Public Politics as Commons. Investigating the Possibilities of Political Emancipation in the Conditions of Narrowed Civil Liberties in Croatia

U suvremenim teorijama društva sve se češće može naići na tvrdnje da u neoliberalnim uređenjima javni politički prostor nestaje ili se sve više sužava te da se nastoji izgraditi političnost građana utemeljena na patriotizmu i nekritičkom stavu prema radu vlasti. Biopolitičke strukture neoliberalnih režima stvaraju i koriste se nepovoljnim društveno-ekonomskim uvjetima, općom prekarnošću, nestabilnim uvjetima rada i života te komodifikacijom roba i usluga kako bi disciplinirale građane, učinile ih poslušnima i nekritičnima, kako bi upravljale njima. Procesi sužavanja političkih sloboda vidljivi su u brojnim zemljama danas, pa tako i u Hrvatskoj, i to posebno na području reproduktivnih prava i sloboda seksualnih i rodnih manjina. S druge strane, javljaju se novi oblici organiziranja građanstva kojima se pokušava spriječiti sužavanje stečenih građanskih sloboda. U ovom radu autorica se pita može li se nacionalnim politikama seksualnosti pristupiti kao zajedničkom dobru (commons) kojim upravljaju građani. Može li se time postići ono čemu teže queer politike, a to je da se sferu intimnog i seksualnog života građana učini slobodnom od državne i institucionalne kontrole, a da se istovremeno građanstvu vrati političnost?In contemporary social theory, there are often claims that in neoliberal regimes, the public political space is disappearing or is becoming increasingly narrow, and a politically engaged citizenry is being replaced by patriotism and an uncritical stance regarding how governments operate. The biopolitical structures of neoliberal regimes are creating and using unfavourable socio-economic conditions, general precariousness, unstable working and living conditions, and the commodification of goods and services to discipline citizens and make them obedient and uncritical. These processes are visible in many countries today, including Croatia, and particularly in the areas of reproductive rights and freedoms for sexual and gender minorities. However, there are new forms of civic organization that have become a barrier to this narrowing of civil liberties. This paper poses the question of whether we can approach national politics of sexuality as a form of commons that are created and managed by citizens. Can this approach contribute to what queer politics entail? Specifically, can it widen a sphere of sexual and intimate life that is freed from state and institutional control and return political engagement to the citizenry