Craig Browne is an associate professor at The University of Sydney. He works in the area of critical social theory. His research into intersubjectivity, creative democracy, social change, contestation, global modernity and social and political imaginaries systematically revises the philosophy of praxis. He is the author of Critical Social Theory, Sage; and Habermas and Giddens on Praxis and Modernity: A Constructive Comparison, Anthem; and co-author of Taylor and Politics: A Critical Introduction, Edinburgh University Press. He co-edited Violence in France and Australia: Disorder in the Postcolonial Welfare State, SUP, and a special issue of Social Epistemology on conceptualizing the political imaginary.

'Social Theory and the Political Imaginary will encourage – even force – Sociologists and Social Theorists to think about modernity in new and more expansive ways. The book is an excellent example of contemporary social theory, with its conceptual insights concerning the intersection and tensions between social imaginaries, especially those of democratic polities, nation states and capitalistic forms.' Honorary Professor Jocelyn Pixley, Macquarie University 'This is an especially important book for contemporary critical theory. Its contributions unfold on multiple layers that cut across current relations of domination as well as quests for emancipation. Browne encourages us to focus on the complex dynamics, contradictions, crises, and possibilities of our political imaginaries. By engaging with the reconfiguration of political imaginaries, social theory can make a key contribution to critically understanding the historical character of the relationships that define us. Browne’s book confronts us with matters that are unavoidable today and his own proposals are based on interrogations of theories sensitive to these practical concerns.' Alejandro Bialakowsky, Professor and Researcher of Sociological Theory, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina

• Introduction Chapter 1. Social Theory Chapter 2. The Modern Political Imaginary and the Problem of Hierarchy Chapter 3. From the Philosophy of Praxis to the Sociology of Practice Chapter 4. The Institution of Critique and the Critique of Institutions Chapter 5. The Political Forms of Modernity: The Gauchet-Badiou Debate over Democracy and Communism Chapter 6. Hong Kong as a Dual Periphery Chapter 7. Austerity and its Antitheses: Practical Negations of Capitalist Legitimacy Chapter 8. Enacting Half-Positions: Creative Disrespect in the 2005 French Riots

Craig Browne is an associate professor at The University of Sydney. He works in the area of critical social theory. His research into intersubjectivity, creative democracy, social change, contestation, global modernity and social and political imaginaries systematically revises the philosophy of praxis. He is the author of Critical Social Theory, Sage; and Habermas and Giddens on Praxis and Modernity: A Constructive Comparison, Anthem; and co-author of Taylor and Politics: A Critical Introduction, Edinburgh University Press. He co-edited Violence in France and Australia: Disorder in the Postcolonial Welfare State, SUP, and a special issue of Social Epistemology on conceptualizing the political imaginary.

'Social Theory and the Political Imaginary will encourage – even force – Sociologists and Social Theorists to think about modernity in new and more expansive ways. The book is an excellent example of contemporary social theory, with its conceptual insights concerning the intersection and tensions between social imaginaries, especially those of democratic polities, nation states and capitalistic forms.' Honorary Professor Jocelyn Pixley, Macquarie University 'This is an especially important book for contemporary critical theory. Its contributions unfold on multiple layers that cut across current relations of domination as well as quests for emancipation. Browne encourages us to focus on the complex dynamics, contradictions, crises, and possibilities of our political imaginaries. By engaging with the reconfiguration of political imaginaries, social theory can make a key contribution to critically understanding the historical character of the relationships that define us. Browne’s book confronts us with matters that are unavoidable today and his own proposals are based on interrogations of theories sensitive to these practical concerns.' Alejandro Bialakowsky, Professor and Researcher of Sociological Theory, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina

• Introduction Chapter 1. Social Theory Chapter 2. The Modern Political Imaginary and the Problem of Hierarchy Chapter 3. From the Philosophy of Praxis to the Sociology of Practice Chapter 4. The Institution of Critique and the Critique of Institutions Chapter 5. The Political Forms of Modernity: The Gauchet-Badiou Debate over Democracy and Communism Chapter 6. Hong Kong as a Dual Periphery Chapter 7. Austerity and its Antitheses: Practical Negations of Capitalist Legitimacy Chapter 8. Enacting Half-Positions: Creative Disrespect in the 2005 French Riots