Trinitarian political theology and radical democracy

David Haddorff

doi:10.17570/stj.2019.v5n1.a04

Abstract

This article brings into dialogue Karl Barth and the political philosopher Chantal Mouffe. The purpose here is not to provide a detailed comparison, but to explore why Mouffe’s thought is relevant to the current political situation, which providesthe contemporary context for engaging Barth’s political theology. This argument involves: 1) a political analysis of the current political situation offered by Mouffe; 2) a particular interpretation of Barth’s political theology emerging from a trinitarian theological framework; 3) a comparison between the political thought of Mouffe and Barth emerging from Barth’s trinitarian political theology. This engagement is less concerned with critiquing Mouffe from a theological viewpoint, than positively demonstrating how Mouffe’s thought can be seen as a “secular parable” for a political theology in which trinitarian theology provides a framework. Central to this political theology are the ideas of equality, freedom, participation, and promise, which provide a theo-political framework for a radical democracy.

Highlights

In this article I bring into dialogue Karl Barth and the political philosopher Chantal Mouffe
The purpose here is not to provide a detailed comparison, but to explore why Mouffe’s thought is relevant to the current political situation, which provides the contemporary context for engaging Barth’s political theology. This argument involves: 1) a political analysis of the current political situation offered by Mouffe; 2) a particular interpretation of Barth’s political theology emerging from a trinitarian theological framework; 3) a comparison between the political thought of Mouffe and Barth emerging from Barth’s trinitarian political theology
This engagement is less concerned with critiquing Mouffe from a theological viewpoint, than positively demonstrating how Mouffe’s thought can be seen as a “secular parable” for a political theology in which trinitarian theology provides a framework. Central to this political theology are the ideas of equality, freedom, participation, and promise, which provide a theo-political framework for a radical democracy

Summary

Introduction

In this article I bring into dialogue Karl Barth and the political philosopher Chantal Mouffe. The purpose here is not critique Mouffe from a theological viewpoint, but to show, more positively, how Mouffe’s thought can be seen as a “secular parable” within this theological framework Stated differently, just as I’m demonstrating how trinitarian theology provides a framework for political theology, I’m engaging the political philosophy of Mouffe in order to more fully understand our contemporary political situation of the “populist moment.” The intersection of these two lines of argument provides a way to think about political witness, rooted in what Barth calls “special ethics,” in which one engages in “instructional preparation for hearing God’s command,” which calls us to act as responsible witnesses here and now.. Central to this argument is how trinitarian theology provides a framework for political theology, and more exactly, how God’s trinitarian action fosters a political theology of authority, freedom, participation, and promise, which provides a theopolitical framework for a political democracy

Mouffe and the Populist Moment

Barth and Trinitarian Political Theology