democrats engage in an open dialogue or avoid confrontation? Should they listen to them, let them speak and try to expose them argumentatively, or should they deny them any kind of public platform? Rather than providing a normative answer to these questions, this article analyzes and systematizes responses that are already circulating in public discourse. In particular, we focus on reactions to the invitations of the AfD…Read more
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18The concept of a living traditionEuropean Journal of Social Theory 20 (4): 491-510. 2017.Starting with Popper, social theorists across the board have acknowledged that traditions serve socially valuable functions. However, while traditions are usually understood as ‘living’ entities that come in overlapping varieties and evolve over time, the socially valuable functions attributed to tradition tend to presuppose invariability in ways of thinking and acting. Addressing this tension, this article provides a detailed analysis of the concept of tradition, and directs special attention t…Read more
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20Cosmopolitan arrogance, epistemic modesty and the motivational prerequisites for solidarityEthics and Global Politics 13 (3): 139-146. 2020.To assess the merits and demerits of the content of Culp’s educational programme, the paper does three things: First, it discusses whether Culp’s defence against conceivable objections manages to effectively dispel the charge of cosmopolitan arrogance. Second, it spells out one implication of epistemic modesty, which Culp considers a core competence to be imparted by citizenship education. Third, it reflects upon the tricky task of motivating individuals to comply with the demands of justice. Ta…Read more
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51Political conservation, or how to prevent institutional decayConstellations 26 (4): 623-637. 2019.Sometimes established institutions aren’t perfect but cannot be replaced with better solutions. As technological, economic, ecological and other developments might indirectly further impair these imperfect institutions, non-change becomes normatively desirable and a practical challenge for legislators. In contrast to the progressive task of improving the established order, the task of preventing institutional achievements from being lost has been largely neglected by political theorists. To fill…Read more
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48Is there any reason to discriminate among the rival claims self-proclaimed conservatives make for being truly conservative? This article argues that at least some of these claims can legitimately be dismissed by an independent third. Drawing on and critically interrogating the theories of conservatism provided by Huntington, Oakeshott, as well as Brennan and Hamlin, this article argues that many characterizations of conservatism mistake contingent circumstances explaining why people historically…Read more
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38Starting with Popper, social theorists across the board have acknowledged that traditions serve socially valuable functions. However, while traditions are usually understood as ‘living’ entities that come in overlapping varieties and evolve over time, the socially valuable functions attributed to tradition tend to presuppose invariability in ways of thinking and acting. Addressing this tension, this article provides a detailed analysis of the concept of tradition, and directs special attention t…Read more
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21This article discusses consumer activism not as an ethical, but as a political phenomenon. A political concept of consumer activism implies, first, that consumers sometimes express support or opposition to products and services or consumer and business practices at least partly in order to advance nonmarket agendas, and, second, that consumer activism in the economic sphere occasionally has palpable impact on the organization of social life. Early contributors to the debate were optimistic that …Read more
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50Conservatism: Analytically ReconsideredThe Monist 99 (4): 333-335. 2016.This special issue is motivated by the observation that conservatism plays a marginal role in contemporary philosophy even though it appears to be of considerable importance in moral, social, and political reality. One reason for this neglect is that defenders of conservatism have often refrained from articulating their arguments in a language that is acceptable to and understandable by analytically -trained philosophers. The contributions of this special issue show that conservatism can profita…Read more
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267On reflecting about the prospects of advancing the egalitarian cause in the United States, John Roemer makes the case for more traditional strategies than the coupon socialism model he advocated in earlier work. First of all, he suggests, an ethos of solidarity must be developed and the super-rich be subjected to higher taxation. This comment assesses this proposal. On the one hand it is discussed whether the ethos of solidarity Roemer calls for in order to counteract the culture of greed among …Read more
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42Review of: A Companion to Michael Oakeshott – By Paul Franco and Leslie Marsh (eds.) (review)Political Studies Review 12 (1): 96-97. 2014.
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317In her more recent work, Chantal Mouffe enters into what she calls a 'dialogue' with Carl Schmitt on the political. So far, interpretations of this dialogue suggest that Mouffe attempts to revise Schmitt's friend/enemy-distinction and carve out a theory of agonistic pluralism. An interpretation on these grounds, this article argues, reduces the dialogue to its analytical dimension and cannot comfortably be upheld. Mouffe indeed appropriates Schmitt's friend/enemy-distinction, but she also gets i…Read more
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60Review of: The Cambridge Companion to Oakeshott by Efraim Podoksik (ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012 (review)Political Studies Review 12 (2): 262-263. 2014.
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40Conservatism, analytically reconsideredThe Monist 99 (4): 333-335. 2016.This special issue is motivated by the observation that conservatism plays a marginal role in contemporary philosophy even though it appears to be of considerable importance in moral, social, and political reality. One reason for this neglect is that defenders of conservatism have often refrained from articulating their arguments in a language that is acceptable to and understandable by analytically -trained philosophers. The contributions of this special issue show that conservatism can profita…Read more
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12The Politics of Economic LifeRoutledge. 2015.In recent years, economic life has become increasingly politicized: now, every company has a ‘philosophy’, promising its customers some ethical surplus in return for buying their products; consumers shop for change; workers engage in individualized forms of employee activism such as whistleblowing; and governments contribute to the re-configuration of the economic sphere as a site of political contestation by reminding corporate and private economic actors of their duty to ‘do their bit’. The Po…Read more
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31John S. Dryzek, Deliberative Global Politics. Discourse and Democracy in a Divided WorldMillennium - Journal of International Studies 37 (1): 238-239. 2008.
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24To disentangle liberal democratic theory from its rationalism and orientation towards consensus, Chantal Mouffe recommends reviving Machiavelli’s argument about the institutionalization of conflict. Democracy, she argues, needs to establish a vibrant public sphere in which collective identities can openly contend with each other in an adversarial left/right format. Such an institutionalization of conflict is easily imaginable in the form of, and well known from, parliamentary party politics. But…Read more
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22Comment on John E. Roemer: Egalitarian Political Economy beyond Market SocialismAnalyse & Kritik 35 (1): 65-70. 2013.On reflecting about the prospects of advancing the egalitarian cause in the United States, John Roemer makes the case for more traditional strategies than the coupon socialism model he advocated in earlier work. First of all, he suggests, an ethos of solidarity must be developed and the super-rich be subjected to higher taxation. This comment assesses this proposal. On the one hand it is discussed whether the ethos of solidarity Roemer calls for in order to counteract the culture of greed among …Read more
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26What does it take to be a true conservative?In , . 2015.Is there any reason to discriminate among the rival claims self-proclaimed conservatives make for being truly conservative? This article argues that at least some of these claims can legitimately be dismissed by an independent third. Drawing on and critically interrogating the theories of conservatism provided by Huntington, Oakeshott, as well as Brennan and Hamlin, this article argues that many characterizations of conservatism mistake contingent circumstances explaining why people historically…Read more
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46Nation Building in Contemporary Germany. The strange transformation of Hitler’s “word made of stone”Nations and Nationalism 19 (4): 761-780. 2013.This article examines the contending redefinitions of national identity in contemporary Germany's memorial culture, focusing particularly on the ensemble of monuments and parade fields known as the former Nazi Party rally grounds in Nuremberg. In a detailed case study, I analyse the recent conversion of one of the physical remnants of National Socialism – Albert Speer's transformer station – into a fast-food restaurant and interpret this conversion as a novel contribution to the discourse on Ger…Read more
St. Gallen, Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland
Areas of Interest
Social and Political Philosophy |
20th Century Philosophy |