Agonistisch pluralisme: met Nietzsche tegen Schmitt

Abstract

In a PhD-thesis that he recently defended at the University of Amsterdam, Vincent Seminck describes, evaluates and compares the ideas of conflict, friendship and enmity in the works of Friedrich Nietzsche and Carl Schmitt. Drawing on Nietzsche’s concept of the agôn (a productive contest among equals) and Schmitt’s friend-enemy distinction, Seminck contrasts Nietzsche’s vision of conflict as a force for individual self-fulfillment with Schmitt’s view of existential enmity aimed at preserving collective identity. Through this lens, he also provides a critique of Chantal Mouffe’s theory of agonistic pluralism, arguing that Nietzsche’s agonal thinking provides a more suitable starting point for her theory than Schmitt’s political antagonism. As such, Seminck’s study contributes not only to intellectual history, but also to contemporary debates on populism and liberal democracy.