Dialectics of the Pandemic: Between Authoritarianism and Utopia?

The study addresses the question and in relation to the critical theory of the early Frankfurt School, whether the current corona crisis management increases authoritarian desires in society and leads to a new form of ideology that could be called necropolitical populism. Viewed from a dialectic perspective, the global health crisis could also offer an opportunity for political and social learning processes. It is therefore examined to what extent civil society criticism contributes to the development of utopian perspectives. Following Ernst Bloch, it will therefore be discussed whether civil society scandals that negate the status quo are motivated by latent, i.e. not yet conscious, utopian desires, which can be imaginatively translated into manifest, concrete utopias within the framework of artistic forms of action and protest. The study refers to contemporary utopia-theoretical debates in the (queer) feminist context and asks whether ideological invocations can be thwarted by dystopian narratives and artistic performance practices. The transdisciplinary project is located at the intersection of psychoanalysis, cultural theory and political philosophy and aims to develop a psychoanalytically informed critical theory that reflects on the origins and effects of authoritarian populism. At the same time, social dynamics should be looked out for from a dialectic perspective, which could counteract authoritarian developments in society and politics. The initial thesis is that a psychoanalytically informed critical theory can provide information about affective and sometimes unconscious social dynamics that are triggered by the pandemic like no other social theory. The aim of the project is to develop a psychoanalytically inspired critical theory of political desire and subjectivation that can be used in the field of political philosophy and critical cultural research.