The Agony of Bodies: Incorporating Passions and Identifications into Democratic Politics

Deliberative models of democracy have often overlooked the significance of bodies. Deliberation is expected to be characterised by inclusive and rational discussion that functions in a neutral and abstract space. This paper draws attention to the bodies between which political interaction always occurs, highlighting the existence of habitual perception, subconscious passion and non-rational identifications. While the affects of bodies may be to foment new coalitions, they also may enflesh differences and aggravate antagonisms. This is not to simplistically reduce individuals to their bodies or to essentialise their identities but rather to emphasise, in line with political agonism, that bodies have 'sticky' and unpredictable affects for political interaction. Using Merleau-Ponty's notion of incorporated knowledge and Mouffe's theory of agonism, this paper argues that bodies provide limitations, capacities and opportunities for democratic politics. It asserts that any democratic innovation needs to incorporate the political creativity and conflict of identifying, passionate, non-rational bodies.