From critical theory to litigation strategy: Can intersectionality transform EU equality law?

In recent years, a number of voices have raised concerns about the role of critical theory in the contemporary political crisis. Critical theory has been accused of providing intellectual resources for the global rise of the new right, whether in Trump’s America or in Putin’s Russia. While acknowledging the ostensibly critical, even emancipatory appearance of the new right, my paper insists on the need for critical theory. Indeed, a desire for liberation is expressed not only by the new right, but also by the ruling neoliberal discourse. Both neoliberalism and the new right make emancipatory use of a key modern political distinction: the distinction between hierarchy and anarchy, or inside and outside. Both promise liberation from hierarchies and want to achieve freedom through anarchic competition, either on globalized markets or in international relations. However, upon close examination, the promised freedom is an anarchic unfreedom. It submits all competitors to a powerful competitive logic, justifies hierarchic submission and harbors an enormous potential for violence. Critical International Relations theory is uniquely suited to diagnose this problem and to point us into an alternative direction.

Este artigo tem por objetivo apresentar a tradição da teoria crítica em Relações Internacionais. Entende-se que haja uma lacuna nos debates teóricos com a reduzida atenção dedicada a essa tradição no Brasil. O revigoramento dos debates teóricos contribui para o enfraquecimento das tradições teóricas convencionais. O papel da teoria crítica nessa tendência é primordial. A teoria crítica da Escola de Frankfurt é examinada como precursora filosófica e metateórica da teoria crítica em Relações Internacionais. Em seguida, as bases epistemológicas dos desafios da teoria crítica às teorias convencionais são apresentadas, com ênfase especial dedicada ao trabalho de Robert W. Cox. O pensamento neogramsciano é inspecionado à luz da busca pela transformação social nas relações internacionais. A vertente da teoria crítica internacional é vista como fonte de inspiração para muitos autores que trabalham com a emancipação. Examina-se a produção de Andrew Linklater por representar a busca por transformação das comunidades políticas por meio da expansão de suas fronteiras morais. Em seguida, busca-se uma avaliação crítica dos impactos trazidos pela teoria crítica ao campo de estudos das Relações Internacionais. Conclui-se que a teoria crítica tem méritos na guinada das discussões teóricas em direção a questionamentos ontológicos e epistemológicos, debate esse que tem caracterizado esse campo de estudo nas últimas décadas, por meio da exposição das limitações conseqüentes do domínio das teorias convencionais. Não obstante, a associação da teoria crítica ao pós-positivismo epistemológico constitui atitude premeditada.

The adoption of the European Pillar of Social Rights ('the Pillar') in 2017 and the 20-year anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam in 2019 provide an auspicious moment for not only take stock of accomplishments in the field of EU equality law and critically reflect on the past, but also to look forward.The Treaty of Amsterdam expanded the legal base (current Article 19 TFEU) for adopting EU legislation to six new anti-discrimination grounds (race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation) and the recent adoption of the Pillar suggests that EU equality law and policy could now be at a pivotal point.In this brief blog post, we reflect on what, in our view, is one of the key current problems of EU equality law, namely, its (in)coherence at different levels (see Figure 1), and whether the Pillar carries the potential to -at least partially-address this issue.In considering (in)coherence, we do not mean to suggest that the pursuit of coherence is valuable simply for the sake of coherence alone.We recognize that fragmentation and inconsistency, diversity and plurality, are a part of life and thus part of law and policy, especially one that is to speak to a diverse set of Member States and national models.Also, different discrimination grounds have particularities that may need to be approached differently to be properly addressed.And yet, the lack of coherence within EU equality law and with related policy fields reflect the incremental development of EU law and the often instrumental use of policy, and reveal discrepancies between the aspirational policy discourse and the possibilities of action that the legal framework actually enables.It is against this background that a more consistent and articulated approach -that addresses various forms of incoherence-can be essential to develop and improve the EU equality framework and to better match aspirations to concrete substantive outcomes.

In this article, we propose a theoretical reconceptualization of the hybrid media system model by introducing structural and material conditions of contemporary media sphere with reference to critical theory. Our main thesis is based on the principle of historicization and the concept of social relations. Using this framework, we demonstrate that those who wield dominant power within the neoliberal capitalist economy also have influence over the logic of the hybrid media system. Following the premise that the “agency” is constrained by hierarchical social relations, we enhance the hybrid media system model to explicate not only cases where digital media have enabled successful civic activism leading to social change but also cases where newer digital technologies reinforce pre-existing social relations of power and subordination. The main contribution of the article is to show that critical theory strengthens the explanatory power of the current eclectic-empirical media models without fundamentally undermining their foundations.

