Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Prerogative in Common: On the Emancipatory Potential of Radical Mutuality Amid Sovereign Decisionism
Date of Degree
9-2025
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program
Political Science
Advisor
Leonard C. Feldman
Subject Categories
Civic and Community Engagement | Emergency and Disaster Management | Law and Politics | Law and Society | Models and Methods | Other Political Science | Political Theory | Politics and Social Change | Rule of Law | Social and Cultural Anthropology | Social Justice | Theory and Philosophy | Theory, Knowledge and Science
Keywords
mutual aid, sovereignty, emergency, state of exception, democracy, crisis of modernity
Abstract
In times of crisis, liberal democracies resort to authoritarian measures that undermine core democratic values. Dominant thought in the study of emergency-era law and politics appeal to a dichotomy of normal and exceptional times, to critique or justify the turn to sovereign decisionism. While this strategy seems clear-cut, the persistence of exceptional spaces and the crises that supposedly generate them challenge existing frameworks by blurring the line between norm and exception. This project explores the prospect of radical mutual aid, as a transformative response to the enduring crisis of modernity.
Recommended Citation
Builes, Matthew, "Prerogative in Common: On the Emancipatory Potential of Radical Mutuality Amid Sovereign Decisionism" (2025). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6478
Included in
Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Emergency and Disaster Management Commons, Law and Politics Commons, Law and Society Commons, Models and Methods Commons, Other Political Science Commons, Political Theory Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Rule of Law Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Social Justice Commons, Theory and Philosophy Commons, Theory, Knowledge and Science Commons
