When Deliberation Breaks: Feminist Ethics as Democratic Innovation in Encounters with the Far Right

This article examines what it means to deliberate with people whose far-right views are not only objectionable but deeply disturbing – views that unsettle one’s own moral bearings and demand reflection on how such worldviews have taken shape alongside one's own. Drawing on feminist ethics of care and Judith Butler’s work on relational responsibility, the paper approaches this dilemma as a question of democratic communication rather than simply polarization. I consider whether democratic innovation might be understood as small, tentative ways of speaking that anticipate the world we hope to inhabit, rather than institutional strategies aimed at correcting misinformation or repairing ideological distance. Existing deliberative theories often treat talk as a medium for reason-giving among equals; here I explore what happens when conversations fail, when the encounter is marked by vulnerability, fear, or ethical rupture. Rather than advocating limitless empathy, I suggest that a care-ethical stance would be creating spaces for all participants – including oneself – to reflect on complicity, harm, and the conditions for shared democratic life.