Badiou and the State

Badiou's philosophy of the event stands at the centre of his influential theory of revolutionary politics. It has received both much acclaim for the way it rigorously and systematically unfolds as well as heavy criticism because of the philosopher's theoretical and personal radicalism as an outspoken critic of modern western democracies. Does Badiou's oeuvre not undermine the value of political representation via the state? What is left of the state in Badiou's thinking if political and universal "events" by definition bear validity through their illegitimacy, while the state only represents legality? The essays presented in the volume "Badiou and the State," written by internationally outstanding scholars in the field of contemporary political philosophy, are dedicated to these questions, which Badiou's unique philosophy provokes.