From Neo-Republicanism to Critical Republicanism

The aim of this chapter is to show how what I call critical republicanism can be developed by rethinking the neo-republican theory of domination on the basis of a more continental line of republicanism. On the one hand, I argue that with regard to all three of the most important elements of a theory of non-domination, its normative core, the conception of domination, and its institutional implications, Pettit’s neo-republicanism does contain a powerful critical potential, too easily dismissed by some of his critics. On the other hand, I show how this critical potential can be strengthened by reconceptualizing each of the elements of his theory of domination from a perspective inspired by the Kantian line of republican thought and contemporary critical theory.