Thomás Zicman De Barros
Biographic Data
| ID | 4116201 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Thomás Zicman De Barros |
| GIVEN NAMES | Thomás Zicman |
| FAMILY NAME | De Barros |
| SIGNATURE | DE BARROS T Z |
| AFFILIATIONS | Centre de Recherches Politiques de Sciences Po |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1657-6939 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 30 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2020 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
The polysemy of an empty signifier: The various uses of Ernesto Laclau’s puzzling concept
The concept of empty signifier is possibly the most prominent among those developed by Ernesto Laclau. However, despite its success among discourse theorists, this notion remains puzzling. It has been used in various contexts and different configurations, and has become polysemic. My goal is to attempt to clarify this concept. To do so, my study is divided into two parts. First, I go back to the psychoanalytic concepts that seem to have informed …
From sovereignty to créolisation: Populist strategies and the Mélenchon-Ruffin split. A response to Rojas-Andrés, Mazzolini, and Custodi
International audience
The transgressive aesthetics of populism
This article consolidates the emerging discursive-performative paradigm in populist studies by presenting the idea of populism as an aesthetic transgression, bridging the gap between discursive and sociocultural-performative strands. The article is broadly inspired by Jacques Rancière’s notion of aesthetics as the ‘partage du sensible’ and critically employs it to understand how populism transgresses the rules establishing what can appear in poli…
The people versus the grandees: The paradox of Claude Lefort’s ‘populism’
In recent decades, Claude Lefort has become a recurring reference point for mainstream authors hostile to populism. This article delves into the paradoxical character of Lefort’s own ‘populism’ to challenge these anti-populist approaches. It explores Lefort’s nuanced stance in which, despite his explicit rejection of populism, he nevertheless embraced social division and the empowerment of the people against the grandees. The analysis is divided …
Populismo, Crise Estética E Massificação: Reflexões Sobre a Transgressão No Lulismo E No Bolsonarismo
Este artigo debate a relação entre populismos e transgressão estética num contexto de massificação, a partir de uma análise do lulismo e do bolsonarismo no Brasil. Dividido em três partes, o artigo a princípio retoma a ideia de Jacques Rancière de estética como 'partilha do sensível' para discutir a conexão entre as performances transgressivas de líderes populistas e a mobilização de setores invisibilizados, frequentemente associados à noção de m…
Populism in Global Perspective: A Performative and Discursive Approach, edited by Pierre Ostiguy, Francisco Panizza, and Benjamin Moffitt
Les différents populismes des Gilets jaunes: Une Approche Psychosociale
Le mouvement des Gilets jaunes a souvent été décrit comme « populiste ». À partir d'une analyse psychosociale, cet article évalue la pertinence du terme et discute de ce que l'expérience des Gilets jaunes apporte aux études sur le populisme. La première partie de l'article présente le mouvement des Gilets jaunes et discute de la justesse d'utiliser le terme de populisme pour le caractériser, en considérant notamment comment diverses approches thé…
Populism: Symptom or sublimation? Reassessing the use of psychoanalytic metaphors
Making Claims with No Subjects: A Reply to Lasse Thomassen
In my reply to Lasse Thomassen’s paper, ‘All Claims Are Representative Claims: Response to Thomás Zicman de Barros’, I try to address two points – one theoretical and one normative – where I think Thomassen ends up misrepresenting my argument. By clarifying these misunderstandings, I hope to find some common ground with Thomassen’s position
Not All Claims Are Representative Claims: Constructing ‘The People’ in Post-Representative Movements
The article argues that the eruption of ‘indignation’ protests after 2011 produced new discourses questioning political representation that challenge one of the most important frameworks of the constructivist turn in democratic theory: Michael Saward’s representative claim. This article analyses these post-representative claims through Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s distinction between Vertretung (or representation as ‘acting for’) and Darstellung …
Desire and Collective Identities: Decomposing Ernesto Laclau's notion of demand
