CFP: “Magic and Critique” – Pólemos (2026/2)

This issue of Polemos aims to investigate the fertility of the concept of magic as a key to interpreting our contemporary condition, starting from the recognition of its fundamental ambivalence. What is the aesthetic and political potential of magical dispositifs, and what are the dangers of a “return to magic”? Is there such a thing as “good magic” and, conversely, “bad magic”? Or is it rather a matter of different ways of deploying its mechanisms and effects? From this perspective, any serious and well-grounded inquiry into the concept of magic must necessarily be accompanied by a “critique of magic”: not a mere demystification, but an analysis of the conditions, implications, and limits of its use as a philosophical category and as an aesthetic-political tool.

Articles (maximum length: 40,000 characters, including spaces), accompanied by an abstract of 1,000 characters, should be sent to [email protected] by July 15, 2026 (in one of the following formats: .doc, .docx, .odt). Kindly submit the article and abstract in a single document suitable for anonymous review (double-blind peer review). Contributions directly addressing the suggested research lines are particularly welcome. Articles concerning related areas will also be taken into consideration. Submissions are accepted in Italian, English, French, German, and Spanish.