Common Arendtian Counciliarism

Visions and Care for Democracy

About this event

Verona, 25-27 June 2025

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Hannah Arendt’s death, this conference aims to explore a largely overlooked theme in Arendtian political thought: the proposal of a federal council system. Her vision is primarily examined in On Revolution, where Arendt’s famous comparison between the American and French Revolutions culminates in a celebration of the rare historical appearance of such system, reflecting her “romantic sympathy” for it, while also making clear the e ort she makes to envision new local, participatory, and radically democratic institutions.

By highlighting a political constellation of events ranging from the Athenian city-state and medieval municipalities to the Roman Republic, Thomas Jefferson’s townships, the Paris Commune of 1871, Rosa Luxemburg’s council communist tradition, the establishment of Jewish kibbutzim in the early 1930s and 1940s, concluding with the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, the reason why Arendt presents these historical examples to such an extent can be traced to the desire to advocate for a possible rehabilitation of a participatory, and radically active democracy which would correspond with democracy’s nature herself.

While Arendt critiques modern representative politics, which are based on the party system and the principle of sovereignty, the council system works as a counter-argument that envisions a democratic body politic grounded on political equality, plurality, and more importantly, on the civic engagement and shared deliberation of the people in the public sphere. In this context, the proposal of the council system not only puts the entire conceptual framework of Arendt’s political thought into a different perspective—such as her notions of foundation, constitution, institution, revolution, the promise of politics and freedom, and her distinction between the political and the socio-economic realms—but also raises the question of whether this council tradition still operates as an alternative to our current neoliberal scenario.

The event will take place at “Polo Didattico Zanotto”, located at Viale Università, 4, Verona. To view the full program, visit: https://sites.dsu.univr.it/arendt/arendtian-counciliarism-visions-and-care-for-democracy-verona-25-27-june-2025/