Theory from the East? Double Polarizations versus Democratic Transitions

Abstract

The escalation around Ukraine calls for a larger historical re-assessment of social change in Eastern Europe – and indeed of the European project at large. The current moment of historical re-assessment requires a full-fledged competitor to liberal theory. The article will explore how a theory of ‘double polarizations’ anchored in global anthropology and Marxism, and with a relational theory of culture and politics at its heart, can explain unexpected outcomes that must now appear as a shock to liberal audiences.