Academic Publications
Articles
Nielsen, Rasmus Kleis 2006, ‘Hegemony, Radical Democracy, Populism’, Distinktion, No. 13, 2006, pp. 77-97.
Abstract: This article demonstrates what it means to construe Ernesto Laclau’s work as precisely political theory. By analyzing his work in terms of the relation between ‘hegemony’ as a theory of the political, ‘radical democracy’ as a normative theory, and the ever-present but often overlooked element of ‘populism’ as a theory of a form of politics, it captures the full-fledged political character of his work (as opposed to simply moral theory). Though the article offers various criticisms of the ways the three elements are elaborated and interlinked, especially through the imprecise notions of ‘the underdogs’ and ‘the underprivileged’, it also highlights the value of attempting to situate the act of political theorizing in the world at hand by explicitly trying to identify an immanent form of politics thought in terms of a theory of the political and a normative theory, an act that will allow one to go beyond value-neutral political analysis, empty moral theory, or blind political strategizing. Only together do these three elements make up properly political theory [pre-publication available here].
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Nielsen, Rasmus Kleis 2006, ‘Det epistemologiske syndefald: et sekulært skred i betingelserne for det transcendentales politik - reformation, oplysning, revolution (1517-1848)’, Tidsskriftet Politik, 9 (1), pp. 14-25.
Abstract: This article argues that the one trait common to otherwise different secular orders is to be at the epistemological level. Despite their differences when it comes to the precise regulation of the relation between religion and politics, and degrees of secularization, widely different secular orders in Western Europe all share a common imaginary for the politics of the transcendental. This imaginary allows - in contrast to the religious hegemony that ruled before the Reformation - for other sources than religious ones to provide transcendental organizational principles for the social order. The development of the new imaginary is traced through the Reformation, the Enlightenment, and the Revolutions of 1848 [pre-publication version available here (Danish only)].
Book
Nielsen, Rasmus Kleis, Ole Dahl Rasmussen & Ole Wæver (eds.) 2007, 10×10, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle (UK). Buy at Politico’s or Amazon. More or from the publisher here.
A set of essays about the good books that inspired good social scientists. Contributors include B. Guy Peters, Chantal Mouffe, Elinor Ostrom, James M. Buchanan, Joseph H.H. Weiler, Kenneth Waltz, Richard Katz, and Thomas Hylland Eriksen [pre-publication draft of the introduction here].
Blurps:
“10×10 is a wise reminder of the power that certain monumental canonical texts of the past, veritable cathedrals of ideas, have had and continue to have in the minds of significant thinkers. Even in an age focused on increasing opportunities for publishing made possible by new technologies, it is often from these same great arteries of thought that fresh and sustained thinking is drawn.”
Frank A. Moretti, professor, Teachers College, Columbia University
“10×10 gives a unique insight into the relations great academics have with great books. It brings together very important works, very prominent scholars, and the personal and often very different views they have of both classics and less well-known, sometimes surprising, sources of inspiration.”
Ove K. Pedersen, professor, Copenhagen Business School
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Reviews of
Jules Boykoff 2006, The Suppression of Dissent. Routledge, New York & London. Review published in Mobilization, December 2007, 12 (4), pp. 433-434.
Philip N. Howard 2006, New Media Campaigns and the Managed Citizen. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York. Published in Tidsskriftet Politik 10 (4), 2008.
Jens Hoff & Kresten Storgaard (eds.) 2005, Informationsteknologi og demokratisk innovation – borgerdeltagelse, politisk kommunikation og offentlig styring, Forlaget Samfundslitteratur, Denmark and Lars Torpe, Jeppe Agger Nielsen & Jens Ulrich 2005, Demokrati på nettet – Offentlighed, deltagelse og digital kommunikation, Aalborg Universitetsforlag, Denmark. Published in Tidsskriftet Politik 9 (3), 2007, pp. 87-88.
Gitte Meyer 2005, Hvorfor skulle der ikke kunne være en offentlig fornuft?, Syddansk Universitetsforlag, Denmark. Including my ‘Reply to Gitte Meyer’. Published in Tidsskriftet Politik, 9 (3), 2007, pp. 75-78.
Peter Sloterdijk 2005, Kritik af den Kyniske Fornuft, Det Lille Forlag, København. Published in: Tidsskriftet Politik, 2006.
Ulrikke Moustgaard 2005, Håndtasken, heksen, og de blåøjede blondiner, Roskilde Universitetsforlag, Denmark. Published in: Tidsskriftet Politik, 2006.
Roland Barthes 2004, Fortællerens død og andre essays, Gyldendal, København. Published in: Slagmark - Tidsskrift for Idehistorie, nr. 42, 2005.
Søren Hein Rasmussen & Niels Kayser Nielsen (eds.) 2003, Strid om demokratiet: artikler fra en dansk debat 1945-1946, Aarhus Universitetsforlag, Århus. Published in: Tiddskriftet Politik, 7 (1), 2004, pp. 95-96.
Jenny Edkins 2003, Trauma and the Memory of Politics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge . Published in: Millenium - Journal of International Studies, 33 (1), 2004, pp. 178-180.
Anette Warring 2004, Historie, Magt og Identitet - grundlovsfejringer gennem 150 år, Aarhus Universitetsforlag, Århus. Published in: Økonomi og Politik, 77 (3), 2004, pp. 61-62.
Anette Borchorst & Drude Dahlerup (eds.) 2003, Ligestillingspolitik som diskurs og praksis, Samfundslitteratur, Denmark. Published in:Politologiske Studier, 6 (3), 2003, pp. 95-98.
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Workings Papers & Conference Presentations
‘The Political Public’, presented at ‘contemporary political theory’ panel 33-6, ‘Rethinking Representation’ at the Midwest Political Science Association’s 2008 Annual Conference in Chicago, April 3-6.
Participant in Media Re:Public, March 27-28, conference in LA co-sponsered by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School and USC’s Annenberg School for Communication.
‘The Political Public’, paper presented at Media Sociology Forum at NYU, November 2, 2007.
‘How the Media Blogs’, paper accepted for Global Fusion Conference, St. Louis, September 7-9, 2007. note: I was unable to attend the conference.
Participant in ‘New Media, New Theories, New Methods’, Nordic Doctoral Education Network in Media and Communication Research workshop at the University of Helsinki, August 15-16, 2007.
‘The Organization of Dissent’, presented at New York State Communications Associations conference ‘Communicating Dissent’, October 20-22, 2006 [available here].
‘The return to tradition and implosion of ATTAC in Denmark ‘, presented at ‘Critical Themes in Media Studies’ at New School University , and in a revised edition at ‘Media, Culture, and the Politics of Small Things’, New School for Social Research, May 7, 2006 [available here].
‘Det epistemologiske syndefald – et sekulært skred i betingelserne for det transcendentales politik – reformation, oplysning, revolution (1517-1848)’, presented at ‘Samfundsvidenskabelige Studerendes Konference 2005′, Roskilde Univeristy.
‘Den diskursive konstitution af Jessica Lynch-sagen’ presented at a MODINET conference ‘Media Coverage of the 2003 Iraq War’, University of Copenhagen , November 17-18, 2004.
‘The case of Jessica Lynch - propaganda politics and resistance in hypermedia’, presented at the ‘5th annual Graduate Conference in Political Theory’, University of Essex , UK , May 7-8, 2004.
‘Power and Principle’, table presentation at a British International Studies Association working group meeting at Cambridge University , October 18, 2003.
