Nonhuman Beings and the Political

This book reveals how animals, plants, technologies, and viruses are reshaping civic life. Blending insights from science, ecology, robotics, and digital culture, this book explores how nonhuman actors are entering the public sphere and transforming ideas of responsibility, solidarity, and participation.

Politics is no longer just about people. In Nonhuman Beings and the Political, Edyta B. Pietrzak reveals how animals, plants, technologies, and even viruses are reshaping civic life and challenging the long held belief that only humans drive political change. Blending insights from science, ecology, robotics, and digital culture and engaging with influential thinkers such as Rosi Braidotti, Jane Bennett, Donna Haraway, Bruno Latour, Michael Marder, María Puig de la Bellacasa and Anna Tsing, Pietrzak shows how nonhuman actors are entering the public sphere and transforming ideas of responsibility, solidarity, and participation. At the same time, she highlights the growing voices of marginalized groups, expanding the boundaries of political community and opening new ways of thinking about justice and collective life. Nonhuman Beings and the Political offers a clear and accessible overview of post anthropocentric theories and their impact on civil society and governance. Both timely and thought provoking, it is essential reading for students and researchers in political science, sociology, philosophy, and related fields seeking to understand how politics is being redefined in the 21st century