Imaginaries and the Future. A Conversation with Gerard Delanty

In this conversation, the Social Imaginaries Collective discusses the social imaginaries field with Gerard Delanty, a prominent sociologist and editor of the European Journal of Social Theory. The conversation critically centres on the concept of social imaginaries, its usefulness in social theory, but also particularly its role in exploring and understanding the predicaments of our particularly complex epoch, which sees taken- for-granted developments in terms of globalisation, cosmopolitanism, universal human rights, and international collaboration increasingly facing strong headwinds. The conversation further touches upon civilizational analysis and civilizational en- counters in relation to social imaginaries, as well as the dimension of a capitalist imaginary. Finally, the dimensions of the future and changes or shifts in imaginaries are addressed, in relation to instituting and instituted imaginaries, as recognised by Castoriadis and Ricoeur.