Okända vissheter. Slavoj Zizek om den ideologiska fantasin.
Psychoanalysis,Slavoj Zizek,Ideology,Fantasy,September 11,War on Terror,Social sciencesSamhällsvetenskaperSocial Sciences
This essay focuses on psychoanalytic theory and its relevance for political studies. It especially draws attention to the conceptual toolkit developed by Jacques Lacan and the way that it serves as the starting point for Slavoj Zizek´s approach to the theory of ideology. One important point of this approach is that the power of an ideology is not primarily related to the ideas or worldview it expresses but rather to the enjoyment it provides the subject with. This enjoyment is obscene in the sense that it forms the necessary, but seldom acknowledged, supplement to public values. Fantasy is a major source for this kind of enjoyment. The establishment of enjoyable fantasies guarentees that the contingent nature of a hegemonic ideology remains hidden. To provide a clearer picture of how fantasy works in the service of ideology the second part of this essay depicts Zizek´s interpretation of September 11 and the US war on terror. The discussion is completed with Cynthia Weber´s queer-reading of the meaning attributed to September 11 in US media, which also give emphasis to the role of collective fantasies.