agonism

Agonism is a term used in political theory to describe a family of approaches that conceive politics as a contest of collective passions and interests. It emphasizes dissensus and acknowledges that multiple legitimate voices cannot be fully reconciled into a single consensus. Agonism seeks to manage conflict within the bounds of democracy, rather than eliminate it. A key distinction is between enemies, who seek the destruction of the political community, and adversaries, who oppose policies but remain committed members of the same polity.

The term is strongly associated with Chantal Mouffe and Ernesto Laclau and has been developed into the idea of agonistic pluralism. Democratic politics, in this view, relies on ongoing contestation, and legitimate disagreement is institutionalized through mechanisms such as elections, public debate, and robust civil society. Political identities and loyalties are shaped by conflict, and power is exercised through persuasion, coalition-building, and rhetorical antagonism that keeps channels for contest open.

In pharmacology, agonism denotes the property of a molecule to activate a receptor and produce a biological response, mimicking a natural ligand. An agonist binds to the receptor and stabilizes an active conformation. Distinctions are drawn between full agonists and partial agonists, as well as inverse agonists that reduce constitutive activity.

Critiques argue that agonism can normalize persistent conflict or threaten minority rights if not bounded by constitutional rules. Proponents counter that it preserves pluralism by treating political differences as legitimate rather than suppressible, and that it channels dissent into nonviolent contest rather than coercive violence.