René Girard's 'Desire for Tyranny' Explores Mimetic Violence and the Antichrist

In a new essay collection titled 'Il desiderio di tirannia' (The Desire for Tyranny), the late French philosopher René Girard's reflections on mimetic violence and its relation to tyranny and the Antichrist are presented. The volume, published by Raffaello Cortina, features texts introduced and commented on by Benoît Chantre, with translation by Elena Muceni. Girard's central question concerns the 'miracle' of community cohesion despite accumulating frictions and a rising 'rate of litigiousness.' He posits that at the moment when everything seems lost, the solution is near: the entire city, in a unified impulse, throws itself into the violent unanimity that liberates it. This mysterious unanimity, Girard argues, stems from mimetic violence, which makes members of the community 'all twins' of violence. The book also touches on the concept of the Antichrist, linking Girard's theories to apocalyptic and theological themes. The essay was published on doppiozero.com on April 9, 2026, with authorship attributed to Francesco Valagussa and Anita Romanello.