Contemporary Political Studies

Contemporary Political Studies

Political Myths and Emancipatory Politics: A Comparative Analysis of the Perspectives of Habermas, Blumenberg, Lévi-Strauss, and Barthes

Articles in Press

Document Type : .

Authors
Matin Anjomrooz 1
Mohammad Khezri 2
1 Department of Political Science, Faculty of Humanities, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran.
2 PhD student in Political Science, Public Policy, Faculty of Law, Theology and Political Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
10.30465/cps.2025.52580.3597
Abstract
Political myths, as symbolic narratives that shape collective imagination and resist critique, play a dual role in contemporary politics: they can be tools for emancipation or obstacles to freedom. Their significance lies in their impact on political mobilization and collective identity formation, particularly in confronting phenomena like populism. The central question of this article is whether the inherent ambiguity of myths aligns with the goals of emancipatory politics. Employing a comparative-analytical method, this study examines the perspectives of Habermas, Blumenberg, Lévi-Strauss, and Barthes through their works. It first analyzes each thinker’s theory and then proposes a hybrid approach by comparing their strengths and weaknesses. Habermas views myths as barriers to rationality, Blumenberg as sources of creativity, Lévi-Strauss as universal structures, and Barthes as ideological tools. The key contribution is a hybrid framework that integrates rational critique, creativity, structural analysis, and semiotic vigilance to not only critique myths but also reconstruct them in a liberating manner, offering a practical strategy for contemporary politics.
Keywords
Political myths
emancipatory politics
Jürgen Habermas
Hans Blumenberg
Claude Lévi-Strauss
Roland Barthes
Subjects
Contemporary Political Studies

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 03 September 2025