The End of Law and Other Miracles : On the Limitations of Apocalyptic Political Theologies
(2024) In Studia Theologica - Nordic Journal of Theology- Abstract
- This article explores various attempts to critique the law with reference to an authority or idea that is seen as transcending law in its existing forms. As heuristic tools, I use a distinction be-tween prophetic and apocalyptic discourses, the former referring to discourses that remain scep-tical to the possibility of suspending law in any absolute sense; the latter describing discourses that articulate a belief in or commitment to a radical break with the law, envisioning a coming law-free age. To give concreteness to my argument, I focus, in the first part, on the critical inter-action between Daniel Bensaïd and Alain Badiou as a typical illustration of the tension between prophetic and apocalyptic discourses. In subsequent parts, I... (More)
- This article explores various attempts to critique the law with reference to an authority or idea that is seen as transcending law in its existing forms. As heuristic tools, I use a distinction be-tween prophetic and apocalyptic discourses, the former referring to discourses that remain scep-tical to the possibility of suspending law in any absolute sense; the latter describing discourses that articulate a belief in or commitment to a radical break with the law, envisioning a coming law-free age. To give concreteness to my argument, I focus, in the first part, on the critical inter-action between Daniel Bensaïd and Alain Badiou as a typical illustration of the tension between prophetic and apocalyptic discourses. In subsequent parts, I take the analysis a step further by relating it to various historical discourses on divine law. Drawing on Christine Hayes’s claim that there are overlooked resources in the ancient rabbinic constructions of divine law, I suggest that some of these resources are reactivated – albeit unknowingly – in Bensaïd’s political think-ing. Especially in his original conception of revolutionary temporality, Bensaïd provides tools for elaborating a different way of coping with the limits of law, thereby avoiding some of the shortcomings of apocalyptic political theologies. (Less)
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https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/6a4af8ef-2d3e-435f-889b-90bb9e0ff05e
- author
- Svenungsson, Jayne LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- keywords
- apocalyptic, Alain Badiou, Daniel Bensaïd, end of law, political theology, prophetic
- in
- Studia Theologica - Nordic Journal of Theology
- pages
- 17 pages
- publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 1502-7791
- DOI
- 10.1080/0039338X.2024.2406747
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 6a4af8ef-2d3e-435f-889b-90bb9e0ff05e
- date added to LUP
- 2024-06-29 15:41:52
- date last changed
- 2024-10-10 14:38:15
@article{6a4af8ef-2d3e-435f-889b-90bb9e0ff05e, abstract = {{This article explores various attempts to critique the law with reference to an authority or idea that is seen as transcending law in its existing forms. As heuristic tools, I use a distinction be-tween prophetic and apocalyptic discourses, the former referring to discourses that remain scep-tical to the possibility of suspending law in any absolute sense; the latter describing discourses that articulate a belief in or commitment to a radical break with the law, envisioning a coming law-free age. To give concreteness to my argument, I focus, in the first part, on the critical inter-action between Daniel Bensaïd and Alain Badiou as a typical illustration of the tension between prophetic and apocalyptic discourses. In subsequent parts, I take the analysis a step further by relating it to various historical discourses on divine law. Drawing on Christine Hayes’s claim that there are overlooked resources in the ancient rabbinic constructions of divine law, I suggest that some of these resources are reactivated – albeit unknowingly – in Bensaïd’s political think-ing. Especially in his original conception of revolutionary temporality, Bensaïd provides tools for elaborating a different way of coping with the limits of law, thereby avoiding some of the shortcomings of apocalyptic political theologies.}}, author = {{Svenungsson, Jayne}}, issn = {{1502-7791}}, keywords = {{apocalyptic; Alain Badiou; Daniel Bensaïd; end of law; political theology; prophetic}}, language = {{eng}}, publisher = {{Taylor & Francis}}, series = {{Studia Theologica - Nordic Journal of Theology}}, title = {{The End of Law and Other Miracles : On the Limitations of Apocalyptic Political Theologies}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0039338X.2024.2406747}}, doi = {{10.1080/0039338X.2024.2406747}}, year = {{2024}}, }