Ethics and Politics After Poststructuralism: Levinas, Derrida and Nancy

Taking on the Political Series Editors: Benjamin Arditi, Andrew Schaap, Alex Thomson International Advisory Editors: Michael Dillon, Michael J. Shapiro, Jeremy Valentine Offering new perspectives on contemporary political theory, books in this series 'take on' the political in accordance with the ambivalent colloquial sense of the phrase - as both an acceptance and a challenge. They interrogate received accounts of the relationship between political thought and political practice, criticise and engage with the contemporary political imagination, and reflect on the ongoing transformations of politics. Concise and polemical, the texts are oriented towards critique, developments in Continental thought, and the crossing of disciplinary borders. 'Ethics and Politics after Poststructuralism offers a novel way to think about why we are unable to give ourselves the answers that we nevertheless continue to look for. Fagan provides a smart discussion of key thinkers' problematisation of ethics and politics and she has the courage of her convictions. If you've ever lain awake at night, wondering about your responsibility in the world and being troubled by poststructuralism, you should read this book.' Maja Zehfuss, Professor of International Politics and Associate Dean for Postgraduate Research in the Faculty of Humanities, University of Manchester A new research agenda for poststructural ethical and political analysis This groundbreaking book offers a fresh and innovative perspective on ethics and politics after poststructuralism. Madeleine Fagan argues that the 'ethical' should not be understood as a label; it does not mean 'good' or 'right', and is not an evaluation or guide. Rather, both the ethical and the political are descriptions of the context in which we find ourselves. Fagan offers an account of the inseparability of ethics and politics that challenges existing accounts of poststructuralist ethics and shows the need for a practice-based rethinking of the ethico-political. Drawing on the work of Emmanuel Levinas, Jacques Derrida and Jean-Luc Nancy, Ethics and Politics after Poststructuralism puts forward a radical and far-reaching critique of both foundational and non-foundational ethical theory. Key Features - Brings together for the first time an exploration of the ethical and political thought of Emmanuel Levinas, Jacques Derrida and Jean-Luc Nancy - Provides an advanced introduction to poststructuralist ethical thought in Politics and International Relations - Focuses on the practical political implications of poststructuralist thought Madeleine Fagan is an Institute of Advanced Study Global Research Fellow in the Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick. She is co-editor of Derrida: Negotiating the Legacy (Edinburgh University Press, 2007). Series design concept by James Quail [EUP logo] www.euppublishing.com