Seen in this light, the preoccupation of populism, identity politics, hybrid wars and other contemporary phenomena can be seen as the result of the disintegration of neoliberal agendas and postmodernist sensibilities. Drawing together a vast range of thinkers and theoretical models, from Gramsci to Jameson, Hauser traces the reasons for the decline and demise of the grand narratives of the twentieth century and the ideologies that replaced them. His explanation of the foundational 'epicycloid' and disintegrative 'elliptical' stages of political movements then lays the ground for a deep engagement with Alain Badiou, understanding his 'transitory ontology' as a philosophical response to our interregnum. By expanding and unpicking Badiou's thoughts on mathematics, politics, art, love, and the conditions of doing philosophy, we can imagine a point the present moment in history.