Planetary Politics
Arendt, Anarchy and the Climate Crisis
Published on 31. May 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
224 pages
978-1-3995-4497-9 (ISBN)
Description
Critical political theory has been transformed since the declaration of the Anthropocene in the early 2000s. However, a substantive account of a planetary politics, which begins by understanding politics as planetary - as opposed to politics applied to the planet - is yet to be developed. Planetary Politics: Arendt, Anarchy and the Climate Crisis offers precisely such an account of political theory. Rereading the key works of Hannah Arendt, it suggests that Arendt was a theorist of the planet and that claims of hers, such as the fact that 'plurality is the law of the earth,' have been radically overlooked. Recovering these moments in Arendt's writing, this book makes the case for a planetary anarchism and the restaging of revolutionary politics.
Reviews / Votes
Planetary Politics offers a highly sophisticated and compelling reading of Arendt as a planetary thinker. Based on Arendt's own phenomenological claim that human beings are born into collectivities that pre-exist and then survive their own life, Benjamin adds our geographic location on one vulnerable planet to the mix. This is a treasure trove of a book that does a deep dive into a thinker about whom you may think there is not a lot more to say. With Benjamin's reading, Arendt leaps into full vivid relevance and power, making her speak both to our own time and to the planet's future. -- James Martel, San Francisco State University These are darkening times for humanity and the planet. If there is to be hope, it has to be earned. In this indispensable book, Benjamin earns the right to hope by offering an unflinching look at where we are and taking up the collective work of imagining new histories of the future. -- Anne O'Byrne, Stony Brook UniversityMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 233 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
350 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-3995-4497-9 (9781399544979)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Lucy Benjamin is a British Academy Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh
Content
Introduction: Locating the Climate Crisis - The Inter Esse Place of Politics
1. Dwelling in Place with Heidegger: The Origin of the Artwork and the Fourfold
2. Benjamin's Political Theology: A Messianic Project in Earthly Life
3. Confronting Arendtian (An)archism: Natality Despite the American Revolution
4. The Anthropocene or History: Violence, Myths, and Beginnings
5. Overcoming Predictability: Rethinking Future Fates
Conclusion: Amor Mundi in/of Crisis
Bibliography
1. Dwelling in Place with Heidegger: The Origin of the Artwork and the Fourfold
2. Benjamin's Political Theology: A Messianic Project in Earthly Life
3. Confronting Arendtian (An)archism: Natality Despite the American Revolution
4. The Anthropocene or History: Violence, Myths, and Beginnings
5. Overcoming Predictability: Rethinking Future Fates
Conclusion: Amor Mundi in/of Crisis
Bibliography