Ernesto Laclau’s theoretical perspective in the political analysis of discourse – modern or postmodern?

Abstract

This paper investigates the theoretical position of the current known as “Political Analysis of Discourse” in regard to the debate Modernity – Postmodernity. To this effect, the main aspects of the debate as it took place during the 80`s are displayed, in order to present then Ernesto Lauclau’s particular outlook by showing the inflections and tensions that allow us to follow his thinking towards an intermediate area between the modern and the postmodern. Intermediate means in this case that Lauclau will tend to recover the emancipatory modern project, albeit marking at the same time discursive boundaries and risks, advocating the need for an epistemic subversion while avoiding the exacerbations of the postmodern discourse.