De-democratization and the Politics of Knowledge: Unpacking the Cultural Marxism Narrative

The politics of knowledge matter to the current wave of de-democratization in Europe. Building on Walby’s social complexity theory, this article highlights the dynamics between epistemic configurations and contemporary politics. Focusing on academic institutions, and taking gender studies as an illustration, this article shows that actors opposing (social) sciences and academia not only aim to dismantle existing institutions of knowledge production but also promote a new politics of truth. In this, the Cultural Marxism master frame operates as a diagnosis and a prognosis frame, providing the base for attacks on academia and for a strategy of profound transformation of the realm of knowledge in Europe.