New Books in Critical Theory Sari Hanafi, "Against Symbolic Liberalism: A Plea for Dialogical Sociology" (Liverpool UP, 2025)
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Mar 11, 2026 Sari Hanafi, Professor of Sociology and Director at AUB, and former ISA president, critiques how proclaimed liberal values can become politically illiberal. He outlines symbolic liberalism, its role in inflating rights and narrowing dialogue, and argues for a dialogical turn that reintroduces neighbor, shared goods, religious language, and practical reforms to rebuild common civic space.
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Symbolic Liberalism Narrows Debate
- Symbolic liberalism is a contradiction where people endorse classical liberal rights yet act illiberally toward disagreement.
- Sari Hanafi links this to knowledge-economy actors who narrow debate and inflate universal rights while excluding alternative views.
When Thin Liberalism Becomes Thick Coercion
- The danger is when Rawlsian 'thin' liberal theory becomes a 'thick' imposition, smuggling particular moral worldviews into universal justice.
- Hanafi argues this shift individualizes the good and erases colonial positionalities, producing rights inflation and deculturation.
Reembed Liberalism Through Neighborly Ties
- Rebalance liberalism by reintegrating community through concepts like neighbor, shared culture, and the common good.
- Hanafi uses the neighbor as a moral test that extends regard beyond narrow identity markers like race or lifestyle.
