Nietzsche, Agonistic Politics, and Spiritual Enmity

• Published date: 01 March 2020
• Author: Paul E. Kirkland
• DOI: 10.1177/1065912919868772
• Date: 01 March 2020
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912919868772

Political Research Quarterly

2020, Vol. 73(1) 3 –14

© 2019 University of Utah

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/1065912919868772

journals.sagepub.com/home/prq

Article

Nietzsche’s thought, although frequently understood to

be antidemocratic, provides a rich resource for thinking

about contest in political life. His agonistic thought chal-

lenges democratic assumptions and reveals tensions

between pluralistic and democratic aims. Scholars have

widely debated the political character of Nietzsche’s

work, some finding ways to use his work in service of

democratic politics, others finding in him deep antipathy

to democracy and commitment to radically hierarchical

politics. Many who have brought resources for demo-

cratic politics to light have emphasized the agonistic ele-

ments of his political thinking (Hatab 1999; Owen 1995,

2002), whereas those who emphasize his inegalitarian

commitments have frequently presented his thoughts as

demanding a singular aristocratic hierarchy (Appel 1999;

Detwiler 1990; Dombowsky 2004). In contrast to both of

these camps, I will argue that the aristocratic and agonis-

tic elements of his thought are closely connected. This

paper presents two different kinds of contest as crucial to

Nietzsche’s political thought, one among noble faiths and

the other between political and philosophical life. The

tragic conflict between nobility and the position of the

hermit, as Nietzsche presents it in Beyond Good and Evil,

reveals a contest between politics and philosophy behind

his admiration for a politics of noble contest. Rather than

either a singular hierarchy or democratized contestability,

Nietzsche presents noble conflict as the core of agonistic

politics. He thereby offers what he sees as an alternative

to the philosophical politics of settled unified authority1

and reveals the deepest contest as one between politics

and philosophy.

Nietzsche and Agonistic Politics

Nietzsche’s frequent praise for agonistic relations2 has

provided a rich resource for considering his contribution

to political thought. In this article, I argue that Nietzsche’s

aristocratic politics can be understood as promoting the

sorts of contest he identifies with a noble spirit rather than

a settled comprehensive authority, leaving something that

is neither democratic nor tyrannical. Those who have

proffered a democratic reading of Nietzsche’s politics

have frequently drawn from the agonistic elements of this

thought,3 whereas scholars who have insisted that

Nietzsche adheres to a radically aristocratic politics have

generally found singular exploitative hierarchy to be his

preferred model of politics.

868772PRQXXX10.1177/1065912919868772Political Research QuarterlyKirkland

research-article2019

1Carthage College, Kenosha, WI, USA

Corresponding Author:

Paul E. Kirkland, Carthage College, 2001 Alford Park, Kenosha, WI

53140, USA.

Email: pkirkland@carthage.edu

Nietzsche, Agonistic Politics, and Spiritual

Enmity

Paul E. Kirkland1

Abstract

This article examines the agonistic elements of Nietzsche’s thought in light of theorists who have sought to develop an

agonistic democratic theory that would challenge democratic theory oriented by consensus. It argues that Nietzsche’s

praise for a spiritualization of enmity provides support for a politics that embraces contest rather than seeking

the elimination of conflict through either consensus or domination. Yet, unlike contemporary democratic theorists,

Nietzsche’s view challenges egalitarian commitments by presenting the sources of such conflicts in noble faiths. Instead

of following the practice of many scholars in identifying the agonistic with its utility for democratic politics, the paper

examines Nietzsche’s view of the underlying sources of contest, including important tensions between theory and

practice. The paper presents contest among noble faiths as crucial to Nietzsche’s political thought while highlighting a

contest between politics and philosophy behind it. He thereby offers what he sees as an alternative to the philosophical

politics of settled unified authority and reveals the deepest contest as one between politics and philosophy.

Keywords

Nietzsche, agonism, tragedy, aristocracy, tyranny, democracy