Political (self-)education and the neo-republican perspective

Abstract

In recent years, political theory has benefited from a neo-republican perspective that brought to the fore the conception of a ‘republican democracy’ which assumes a robust public sphere, civic involvement, and vigilance, as well as a neo-Roman conception of liberty understood as the absence of arbitrary power. Neo-republicanism, however, has not engaged much in a wider consideration of the importance of political education in democratic societies. This article presents an approach to political education that can be inspiring for both substantive and instrumental neo-republican political theories as well as democratic theory and practice. It considers political education as primarily self-education, a process of learning that aims at greater political awareness, empowerment, and better judgment on political issues. As such, political (self-)education can be seen as liberating and as a necessary condition of active political involvement, community service, citizenship, civic intelligence and political liberty.