This article argues that Ernesto Laclau’s notion of demand is problematic. By converting a demand into the basic unit of analysis, Laclau inadvertently distances himself from the post-foundational approach that defined his discourse theory. Therefore, for it to be coherent with a discursive approach to social reality, the idea of demand should be decomposed and reevaluated from a psychoanalytic perspective. The article defends the view that Jacqu…
Populismo e Antipopulismo na Política Brasileira: Massas, Lógicas Políticas e Significantes em Disputa
O objetivo do artigo é mostrar que o termo “populismo” se refere tanto a um conceito quanto a um significante presente na disputa política, e que essas dimensões se comunicam. Para tanto, analisamos discursos sobre o populismo no Brasil durante o quarto período republicano produzidos dentro e fora da academia. Argumentamos que as teorias que interpretavam o populismo a partir das noções de bonapartismo e massa emergem quando o termo já era utiliz…
Desire and Collective Identities: Decomposing Ernesto Laclau's notion of demand
This article argues that Ernesto Laclau’s notion of demand is problematic. By converting a demand into the basic unit of analysis, Laclau inadvertently distances himself from the post-foundational approach that defined his discourse theory. Therefore, for it to be coherent with a discursive approach to social reality, the idea of demand should be decomposed and reevaluated from a psychoanalytic perspective. The article defends the view that Jacqu…
Not All Claims Are Representative Claims: Constructing ‘The People’ in Post-Representative Movements
The article argues that the eruption of ‘indignation’ protests after 2011 produced new discourses questioning political representation that challenge one of the most important frameworks of the constructivist turn in democratic theory: Michael Saward’s representative claim. This article analyses these post-representative claims through Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s distinction between Vertretung (or representation as ‘acting for’) and Darstellung …
The transgressive aesthetics of populism
This article consolidates the emerging discursive-performative paradigm in populist studies by presenting the idea of populism as an aesthetic transgression, bridging the gap between discursive and sociocultural-performative strands. The article is broadly inspired by Jacques Rancière’s notion of aesthetics as the ‘partage du sensible’ and critically employs it to understand how populism transgresses the rules establishing what can appear in poli…
Populism: Symptom or sublimation? Reassessing the use of psychoanalytic metaphors
Les différents populismes des Gilets jaunes: Une Approche Psychosociale
Le mouvement des Gilets jaunes a souvent été décrit comme « populiste ». À partir d'une analyse psychosociale, cet article évalue la pertinence du terme et discute de ce que l'expérience des Gilets jaunes apporte aux études sur le populisme. La première partie de l'article présente le mouvement des Gilets jaunes et discute de la justesse d'utiliser le terme de populisme pour le caractériser, en considérant notamment comment diverses approches thé…
From sovereignty to créolisation: Populist strategies and the Mélenchon-Ruffin split. A response to Rojas-Andrés, Mazzolini, and Custodi
International audience
Populismo, Crise Estética E Massificação: Reflexões Sobre a Transgressão No Lulismo E No Bolsonarismo
Este artigo debate a relação entre populismos e transgressão estética num contexto de massificação, a partir de uma análise do lulismo e do bolsonarismo no Brasil. Dividido em três partes, o artigo a princípio retoma a ideia de Jacques Rancière de estética como 'partilha do sensível' para discutir a conexão entre as performances transgressivas de líderes populistas e a mobilização de setores invisibilizados, frequentemente associados à noção de m…
Populismo e Antipopulismo na Política Brasileira: Massas, Lógicas Políticas e Significantes em Disputa
O objetivo do artigo é mostrar que o termo “populismo” se refere tanto a um conceito quanto a um significante presente na disputa política, e que essas dimensões se comunicam. Para tanto, analisamos discursos sobre o populismo no Brasil durante o quarto período republicano produzidos dentro e fora da academia. Argumentamos que as teorias que interpretavam o populismo a partir das noções de bonapartismo e massa emergem quando o termo já era utiliz…
Making Claims with No Subjects: A Reply to Lasse Thomassen
