The self and the other in democracy: Exploring the opposite of identity through the politics of becoming

Hans Asenbaum

doi:10.1080/13698230.2025.2560742

The self and the other in democracy: Exploring the opposite of identity through the politics of becoming

Hans Asenbaum

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Abstract

Democratic politics requires the democratic subject’s identifiability to enable
accountability. This requirement, stabilizing identities’ classificatory categories
of race, sexuality, class and gender, entails essentialist tendencies and invites
stereotyping. This essay conjures an imaginary of a democratic politics beyond
recognition, a democracy powered by the actions of perceptible yet unidentifiable subjects. This form of democratic engagement allows the subject to show up
*any way*, a concept signifying the agency but also the confusion of unrecognizability. In doing so, the essay expands the politics of becoming from democratizing the construction of the self to cultivating democratic relations with the other.
It makes the case for (1) unrecognizing, (2) sustaining and (3) co-constructing the
other in order to (4) generate ‘other spaces’ or democratic heterotopias.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-12
Number of pages	12
Journal	Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/13698230.2025.2560742
Publication status	Published - 2025

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abstract = "Democratic politics requires the democratic subject{\textquoteright}s identifiability to enable accountability. This requirement, stabilizing identities{\textquoteright} classificatory categories of race, sexuality, class and gender, entails essentialist tendencies and invites stereotyping. This essay conjures an imaginary of a democratic politics beyond recognition, a democracy powered by the actions of perceptible yet unidentifiable subjects. This form of democratic engagement allows the subject to show up *any way*, a concept signifying the agency but also the confusion of unrecognizability. In doing so, the essay expands the politics of becoming from democratizing the construction of the self to cultivating democratic relations with the other. It makes the case for (1) unrecognizing, (2) sustaining and (3) co-constructing the other in order to (4) generate {\textquoteleft}other spaces{\textquoteright} or democratic heterotopias.",

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The self and the other in democracy: Exploring the opposite of identity through the politics of becoming

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