Teresa Pullano | University of Basel (original) (raw)

Papers by Teresa Pullano

Philosophy and politics, 2024

Con l’Europa bloccata e atterrita da un nemico invisibile, rileggiamo le parole di Carlo Levi sul... more Con l’Europa bloccata e atterrita da un nemico invisibile, rileggiamo le parole di Carlo Levi sulla paura collettiva che nella Francia del ’39 spalancò la strada al governo di Vichy. E quelle di Hannah Arendt sul coraggio della libertà, mentre la pandemia mostra la fragilità del liberalismo politico

La Revue des droits de l'homme, Jan 19, 2023

Hermann eBooks, Feb 6, 2018

Turning to Georges Bataille’s thought to understand contemporary transformations of statehood is ... more Turning to Georges Bataille’s thought to understand contemporary transformations of statehood is not an obvious gesture. It may even seem incongruous to resort to this French avant-garde theorist, literary critic, mystic and philosopher to talk about something so institutionalized as statehood. In fact, Bataille as a theorist of politics is still a problematic figure for academic literature: is there a political thought in Bataille and, if so, is this something we can use without ending up flirting with fascism? In 1996, Carolyn Dean wrote that we need to take some distance from Bataille’s ambivalence due to a ‘desire for accountability’. 1 Habermas, discussing the meaning of modernity and postmodernity, classifies Georges Bataille within the line of the young conservatives, together with Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida. Bataille, Habermas argues, opposes instrumental reason and the spontaneous powers of imagination, thus transforming will to power or sovereignty into a principle only accessible through evocation. 2 In consequence, this line of thinking exaggerates the autonomy of the artistic sphere over and above morality and science, thus deviating from modernity for exalting (at the expense of the others) one of the spheres into which the Enlightenment has partitioned social and spiritual life. As Wolin remarks, Habermas in this text posits some affinities between French theory and German conservative theorists during the Weimar Republic, such as Carl Schmitt. 3 Critiques of the idea of reason, of liberalism, individualism and constitutionalism pave the way for a weakening of democracy and for the risks of fascism. Nevertheless, if the German critics of reason of the 1920s were in favour of an authoritarian state, for authors such as Bataille and Foucault, as well as Derrida, any adhesion to the concept of state is extremely problematic. Despite these differences, Wolin endorses the parallel established by Habermas between the French and the German line of conservative critiques of modernity: ‘One of the intellectual traits that ties Bataille most closely to the German young conservatives is his “affect against the universal”.’ 4 Bataille is here once again reduced to a Manichean opposition between reason and unreason, calculation and life. In this chapter, not only do we argue against associating Bataille’s political theory with fascism, but, more importantly, we point to a line in his thinking that is an ‘undercover’ trace within modernity itself and that could be useful when conceptualizing today’s forms of statehood restructuring and of state-effects. We argue here that Bataille’s political theory is closer to the one of his master Alexandre Kojeve than to romantic irrationalist positions, and that the two both share a hyper-modern and hyper-rationalist vision.

Droit et société, 2014

This article examines the transitional arrangements for the free movement of workers implemented ... more This article examines the transitional arrangements for the free movement of workers implemented for citizens coming from Eastern European countries during the EU’s enlargement in 2004 and 2007. The article offers a reading of the transitional measures as legal techniques and operations, and it argues that one of their notable effects is the creation of European citizenship, which produces differentiated rights. European citizenship can thus be viewed as the result of a process of statehood restructuring. The focus here is on the way in which European citizenship has concrete political effects, even though its justifications are formulated in economic or legal terms.

Droit et société, 2014

Dans Droit et société Droit et société 2014/1 (n° 86) 2014/1 (n° 86), pages 55 à 75 Éditions Édit... more Dans Droit et société Droit et société 2014/1 (n° 86) 2014/1 (n° 86), pages 55 à 75 Éditions Éditions juridiques associées Éditions juridiques associées

Scienza & Politica. Per una storia delle dottrine, Dec 18, 2017

L'ipotesi che questo articolo avanza è che si possono comprendere le ambiguità dell'opinione pubb... more L'ipotesi che questo articolo avanza è che si possono comprendere le ambiguità dell'opinione pubblica su scala europea soltanto se si riflette su come, su scala continentale e simultaneamente su scala nazionale, l'opinione pubblica è prodotta attraverso meccanismi socio-economici e politici e mai data a priori dalle preferenze individuali. In particolare, il presente articolo si sofferma su come le condizioni stesse della cittadinanza e quindi dell'opinione pubblica siano prodotte attraverso la ricomposizione dello spazio statuale europeo e nazionale. Prendendo ad esempio il caso del referendum greco del 5 luglio 2015 a proposito del piano di aiuto economico europeo, l'articolo mette in luce come lo spazio statuale europeo sia caratterizzato dalla differenziazione continua delle condizioni di possibilità, e dei diritti, della cittadinanza stessa. Infine, l'articolo propone di leggere queste trasformazioni a partire dal modello proposto da Nicos Poulantzas di ricomposizione della matrice statuale europea.

