Russian invasion of Ukraine Discussion

Russian invasion of Ukraine Discussion
1.    You can compare and contrast the arguments of Arendt and one of the other philosophers we have covered in this class. For example, maybe you want to contrast Arendt and Foucault, or Arendt and Benjamin.
2.    You can critically engage one of the authors’ arguments.
1.    Build on your close reading midterm paper.
2.    Focus on the real-world implications of the argument/critique
1.    You can compare and contrast the arguments of Arendt and one of the other philosophers we have covered in this class. For example, maybe you want to contrast Arendt and Foucault, or Arendt and Benjamin.
2.    You can critically engage one of the authors’ arguments.
1.    Build on your close reading midterm paper.
2.    Focus on the real-world implications of the argument/critique
1.    You can compare and contrast the arguments of Arendt and one of the other philosophers we have covered in this class. For example, maybe you want to contrast Arendt and Foucault, or Arendt and Benjamin.
2.    You can critically engage one of the authors’ arguments.
1.    Build on your close reading midterm paper.
2.    Focus on the real-world implications of the argument/critique
1.    You can compare and contrast the arguments of Arendt and one of the other philosophers we have covered in this class. For example, maybe you want to contrast Arendt and Foucault, or Arendt and Benjamin.
2.    You can critically engage one of the authors’ arguments.
1.    Build on your close reading midterm paper.
2.    Focus on the real-world implications of the argument/critique
1.    You can compare and contrast the arguments of Arendt and one of the other philosophers we have covered in this class. For example, maybe you want to contrast Arendt and Foucault, or Arendt and Benjamin.
2.    You can critically engage one of the authors’ arguments.
1.    Build on your close reading midterm paper.
2.    Focus on the real-world implications of the argument/critique
3.    Select a contemporary event and show what the author’s critique would be.
1.    For this paper you must select a contemporary event, e.g., the Belarus protests, the rise of right-wing populism, or Kazakhstan’s political transition, and analyze it through an Arendtian lens. To effectively develop this paper, you will need to a) identify the key issue at stake; b) clearly articulate the Arendtian significance of the issue (i.e., you need to explain the part of Arendt’s political theory that is relevant to the issue at hand); c) explain how the current event you have selected embodies the issue; and d) provide thoughtful, critical analysis.
I got this feedback for my first research question: The thesis needs a bit of work. Remember, Benjamin was trying to escape the framework of “law-preserving violence.” It was a problem. He did not think that it was justified. He pointed out this form of violence to show the interminable cycle of violence that he was trying to escape by way of divine violence. Now, you can say that in invading Ukraine, Russia was employing “law-making violence.” They are legislating on the spot, so to speak.
You need to be clear because Benjamin’s framework, while similar in some respects to Arendt, is very different. Benjamin is trying to escape violence once and for all whereas Arendt seeks to ban violence only from political founding and the operational logic of politics. Arendt still believes that violence will be necessary for things like self-defense. As a product of a polity’s judgment, it is neither law-making nor law preserving.
This all needs to be much clearer. These arguments are not directly linked to the main arguments you establish. In fact, we do not really have a good enough framework to make sense of these categories. It is not clear how Arendt or Benjamin’s categories relate to the arguments you establish…