Critical Theory and Creative Writing as disciplines are considered antithetical to each otherand a prevailing tendency is to confine them to their own fields.However, this paper argues that critical theory plays a crucial role in the discipline of creative writing. To further my point, I analyse, Horace’s Ars Poetica, a text that deserves worthy attention by scholars and students of literature and acts as a guide to the art of writing. Although, the text dates back to the ancient times, the advice given by Horace to the Pisos family are relevant to the art of writing in general. The paper has been divided into two sections. The first section aims to study the establishment of creative writing as an academic discipline and the role of critical theory in creative writing. The second section discusses how Horace’s Ars Poetica as a critical writing text offers some essential rules in creative writing. The aim is to promote creative inspiration, expand cognition processand bring in a new outlook to stimulate creative thinking.

This essay discusses the rise of neoliberalism and globalization and its effects on the reconstruction of critical theory. This consideration will be about how the desire for critical theory, or the desiring critique, could intervene in the cognitive or surveillance capitalism phase based on big data technology. For this purpose, I will clarify the fact that the revival of critical theory should be the reconsideration of French philosophy (or French theory) and its political foundation since the 1950s. The vital link between critical theory and political conjunctures is revealed in the CIA’s report on French philosophy in the 1980s. The failure of radical French philosophy led to the decline of intellectuals and the reification of critical theory. I will relate this situation to the advent of cognitive or surveillance capitalism and its changed mode of accumulation. My conclusion will focus on the role of critical theory in understanding the function of big data capitalism and imposing its political implication on the celebration of technological advances.

The concept of structural racism has become increasingly central to the political and ideological conflicts of our time. To many it appears as vague, unscientific, ideological. In this article, I first turn to a recent episode from the German history of racist violence to show how “structural racism” is mobilized in antiracist struggles to counter individualizing and depoliticizing mainstream framings. I then reconstruct the epistemic obstacles to talking about structural racism in Germany, including in critical theory in the Frankfurt School tradition. Subsequently, I sketch an understanding of structural racism that is informed by earlier work in that same tradition as well as contemporary social philosophy. I end by discussing how structural racism continues to structure interactions, practices, institutions, meanings and discourses in the current constellation.

Socially-aware multimedia research balances recognition of the import of human interactions with consideration for the media content itself. The goal of this form of mediated social communication work is both to achieve technical innovation and to provide a rich user experience. This motivation can be extended to encompass a broader exploration of the socio-cultural condition that uses the design and development of socially aware multimedia systems as a reflexive lens for examination and dialog. This form of critical technical inquiry moves beyond efficiency and user experience to more directly interrogate the values evident in the technologies themselves.A critical approach advocates deep reflection on structural norms with a target goal of affecting change. The concept of Technical Practice is attributed first to Phil Agre, who initiated the idea based on his personal experience as an artificial intelligence researcher [1]. Chaffing at the perceived constraints of his field, Agre embraced critical theory and in particular the philosophy of phenomenology to more concretely examine and interpret his life research and work. Critical reflection allowed Agre to deeply consider the concepts, methods and modes of inquiry in AI, in a framing that has been adopted by practitioners and researchers in a variety of technical fields including computer science, engineering and human-computer-interaction [2].Much of this recent work owes an allegiance to the influence of the humanities and the arts. While we may be familiar with the role of critical theory in the contributions of philosophers and social scientists, we can also scan the artistic horizon for centuries of work integrating mediated reflection with acute social commentary. From Jonathan Swift to John Oliver, Laura Mulvey to Miranda July, the artist practitioner and commentator has functioned as a powerful conduit for provoking societal examination and dialog. Examining the impact of critical work across multiple disciplines which exposes both technical and social implications therefore presents considerable utility for social multimedia researchers. In the following sections, we present work bridging art, design, engineering and computer science as exemplars of work in this domain.

The discipline of psychology has historically been based upon Western, Eurocentric perspectives on human behavior. Critical theory has played a central role in pushing psychology out from its insularity and perceived objectivity. This chapter examines the role of critical pedagogist Paolo Freire and liberation psychologist Ignacio Martín-Baró in the shaping of a multicultural perspective within psychology that has revolutionized the way that psychologists understand and treat mental health conditions. Freire and Martín-Baró gave voice to the marginalized and disenfranchised and pushed psychologists to engage in their own conscientization of their history and complicitness in perpetuating oppression. Implications of their work are examined in light of their contributions to theoretical underpinnings, clinical diagnosis, and treatment approaches.

The concept of structural racism has become increasingly central to the political and ideological conflicts of our time. To many it appears as vague, unscientific, ideological. In this article, I first turn to a recent episode from the German history of racist violence to show how “structural racism” is mobilized in antiracist struggles to counter individualizing and depoliticizing mainstream framings. I then reconstruct the epistemic obstacles to talking about structural racism in Germany, including in critical theory in the Frankfurt School tradition. Subsequently, I sketch an understanding of structural racism that is informed by earlier work in that same tradition as well as contemporary social philosophy. I end by discussing how structural racism continues to structure interactions, practices, institutions, meanings and discourses in the current constellation.