In my reply to Lasse Thomassen’s paper, ‘All Claims Are Representative Claims: Response to Thomás Zicman de Barros’, I try to address two points – one theoretical and one normative – where I think Thomassen ends up misrepresenting my argument. By clarifying these misunderstandings, I hope to find some common ground with Thomassen’s position
Not All Claims Are Representative Claims: Constructing ‘The People’ in Post-Representative Movements
The article argues that the eruption of ‘indignation’ protests after 2011 produced new discourses questioning political representation that challenge one of the most important frameworks of the constructivist turn in democratic theory: Michael Saward’s representative claim. This article analyses these post-representative claims through Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s distinction between Vertretung (or representation as ‘acting for’) and Darstellung …
Desire and Collective Identities: Decomposing Ernesto Laclau's notion of demand
This article argues that Ernesto Laclau’s notion of demand is problematic. By converting a demand into the basic unit of analysis, Laclau inadvertently distances himself from the post-foundational approach that defined his discourse theory. Therefore, for it to be coherent with a discursive approach to social reality, the idea of demand should be decomposed and reevaluated from a psychoanalytic perspective. The article defends the view that Jacqu…
Populism: Symptom or sublimation? Reassessing the use of psychoanalytic metaphors
Populism in Global Perspective: A Performative and Discursive Approach, edited by Pierre Ostiguy, Francisco Panizza, and Benjamin Moffitt
Les différents populismes des Gilets jaunes: Une Approche Psychosociale
Le mouvement des Gilets jaunes a souvent été décrit comme « populiste ». À partir d'une analyse psychosociale, cet article évalue la pertinence du terme et discute de ce que l'expérience des Gilets jaunes apporte aux études sur le populisme. La première partie de l'article présente le mouvement des Gilets jaunes et discute de la justesse d'utiliser le terme de populisme pour le caractériser, en considérant notamment comment diverses approches thé…
The people versus the grandees: The paradox of Claude Lefort’s ‘populism’
In recent decades, Claude Lefort has become a recurring reference point for mainstream authors hostile to populism. This article delves into the paradoxical character of Lefort’s own ‘populism’ to challenge these anti-populist approaches. It explores Lefort’s nuanced stance in which, despite his explicit rejection of populism, he nevertheless embraced social division and the empowerment of the people against the grandees. The analysis is divided …
Populismo, Crise Estética E Massificação: Reflexões Sobre a Transgressão No Lulismo E No Bolsonarismo
Este artigo debate a relação entre populismos e transgressão estética num contexto de massificação, a partir de uma análise do lulismo e do bolsonarismo no Brasil. Dividido em três partes, o artigo a princípio retoma a ideia de Jacques Rancière de estética como 'partilha do sensível' para discutir a conexão entre as performances transgressivas de líderes populistas e a mobilização de setores invisibilizados, frequentemente associados à noção de m…
The polysemy of an empty signifier: The various uses of Ernesto Laclau’s puzzling concept
The concept of empty signifier is possibly the most prominent among those developed by Ernesto Laclau. However, despite its success among discourse theorists, this notion remains puzzling. It has been used in various contexts and different configurations, and has become polysemic. My goal is to attempt to clarify this concept. To do so, my study is divided into two parts. First, I go back to the psychoanalytic concepts that seem to have informed …
From sovereignty to créolisation: Populist strategies and the Mélenchon-Ruffin split. A response to Rojas-Andrés, Mazzolini, and Custodi
International audience
The transgressive aesthetics of populism
This article consolidates the emerging discursive-performative paradigm in populist studies by presenting the idea of populism as an aesthetic transgression, bridging the gap between discursive and sociocultural-performative strands. The article is broadly inspired by Jacques Rancière’s notion of aesthetics as the ‘partage du sensible’ and critically employs it to understand how populism transgresses the rules establishing what can appear in poli…
Philosophy (10 works) · Law (9 works) · Political science (9 works) · Politics (9 works) · Populism, Right-Wing Movements (8 works) · Epistemology (7 works) · Philosophy (7 works) · Law (6 works) · Populism (6 works) · Sociology (6 works)