Slavoj ¿i¿ek is a Hegelian philosopher, Lacanian psychoanalyst, and political activist. He is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities and Eminent Scholar at Kyung-Hee University, Seoul. His previous books include Living in the End Times, First as Tragedy, Then as Farce, Trouble in Paradise and, most recently, The Courage of Hopelessness.