Organising Equal Freedom
: From antagonism to agonism

  • Elena Pagani

Student thesis: Doctoral ThesisDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Abstract

This thesis is a theoretical and empirical study of prefigurative, pluralist, radically horizontal intra and inter personal processes of subjectification. The research context is Greek radical worker co-operatives abiding to pluralist radically horizontal organizing practices and prefigurative politics (autonomous, and social and solidarity economy). My methodological, conceptual, and empirical contributions aimed to align and support this context’s situated process for radically horizontal organizing, that is ‘co-formation toward synthesis’ (Gr. "syndiamorfosi pros synthesi”) assembly organizing, and address a key situated challenge, that of informal hierarchies. Through an intersubjective interpretative phenomenological lens, I employed a Militant Research -situated, co-produced, movement-led- methodological framework. This framework also entailed developing this thesis through practices of pluralist radical horizontality. Within academic discussions on selfhood, equality, freedom, and prefiguration, I developed the sensitising concepts of agonistic self-creation for intra personal processes, and agonistic empathy for inter personal processes of pluralist radical horizontality. To support these intra and inter personal processes further, I followed a fictocritical approach to empirical data. This approach allowed me to blend fact, fiction, theory, critique, and literary methods in single narratives. I developed four such narratives. Finally, I proposed seven lenses for observing movements in intra and inter personal processes, and Heraclitus’ agonistic metaphor of the farmers’ drink kykeon for visualizing these movements.
Date of Award5 Dec 2023
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • University of Bristol
SupervisorSheena J Vachhani (Supervisor) & Martin Parker (Supervisor)

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