Towards a Concept of Emancipation for a Diverse Left: Reflecting on My Practice

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Notes

1 It is not my intention to equate all authoritarian movements and regimes with fascism, but comparison can make sense, in order to discuss intentions, threats, interactions, counter strategies and so on.

2 In a 2012 German language anthology on power and domination, only Alex Demirović discusses the ambivalence of institutions, with the rest of the writers explicitly reproducing domination as a natural, inevitable phenomenon by referring Max Weber, or implicitly by failing to discuss the issue (Imbusch 2012, 9–35).

3 Summarizing the impact of the researcher’s standpoint, writing in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Elizabeth Anderson (2020) notes that they “must make numerous choices concerning how to represent the object of knowledge, how to interpret evidence, and how to represent the conclusions drawn. …  The pretense that sound scientific theories are the products of purely external guidance obscures the forces shaping these choices and absolves scientists from responsibility for defending them.”

4 Luc Boltansky (2013, 18–49) presented a comprehensive reconsideration of a critical epistemology in sociology.

5 Antiziganism refers to racism directed at the Romani people.

6 See Boltansky (2013, 50–82) for a contemporary critical theory of institutions.

7 Even though not fully reflected in its consequences, this debate mainstreamed with Max Weber’s definition of domination, which included a bureaucratic type with fungible holders of powerful positions (Weber 1922, 122–176). For a contemporary German anthology that contributes to a much deeper understanding of modernized domination, see Elbe (2012).

8 Demirović (2007, 192–268) provides a comprehensive reflection on the concept of aggregation of social conflict in modern states. Again inspired by Nicos Poulantzas, a compatible perspective is proposed by Bob Jessop (2007) in various articles, which I enjoyed reading in a German translation.

9 John Stuart Mill’s The Subjection of Women (1869) applied the term extensively. Also see Dohm (1874, 7).

10 Roberts (2017) surveys the contemporary anglophone academic debate on the concept.

11 There are three German academic anthologies discussing the role of the term from the years of 1973, 1975 and 2019, all cited in the article at least once.

12 See Stögner (2020) for a first attempt to integrate the critique of Anti-Semitism into intersectional perspectives.

13 Butler (1999, 5) offer an influential, but in my view too radical a deconstruction of gender making it difficult to transfer into politics. Find a useful response to Butler, see Fraser (2013, 175–188).

14 Emancipation is a concept involving of social interactions. It does not easily transfer to the animal world. However, animal rights and protection can be considered part of emancipatory politics as its ethics and practices impact human interactions and can have ecological benefits. To include animal rights activism, with an explanatory note on domination as a social issue, is important, as especially many young activists may start their journey into politics out of their compassion for mistreated animals.

15 Gasper (1996, 149–176) provides an illuminating application of the concept in development discourse.

16 See Cooke (2006, 161–188) for critical social theory reflections on utopian thinking.

17 See Wright (2010).