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Hope behind the critique of grand narratives of collective salvation: remarks on ‘The power of metaphors and narratives’

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 December 2020

Guilherme Vasconcelos Vilaça Open the ORCID record for Guilherme Vasconcelos Vilaça [Opens in a new window]
Guilherme Vasconcelos Vilaça*
Affiliation:
Law School, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM), Ciudad de México, Mexico
*
Corresponding author. E-mail: Guilherme.Vasconcelos@itam.mx
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Abstract

Kratochwil criticizes two important teleological global narratives of universal progress – Luhmannian systems theory and jus cogens – and defends the need for a non-ideal and situated approach to law and politics. Despite the cogency of Kratochwil's analysis, why should we place our hope in his pragmatic program given the complexity of actual decision-making? This paper shows that more needs to be said about the role of hope grounding Kratochwil's account. Which hopes are hopeless, and which warranted? Why should we care and ‘go on’, choosing to be prudential and political rather than focusing on one's inner development or pleasure?

Keywords

Actionhopejus cogensnarrativespracticeprogress
Type
Symposium: In the Midst of Theory and Practice: Edited by Hannes Peltonen and Knut Traisbach
Information
International Theory , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , November 2021 , pp. 552 - 559
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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