Enacting citizenship for the healthy politeia

ABSTRACT In the wake of ‘end of ideology’ predictions of the late twentieth century, nationalist ideologies and discourses have proven strikingly resilient, as have authoritarian regimes relying on nationalism for their legitimacy and power. Meanwhile, so-called liberal political philosophers and theorists who claim commitments to rights and justice make arguments that invigorate nationalist subjectivities at the expense of the rule of law. This essay explains how even those who are critical of nationalist, authoritarian regimes nonetheless use a vocabulary that reinvigorates Jacques Derrida’s ‘sovereign beast’. Insights from Miguel de Cervantes and Franz Kafka are used to amplify Engin Isin’s timely if not urgent arguments on behalf of theorizing citizenship as enactments that are creative, innovative, and autonomous, and not as a status derived from membership. Plato’s views on justice and the ‘healthy politeia’, as well as examples of creativity within existing governments are elucidated to further emphasize the benefits of theorizing new scripts for citizens over proposing new theories for governments.