This article discusses the role of critical theory in the process of enlightening teachers and students in the digital era, in which higher education has been obsessed by meritocracy. Taking critical theory especially, Herbert Marcuse’s critique of the “one-dimensional man”, as guide line, the author objects to the conditioning theory as the basis of teaching and learning, since it would alienate the intrinsic relationship between teachers and students. To show the tenability of my view, an empirical study on the awareness of the negative function of teaching and learning integrated with ICT among teachers and students is conducted. As result, some main problems are found as follows: 1. Although both student and teacher are aware of their own rights and the significance of autonomy, their teaching and learning integrated with ICT are far from expectation, as seen in the low speed of the Moodle platform. 2. On the other hand, teachers in university are rather passive in using the Moodle platform (They are asked for and the Moodle system is free). They are, in fact, not conscious of the danger of being dominated by the system and, consequently, of the inequality of rights, which could hinder the development of autonomy and self-reflection. By criticizing the Moodle system, I indirectly show the indispensable role of critical theory in helping teachers and students to emancipate themselves from the pitfall of technology and its instrumental rationality

The discipline of psychology has historically been based upon Western, Eurocentric perspectives on human behavior. Critical theory has played a central role in pushing psychology out from its insularity and perceived objectivity. This chapter examines the role of critical pedagogist Paolo Freire and liberation psychologist Ignacio Martín-Baró in the shaping of a multicultural perspective within psychology that has revolutionized the way that psychologists understand and treat mental health conditions. Freire and Martín-Baró gave voice to the marginalized and disenfranchised and pushed psychologists to engage in their own conscientization of their history and complicitness in perpetuating oppression. Implications of their work are examined in light of their contributions to theoretical underpinnings, clinical diagnosis, and treatment approaches.

EU Equality Law and Precarious Work

Neither Critical Theory nor western Marxism ever understood crises as being solely concerned with the economy. Both saw them rather as necessarily involving consciousness and subjectivity as well. How does Critical Theory conceptualize economy and subjectivity as inseparable? This is the crucial question. Critical Theory claims, indeed, that it shows the inner connection between the economy and subjectivity. In its first generation, at any rate (Jay, 1996), Critical Theory meant to show that the economy is a constitutive part of subjectivity, while also being its blind spot; or even that the economy is its blind spot because it is essentially constructive of subjectivity. The article will specify the connection between the economy and subjectivity and then will indicate the blind spot. While Critical Theory does not fully pinpoint the blind spot in this connection, by tracing the discussion that followed its first generation we may better find out what this blind spot might be.

Legal interpretation is often influenced by certain prejudices or preconceptions that are regarded as legitimate in the process of understanding legal texts. These prejudices are not necessarily irrational or unfounded; rather, they form part of the interpreter's horizon, shaped by history, culture, and prior knowledge. This article explores the concept of legitimate prejudice within the realm of legal interpretation, using Hans-Georg Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics as its analytical framework. Gadamer’s approach offers a nuanced understanding of how meaning emerges through the fusion of horizons between the legal text and the interpreter’s situated perspective, highlighting the productive role of prejudice in the interpretive process. Gadamer's hermeneutics offers an approach that emphasizes the importance of dialogue between the text, the reader, and its historical context. In the context of legal interpretation, legitimate prejudice is not merely viewed as an obstacle but also as a constructive element that enables the creation of legal meaning that is more relevant to social dynamics. This article examines how Gadamer's "fusion of horizons" can help legal practitioners and scholars bridge legal texts with contemporary moral, social, and cultural values. This study employs a normative juridical method combined with a philosophical and hermeneutical approach. The normative juridical method focuses on the analysis of legal norms, principles, and doctrines as they are formulated in legal texts and judicial decisions. Meanwhile, the philosophical approach is used to explore the epistemological foundations of legal interpretation, particularly concerning the role of prejudice and preconceptions in shaping legal meaning. The philosophical approach is used to analyze the concept of prejudice in legal interpretation within the broader framework of legal philosophy and epistemology. Meanwhile, the hermeneutical approach, particularly drawing from Gadamer’s theory, is applied to examine how interpretative prejudices shape and influence the legal decision-making process. This perspective allows for a deeper understanding of how legal meaning is not simply derived from the text itself, but is co-constructed through the interaction between the interpreter’s historical context, normative assumptions, and the legal text. By integrating Gadamer’s hermeneutic principles into the practice of legal interpretation, this article aims to contribute to the development of a more inclusive, critical, and value-oriented theory of legal interpretation.