Reconsidering 'Eastern Europe': Conceptual Exchanges and Political Theory

• In Event: Rethinking Eastern Europe: Dissidents from the Left and the Right

Abstract

The canon of political theory rarely deals with Eastern European (EE) political thought, either as a regional category or in relation to particular thinkers. The omission has to do with both the current focus on historiography, and with the assumptions that underlie political theory methods concerning the creation of a canon. This paper explores how the geopolitical category of EE has imposed a hegemonic interpretation of political thought, relegating EE thinkers to a particular and subaltern niche in European studies. To illustrate the argument, the article briefly invokes a few examples from Eastern European political thought, including Vaclav Havel and Petre Tutea. The discussion is meant to serve as a springboard to propose a reconsideration of both the study of political theory (and its canon) and of the East-West duality as an analytical category.

Author

• Delia Popescu, Le Moyne College