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The global Alt- or New Right is celebrating a series of political successes after decade-long efforts to shift discursive power and break the perceived “left-green hegemony”. Meanwhile Russian thinkers of so-called Neo-Eurasianism are painting the picture of a grand war against the Satanic decadence of "globalists", that needs to be won – first in Ukraine and then elsewhere. In the latest success of the Alt-Right those two currents of contemporary right-wing theory and politics seem to be coming together: Russian philosopher Dugin is praising Trump as a potential ally.
Despite the clear impact of these currents in our political lives, there is relatively little philosophical attempts at understanding these movements. In this seminar we will try to unravel the philosophical depths of the notions that brought about this success. They take their roots in Counter-Enlightnment critiques of the notions of universal truth, individual freedom and abstract identity as citizens, that came to define modern politics. Thinkers such as Nietzsche, Heidegger, Strauss, Guénon, Evola and Spengler form this at times metaphysical foundation - while much of the political strategy of "metapolitics" employed by the Right goes back to political theorists like Gramsci and Schmitt. We will be focussing on the specifically Russian form of these topoi embodied in Dugin's "Neo-Eurasianism" and his "Fourth Political Theory" as the metaphysical "other beginning" (Heidegger) after the demise of European modernity. For that we will be reading and discussing an array of texts, including contemporary critiques of the New Right and their offsprings, classical theories of fascism such as Laclau's, analyses of Dugin's interpretation of Heidegger and the main lines of his philosophy of an "other beginning" - accompanied by voluntary reading of primary texts by Dugin and others. The guiding question is: What are the main philosophical notions of Dugin's political project and how do they relate to especially Heidegger? This seminar is part of a project with similar seminars on different aspects of the Alt-/New-Right in Wuppertal, Kiel and Graz. At the end of the semester in February, we will travel to a student winter school in Wuppertal, where students will present our particular perspectives on the Alt-/New-Right and Neo-Eurasianism that emerged during the seminar. Principal willingness to participate in this summer school is highly welcome. You can contact the lecturer via nico.graack@ff.cuni.cz Consultation: Wednesdays, 16-17, Room 221 (Ideally register via mail beforehand) Poslední úprava: Graack Nico, Mgr. (07.10.2025)
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The students shall be able to (1) identify New Right/Neo-Eurasianist topoi and notions, distinguish them and trace their intellectual history, (2) critically discuss these philosophically and (3) see and develop connections between philosophy and political interventions. Poslední úprava: Graack Nico, Mgr. (12.09.2025)
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The (co-)preparation of a presentation for the winter school in Wuppertal is the preferred form of assignment. Students may work in groups. This does not require participation in the winter school, but in this case a short paper must be submitted from which the contribution of the student to that group is made clear. Also a presentation on one of the provided optional readings is possible. Alternatively, students may decide not to work on a presentation, but instead hand in a longer essay of which the topic is to be decided with the lecturer. This results in the three possible exams: Poslední úprava: Graack Nico, Mgr. (12.09.2025)
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All texts will be provided here in SIS. Backman, Jussi (2022): “Radical Conservatism and the Heideggerian Right: Heidegger, de Benoist, Dugin”, in: Frontiers in Political Science, 4. de Benoist, Alain; Champetier, Charles (1999): Manifesto for a European Renaissance. London: Arktos. Dugin, Aleksandr (2014): Eurasian Mission. An Introduction to Neo-Eurasianism. Budapest: Arktos. Dugin, Aleksandr (2014): Martin Heidegger. The Philosophy of Another Beginning. Arlington: Radix. Dugin, Aleksandr (2012): The Fourth Political Theory. Moscow: Eurasian Movement. Giannuzzi, Paola (2022): “Curtis Yarvin (Mencius Moldbug): An Open Letter to Open-Minded Progressives”, in: Meiering, David (ed.): Schlüsseltexte der ‘Neuen Rechten’. Wiesbaden: Springer. Gramsci, Antonio (1971 [1935]): “Analysis of Situations”, in: Hoare, Quintin; Smith, Geoffrey Nowell: Selections from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci. New York: International Publishers. Griffiths, Dominic (2017): “Martin Heidegger's principle of identity: On belonging and Ereignis”, in: South African Journal of Philosophy, 36(3), 326-336. Laclau, Ernesto (1977): “Fascism and Ideology”, in: Laclau, E.: Politics and Ideology in Marxist Theory. Capitalism – Fascism – Populism. London: NLB. Laruelle, Marlène (2008): “Aleksandr Dugin: A Russian Version of the European Radical Right?”, in: Laruelle, M.: Russian Eurasianism. An Ideology of Empire. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press. Laruelle, Marlène (2015): “Dangerous Liaisons. Eurasianism, the European Far Right, and Putin’s Russia”, in: Laruelle, Marlène (ed.): Eurasianism and the European Far Right. Reshaping the Europe–Russia Relationship. Lanham: Lexington Books, 1-31. Laruelle, Marlène (2022) (ed.): From Heidegger to Dugin and Back. Washington, D.C.: George Washington University (electronic book). Marcy, Richard & D'Erman, Valerie (2019): “The European “New Right” as Radical Social Innovation”, in: Journal for the Study of Radicalism, 13(2), 65-90. Nagle, Angela (2017): Kill All Normies. Alresford: Zero Books. (Chapter 2, 4, Conclusion). Schmitt, Carl (2007 [1932]): The Concept of the Political. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Sharpe, Matthew (2020): “In the Crosshairs of the Fourfold: Critical Thoughts on Aleksandr Dugin’s Heidegger”, in: Critical Horizons, 21 (2), 167-187. Sharpe, Matthew (2025): “Old wine in a postmodern bottle: Aleksandr Dugin’s ‘Fourth political theory’ and Aurel Kolnai’s War against the West”, in: Studies in East European Thought. Poslední úprava: Graack Nico, Mgr. (29.09.2025)
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This is a reading seminar, with weekly obligatory readings of about 20-30 pages. Students are asked to bring at least one question that occupied their mind during the reading to be discussed in our sessions. Additional, voluntary reading is provided, with the possibility for the students to prepare a small introduction to these for the other students. Poslední úprava: Graack Nico, Mgr. (12.09.2025)
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