[...]... as they can help us reflect about general problems With these brief methodological considerations in mind, let me now set out the main issues raised by the hijab controversy Political Philosophy, Social Theory, and Critical Republicanism 7 Republicanism, Laïcité, and the Hijab Controversy The law of 15 March 2004 stipulates that ‘in primary and secondary public schools, the wearing of signs or clothes... the concept of laïcité (secularism) which—or so I shall argue—played the central justificatory (not only explanatory) role in these debates Comparative political theory has to navigate between these two reductionist approaches and avoid both the Scylla of synthetic 6 Political Philosophy, Social Theory, and Critical Republicanism incomprehension and the Charybdis of analytic mistranslation Because the. .. in Europe).45 Political Philosophy, Social Theory, and Critical Republicanism 11 One distinctive contribution of critical republicanism is to analyse the way in which different kinds of norms (practical, social, and cultural) should be incorporated into contemporary political theory These norms are relevant on the two levels at which the theory operates: substantive and strategic, ideal and practical... on the one hand, or institutional legal norms on the other, critical republicanism enquires into three further dimensions of ‘norms’ which have traditionally been at the centre of critical social theory, from Karl Marx to Pierre Bourdieu and Jürgen Habermas.33 These concern, respectively, the relationships between ideal norms and practical norms, legal norms and social attitudes, and cultural norms and. .. culture) and seek to formulate a theory of secularism sensitive to the religious non-neutrality of European states and to the need for the recognition of Islam on a par with other religions Third and finally, critical republicans are less deferential than multiculturalists towards the claims of culture, because they harness a critical theory of the social and political construction of difference to the republican... politics and of communitarian social theories in interpreting communitybuilding and social cohesion as primarily social and political, rather than cultural and moral, processes And, finally, it connects with a central commitment of the Left as a political movement, by presenting republican struggles as struggles to reduce the actual gap between Political Philosophy, Social Theory, and Critical Republicanism. .. ‘fact-sensitive’ ideal theory should be.35 My target, rather, is the kind of theory which claims both to identify ideal normative principles and to serve as a practical guide for 10 Political Philosophy, Social Theory, and Critical Republicanism reform in the real world It is the kind of theory, in a word, that consciously or unconsciously confuses ideal and practical norms (ii) Legal norms and social attitudes... CHAPTER 1 Political Philosophy, Social Theory, and Critical Republicanism This book is a critical contribution to normative republican theory It is critical in two distinct, if related, senses First, it is critical of those interpretations of republicanism which justified the ban on the wearing of religious signs (particularly the Muslim hijab) in French schools in March 2004 Second, it is critical of... the one hand, and economic disadvantage and social and geographical segregation on the other I shall argue, generally, that minority demands must be evaluated and responded to against the background of the burdens and benefits entailed by existing institutions and practices While official republicans tend to reject minority demands on the ground that they are in breach of republican principles, and multiculturalists... republican standards is to be encouraged, provided the burdens of reform are shared in a fair, public, and reciprocal way.58 Yet, in another sense, my strategic approach consistently honours and promotes a distinct ideal, both as the means and end of reform This broad but distinctive ideal is that of non-domination 16 Political Philosophy, Social Theory, and Critical Republicanism Critical Republicanism and . me now set out the main issues raised by the hijab controversy. Political Philosophy, Social Theory, and Critical Republicanism 7 Republicanism, Laïcité, and the Hijab Controversy The law of 15. navigate between these two reductionist approaches and avoid both the Scylla of synthetic 6 Political Philosophy, Social Theory, and Critical Republicanism incomprehension and the Charybdis of. bridge the gap between the non-neutrality Political Philosophy, Social Theory, and Critical Republicanism 3 of actual states and their culture-blind normative prescriptions. The second flaw of the