Politique européenne, 2016

Cet article propose une contribution theorique autour de la question du role des politiques de ci... more Cet article propose une contribution theorique autour de la question du role des politiques de citoyennete europeenne dans la formation des preferences des citoyens quant au processus d’integration europeenne. Les politiques de la citoyennete de l’UE sont ici lues comme un ensemble de processus juridiques et politiques qui produisent un espace politique differentiel a l’echelle de l’Union. A partir de ce modele theorique, l’article developpe des pistes de recherche autour du cas du referendum grec du 5 juillet 2015 concernant les politiques d’aide au gouvernement Tsipras proposees par la Commission europeenne.

Philosophy and politics, 2024

Con l’Europa bloccata e atterrita da un nemico invisibile, rileggiamo le parole di Carlo Levi sul... more Con l’Europa bloccata e atterrita da un nemico invisibile, rileggiamo le parole di Carlo Levi sulla paura collettiva che nella Francia del ’39 spalancò la strada al governo di Vichy. E quelle di Hannah Arendt sul coraggio della libertà, mentre la pandemia mostra la fragilità del liberalismo politico

La Revue des droits de l'homme, Jan 19, 2023

Hermann eBooks, Feb 6, 2018

Turning to Georges Bataille’s thought to understand contemporary transformations of statehood is ... more Turning to Georges Bataille’s thought to understand contemporary transformations of statehood is not an obvious gesture. It may even seem incongruous to resort to this French avant-garde theorist, literary critic, mystic and philosopher to talk about something so institutionalized as statehood. In fact, Bataille as a theorist of politics is still a problematic figure for academic literature: is there a political thought in Bataille and, if so, is this something we can use without ending up flirting with fascism? In 1996, Carolyn Dean wrote that we need to take some distance from Bataille’s ambivalence due to a ‘desire for accountability’. 1 Habermas, discussing the meaning of modernity and postmodernity, classifies Georges Bataille within the line of the young conservatives, together with Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida. Bataille, Habermas argues, opposes instrumental reason and the spontaneous powers of imagination, thus transforming will to power or sovereignty into a principle only accessible through evocation. 2 In consequence, this line of thinking exaggerates the autonomy of the artistic sphere over and above morality and science, thus deviating from modernity for exalting (at the expense of the others) one of the spheres into which the Enlightenment has partitioned social and spiritual life. As Wolin remarks, Habermas in this text posits some affinities between French theory and German conservative theorists during the Weimar Republic, such as Carl Schmitt. 3 Critiques of the idea of reason, of liberalism, individualism and constitutionalism pave the way for a weakening of democracy and for the risks of fascism. Nevertheless, if the German critics of reason of the 1920s were in favour of an authoritarian state, for authors such as Bataille and Foucault, as well as Derrida, any adhesion to the concept of state is extremely problematic. Despite these differences, Wolin endorses the parallel established by Habermas between the French and the German line of conservative critiques of modernity: ‘One of the intellectual traits that ties Bataille most closely to the German young conservatives is his “affect against the universal”.’ 4 Bataille is here once again reduced to a Manichean opposition between reason and unreason, calculation and life. In this chapter, not only do we argue against associating Bataille’s political theory with fascism, but, more importantly, we point to a line in his thinking that is an ‘undercover’ trace within modernity itself and that could be useful when conceptualizing today’s forms of statehood restructuring and of state-effects. We argue here that Bataille’s political theory is closer to the one of his master Alexandre Kojeve than to romantic irrationalist positions, and that the two both share a hyper-modern and hyper-rationalist vision.

Droit et société, 2014

This article examines the transitional arrangements for the free movement of workers implemented ... more This article examines the transitional arrangements for the free movement of workers implemented for citizens coming from Eastern European countries during the EU’s enlargement in 2004 and 2007. The article offers a reading of the transitional measures as legal techniques and operations, and it argues that one of their notable effects is the creation of European citizenship, which produces differentiated rights. European citizenship can thus be viewed as the result of a process of statehood restructuring. The focus here is on the way in which European citizenship has concrete political effects, even though its justifications are formulated in economic or legal terms.

