Hannah Arendt Center Presents

Revisiting “On Violence”: Political Power and Non-violent Struggle

Hannah Arendt's essay “On Violence” concisely articulates her theory of power: “Power corresponds to the human ability not just to act but to act in concert. Power is never the property of an individual; it belongs to a group and remains in existence only so long as the group keeps together.” Exercising power is open-ended, which is why Arendt thinks it differs from exercising violence, which always serves as the means to a particular end. Arendt cautioned against confusing power and violence, though she acknowledged the difficulty of distinguishing one from the other: “Power and violence, though they are distinct phenomena, usually appear together.” 

Arendt’s essay, published in 1970, offers more than just a set of abstract reflections on timeless concepts. “On Violence” was occasioned by key issues of the day, from the various student movements transforming the university to the Black Power movement and the fight for self-determination by colonized peoples—all alongside her enduring concerns regarding totalitarianism and modern world alienation. These questions have taken on a new salience in the wake of recent conflicts over the place of the university in struggles for justice and over the use of violence in anti-colonial politics. 

This conference invites scholars to return to this classic and controversial essay 55 years after its publication to read it carefully and critically. We do so to better understand the place of Arendt’s work in the broad political and theoretical terrain into which she herself attempted to situate it, as well as to understand the relevance of Arendt’s reflections for the present moment. To what degree do Arendt’s categories illuminate—and to what degree do they obscure—the challenges faced by 20th-century and contemporary political actors? Is Arendt’s distinction between violence and power still useful, or are there other, more pertinent concepts and frameworks for understanding our shared world? How might we assess Arendt’s judgment of anti-colonial and Black Power movements? Are there thinkers and movements relevant to Arendt’s discussion that she did not consider, but which enhance our understanding of her work? 

The conference will be structured as a text seminar.

• Three scholars—Dr. Joy James (Williams), Dr. Alexander Livingston (Cornell), and Dr. Rose Owen (SUNY Purchase) have been invited to propose text or set of texts on violence and power to put in conversation with Arendt’s essay. Each scholar will lead one session of the seminar over the course of the conference.

The conference will also feature the fourth annual De Gruyter-Arendt Center Lecture, which will be delivered on April 23rd by Professor Uday Singh Mehta (CUNY Graduate Center) on Militant Non-violence. Learn more about the De Gruyter-Arendt Center Lecture in Political Thinking here.

We invite all those interested in participating in the seminar to please fill out this application form.  

Arendt Center Spring Conference 2026
Tentative schedule

Thursday April 23rd, 2026
5 – 6:45 Keynote and Discussion

Friday April 24th, 2026
9 am – 10:30 am – Session 1
10:45 am - 12:15 – Session 2 
12:15 - 2 pm Lunch break
2:00 - 3:30 – Session 3

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For more information, call 845-758-6822.

Time: 9:00 am – 3:30 pm EDT/GMT-4

Location: Various Campus Locations

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