Hyperpolitics: extreme politicisation without political consequences

• Department of History

Organised by the Intellectual History Working Group, this event features a presentation by Anton Jäger (Oxford University).

Anton Jäger’s concept of ‘hyperpolitics’ describes the paradoxical state of affairs today, in which politicisation seemingly has few political consequences. After the post-historical quiet of the 1990s and the false promise of millennial technocracy, open contest has once again taken center stage. Throughout the 2010s, protests, riots, and uprisings drew citizens from their couches into the streets, while social media spilled across the boundaries of both public and private life. These actions have politicised ever more aspects of our contemporary daily lives and have lowered the barriers to political participation. Yet this surge of activism has rarely solidified into lasting forms of collective organisation—political parties, trade unions, and civic groups continue to decline, even as declarations of commitment multiply. In this event, Anton Jäger will discuss the possibilities to break out of this paradox by creating a politicisation that bears political fruit.

Anton Jäger is a historian of political thought and lecturer at the University of Oxford. His main area of study is the interrelation between capitalism and democracy, or the question of how capitalism both enables and constrains political thinking and acting. He has published on a wide range of topics in popular and academic outlets ,ranging from the history of American populism to basic income. In February 2026, Jäger’s book on ‘Hyperpolitics’ that deals with the downfalls of contemporary politicisation will be published at Verso Books.