Droit et société, 2014

Dans Droit et société Droit et société 2014/1 (n° 86) 2014/1 (n° 86), pages 55 à 75 Éditions Édit... more Dans Droit et société Droit et société 2014/1 (n° 86) 2014/1 (n° 86), pages 55 à 75 Éditions Éditions juridiques associées Éditions juridiques associées

Scienza & Politica. Per una storia delle dottrine, Dec 18, 2017

L'ipotesi che questo articolo avanza è che si possono comprendere le ambiguità dell'opinione pubb... more L'ipotesi che questo articolo avanza è che si possono comprendere le ambiguità dell'opinione pubblica su scala europea soltanto se si riflette su come, su scala continentale e simultaneamente su scala nazionale, l'opinione pubblica è prodotta attraverso meccanismi socio-economici e politici e mai data a priori dalle preferenze individuali. In particolare, il presente articolo si sofferma su come le condizioni stesse della cittadinanza e quindi dell'opinione pubblica siano prodotte attraverso la ricomposizione dello spazio statuale europeo e nazionale. Prendendo ad esempio il caso del referendum greco del 5 luglio 2015 a proposito del piano di aiuto economico europeo, l'articolo mette in luce come lo spazio statuale europeo sia caratterizzato dalla differenziazione continua delle condizioni di possibilità, e dei diritti, della cittadinanza stessa. Infine, l'articolo propone di leggere queste trasformazioni a partire dal modello proposto da Nicos Poulantzas di ricomposizione della matrice statuale europea.

Politique européenne, 2016

Cet article propose une contribution theorique autour de la question du role des politiques de ci... more Cet article propose une contribution theorique autour de la question du role des politiques de citoyennete europeenne dans la formation des preferences des citoyens quant au processus d’integration europeenne. Les politiques de la citoyennete de l’UE sont ici lues comme un ensemble de processus juridiques et politiques qui produisent un espace politique differentiel a l’echelle de l’Union. A partir de ce modele theorique, l’article developpe des pistes de recherche autour du cas du referendum grec du 5 juillet 2015 concernant les politiques d’aide au gouvernement Tsipras proposees par la Commission europeenne.

Au cours des années 1950, Alexandre Kojève (1902-1968) et Carl Schmitt (1888-1985) ont entretenu ... more Au cours des années 1950, Alexandre Kojève (1902-1968) et Carl Schmitt (1888-1985) ont entretenu une correspondance qui porte aussi bien sur l’état géopolitique et le devenir du monde que sur les fondements métaphysiques de la politique, et bien entendu sur Hegel. Cette correspondance entre un philosophe hâtivement qualifié de marxiste, alors engagé dans l’action publique de par ses fonctions au ministère français des Affaires étrangères, et un juriste brillant, mais dont l’image a été durablement altérée par son engagement national-socialiste, fut à l’origine d’une conférence donnée par Kojève en Allemagne en 1957, qui propose une interprétation originale de la décolonisation et des possibilités qu’elle ouvre, en particulier pour l’Europe. La correspondance, ici traduite pour la première fois en français, et la conférence s’éclairent mutuellement ; il a donc paru utile de les publier ensemble. Ces textes permettent de comprendre pourquoi Kojève considérait que Carl Schmitt était, avec Leo Strauss peut-être, son seul véritable interlocuteur.
Trois articles de Robert Howse sur la lecture kojèvienne du Nomos de la Terre de Carl Schmitt, de Teresa Pullano sur la philosophie de l’Europe et la pensée du droit de Kojève et de Jean-François Kervégan sur la figure métaphysique du Sage kojèvien, acteur et produit de la « fin de l’histoire », entreprennent, à partir notamment de ce corpus, de cerner l’originalité de la pensée de Kojève, qui est bien plus qu’un commentateur original et imprudent de Hegel : un philosophe audacieux et profond, qui a à bien des égards aperçu ce dont notre monde serait fait.

Saturday, September 9, 2017 10:15 11:45 Volkshaus Zürich 60 Stauffacherstrasse Zürich, ZH, 8004 ... more Saturday, September 9, 2017
10:15 11:45
Volkshaus Zürich
60 Stauffacherstrasse Zürich, ZH, 8004 Switzerland (map)
Mit Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bak, Andreas Gross, Teresa Pullano, Thomas Seibert
Moderation: Stefan Howald, WOZ Die Wochenzeitung

Machtballung bei einer nicht gewählten Kommission. Verhandeln hinter verschlossenen Türen. Ein ohnmächtiges Parlament versus mächtige Wirtschaftslobbys. Die Demokratiedefizite der EU sind unübersehbar. Wie kann eine Demokratisierung von unten gelingen? Ist die repräsentative Demokratie am Ende? Braucht es ein transnationales BürgerInnenrecht? Berechtigt der ausserparlamentarische Kampf gegen TTIP zu schönen Hoffnungen?