Agonistic Design

Agonistic design is the branch of design theory that draws on Chantal Mouffe's concept of agonism — the idea that democratic politics requires structured conflict rather than consensus. It designs systems and interfaces that make political disagreement visible and productive rather than suppressing it. Unlike antagonism, which treats opponents as enemies to be destroyed, agonism treats opponents as adversaries whose opposition is necessary for the system's health. Agonistic design is closely related to adversarial design but more explicitly grounded in political theory. It connects to radical democracy through its claim that consensus is not the absence of conflict but the suppression of it.\n\n\n