Nakedly Normative: A Feminist (Re‐)Imagination of Planetary Politics

Abstract

AbstractThis article makes the case for a feminist (re‐)imagination of planetary politics in the context of the normative power approach and Manners' opening article in this special section. Arguing for an urgent turn to a politics that embraces the whole of the planet, we ask: How can we build processes and political structures that equip us with what is needed to manage those tests now faced by the planet? We apply a critical feminist lens to argue that the potential of a normative power approach in realising a planetary politics, so challenging anthropocentrism, can only be fulfilled if political and societal actors embrace four ‘Es’: ethic of care, empathy, emancipation and equity. The cosmopolity envisioned is premised on our ability to ‘see’, ‘hear’, question – perhaps even break with – the disciplining and bounding effects of the disciplines that feed into European studies.