Arendt again?

Abstract

In this Editorial, Raynova responds to the question put to her: Why return to Arendt’s work yet again when it has already been thoroughly chewed over? She begins by charting the changing fortunes of Arendt’s reception, showing how her writings have been repeatedly rediscovered, each time provoking intense controversy. This history reveals a body of work that remains deeply polarizing, having oscillated persistently between the extremes of glorification and repudiation.

 Raynova points to several factors that account for these recurrent shifts in reception. They include the controversial nature of the issues and questions Arendt addressed, many of which remain contentious to this day, as well as the inherent ambiguities of her central concepts and positions, which have lent themselves to a broad spectrum of interpretations—and, at times, misinterpretations. Yet Raynova emphasizes that the purpose of this issue on Arendt is not to revisit these debates for their own sake. Rather, it seeks to bring some of Arendt’s questions into dialogue with new political and axiological contexts, taking her work as a point of departure for further inquiry. In this sense, the aim is not merely to return to Arendt, but to move beyond her through the very act of engaging with her thought.