Who Are 'We' Anyway? Republicanism and Self-Emancipation

Bascara’s republicanism is distinctive in its concern with self-emancipation
from domination and oppression and, I argue, marks a welcome radicalisation of
contemporary republican political thought on the issue. Where contemporary
republicans sometimes pursue a commitment to self-emancipation, they tend to do so by asking how 'we' can help 'them' free themselves from various kinds of epistemic barriers standing in the way of recognising and fighting that oppression – a kind of education in freedom from above. At its worst, this leads to cultural imperialism, and an unthinking defence of the status quo. Bascara’s doctoral work, in contrast, starts from the position of the oppressed – how we can free ourselves of those epistemic barriers – and in doing so explores neglected but important questions of collective self-education and self-determination.