Book presentation - Johannes Agnoli or: Subversion as science

In the beginning was subversion. In German, the term has a negative connotation, but for Johannes Agnoli (1925-2003) it was the epitome of liberation - and he dedicated himself to this as a professor of political science at the Otto Suhr Institute in Berlin. Agnoli's best-known book was published in 1967: "Transformation of Democracy", one of the most important post-war writings critical of parliamentarianism, a "theoretical milestone" (Joachim Hirsch). "No freedom for those who make use of it" was how the journalist Sebastian Haffner summarized Agnoli's analysis of the techniques of domination against "subversives" in a review in 1967 - the anti-authoritarians of 1968 were to feel it for themselves. Agnoli interpreted the constitution of the Federal Republic as a class compromise, but one that was not open to a socialist project, as his colleague Wolfgang Abendroth believed, but one that was primarily intended to keep the masses out of power. It is precisely this critical perspective that makes his work on parliamentary democracy so relevant in times of crisis, authoritarianism and fascist danger.

Michael Hewener is a political scientist and has co-edited the new edition of Agnoli's "The State of Capital" (Schmetterling Verlag) and added a new foreword. In Kassel, he will be presenting his book "Johannes Agnoli oder: Subversion als Wissenschaft", which was published by Dietz Verlag in 2025. The biographical miniature provides an insight into Agnoli's life and offers a good introduction to his thinking - also thanks to some original texts, which are now available in printed form for the first time.