Political resistance in the face of isolation and powerlessness: insights from Hannah Arendt's thought

Abstract

This study aims to examine the relationship between isolation and impotence, as exemplified by the Nazi regime, through the lens of Hannah Arendt’s political thought (1951). The topic is problematized from the premise of the violence inherent in Nazi political practices. In order to grasp this relationship, Arendt's theoretical framework is adopted as the basis for analysis. Accordingly, the central research question is: in what ways does Hannah Arendt’s political thought contribute to overcoming the isolation/impotence dynamic imposed by authoritarian regimes? The general objective of the study is to understand the aforementioned problem. The specific objectives are as follows: (1) to identify the concept of totalitarianism in Arendt’s work; (2) to analyze how the relationship between ideology and terror contributes to the construction of isolation and political impotence; and (3) to discuss the concept of political action as a means of breaking with the logic of isolation and impotence. The research is structured as a bibliographic review, drawing primarily on two of Arendt’s major works: The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951) and The Human Condition (1958). The study expects to demonstrate that political action, understood as a constitutive activity of human plurality and public space, is essential for fostering interaction among individuals in a community, thereby counteracting the conditions of political isolation and impotence.