New Translation: Rúrion Melo on Subaltern Counterpublics

We are happy to publish the newly translated article by Rúrion Melo “Counterpublics and the New Conflicts of the Public Sphere”. Rúrion Melo is a Professor of Political Science at the University of São Paulo (USP), a researcher of the Brazilian Center for Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP), and part of the CritUP network. His work focuses on critical theory—with an emphasis on Habermas and Honneth—as well as Marxism, theories of democracy and the public sphere. Currently, he is working on critical race theory and preparing a publication on the subject. In this article, originally published in 2021, Melo revisits Fraser’s concept of subaltern counterpublics for contemporary critical theory, rethinking it against the backdrop of recent Brazilian history and the rise of authoritarianism.