Bogdana Koljević Griffith: The eurasian project of dialogue a what is left of dia-logos in the west?

Speaker: Bogdana Koljević Griffith

Institute for Political Studies, Belgrade, Serbia

Senior Research Fellow

Topic: The eurasian project of dialogue a what is left of dia-logos in the west?

Abstract

The article outlines how the project of Eurasia in terms of contemporary political philosophy can be comprehended as a par excellence project of dialogue, i.e., an ontological and existential perspective of an open horizon and communication. Therefore, it primarily addresses the concept of Eurasia as a philosophical topos and its potential to become the proper name of the world in the making. Moreover, the emphasis that Eurasia structurally places on both distinctiveness, on the one hand, as well as infinity and multiplicity, on the other, reveals its particular character and difference in comparison to numerous seemingly similar projects. In the second part, the author undertakes a rethinking of the issue of the clash of civilizations and analyzes whether it appears as an inevitable outcome in the new multipolarity of the 21st century. Or, more precisely, the key philosophical argumentation pro et contra in this regard is presented with the conclusion that the response foremost depends on the articulation of what is left of dia-logos in the contemporary West, i.e., especially in various European states, nations, and societies. It is argued that the decline of the West en generale refers exactly to its neoliberal and postmodern abandonment of its own traditions and, most notably, antiquity, Christianity, and modernity. In this respect, the renewal of dia-logos in Europe appears to be the ultimate task of its subjectivity and sovereignty and is, therefore, the matter of its people. The democratic project of Eurasia, furthermore, in itself carries, although is not limited to, a European perspective per se.