Tragedy and Citizenship: Conflict, Reconciliation, and Democracy from Haemon to Hegel

Derek W. M. Barker reads the history of political thought as a contest between the tragic view of politics that accepts conflict and uncertainty, and an optimistic perspective that sees conflict as self-dissolving. Drawing on Aristotle's political thought, alongside a novel reading of the Antigone that centers on Haemon, its most neglected character, Barker provides contemporary democratic theory with a theory of tragedy. Barker offers a major reassessment of contemporary political theory and a fresh perspective on the most urgent challenges facing democratic politics.

Derek W. M. Barker is a program officer at the Kettering Foundation.