Political Concepts Research Articles

Capitalism as “the best of all possible worlds”: a marxist critique of Boaventura de Sousa Santos' postmodern political thought

The general aim of this work is to critically analyse certain conceptions and political positions of Boaventura de Sousa Santos on the problems of Western modernity and postmodernity. For the Portuguese sociologist, Western modernity is going through an unprecedented crisis of civilisation that can be identified through three fundamental dimensions: the epistemological dimension (the problem of Western scientific knowledge), the theoretical dimension (the problem of the Marxist theory of social emancipation) and the political dimension (the problems of the liberal social contract, social fascism and the disunity of left-wing forces). Postmodernity, however, represents the possibilities and opportunities for overcoming that crisis in view of the epistemological (the ecology of knowledge), theoretical (the new emancipatory political culture) and political (high-intensity democracy) renewals that are underway. The main hypothesis to be presented is that Boaventura Santos' political conceptions and positions – in parallel with his limited understanding of Marxism, the main interlocutor and target of his often mistaken criticism – correspond to the postmodern ideology, which can be characterised, according to Marxism, by epistemological scepticism, contempt for history and political defeatism. In this vein, the theoretical framework adopted here necessarily comes from Marxism, understood, according to Michael Löwy, as a social worldview, that is, an organic, articulated and structured set of values, representations, ideas and cognitive orientations about man in his relationship with nature, society and history, internally unified by a determined perspective and a certain socially conditioned point of view.

The political culture of Caribbean sovereignty

ABSTRACT This article is part of a continuing discourse in the Caribbean about the exercise of sovereignty and the need to hold steadfast to the concept as a bulwark against imperial erasure of cultural identity. The essay argues against such conventional wisdom. It is intended to move beyond popular notions of sovereignty to unmask the reality of conflict, subordination and violence embedded in the idea of sovereignty. The article also looks at the way sovereignty is deployed in the Caribbean as part of popular, political discourses, and provides examples of how the concept is made unsustainable in its practice. It is an approach which allows for a materialist reading of the political development of the role the state plays in shaping the consciousness of the nation into an understanding of the idea of sovereignty. In conclusion, the paper returns to the specifically cultural logic of sovereignty, engaging the notion of “the sovereignty of the imagination,” articulated by the eminent Caribbean novelist, George Lamming, as a way of reconceptualizing this political concept. The paper ends with the notion that sovereignty in the Caribbean is a myth and should be abandoned for a more realistic understanding of the actual power of the postcolonial state in the global political economy.

The problem of countering political extremism in the Russian Federation in the early 1990s.

The collapse of the USSR marked the collapse of the former state order. The former Soviet republics faced such destructive phenomena that seemed simply unthinkable in the conditions of the former socialist way of life. Associations and groupings became sharply active in the political arena, the participants of which expressed aggressive hostility to the changes taking place in the country. The purpose of this article is to use various materials (normative legal acts and draft laws, periodicals, statistical data, Internet resources, as well as research literature) on the basis of a comprehensive use of various materials to identify the main problems and contradictions of the state policy aimed at countering political extremism in the first post-Soviet years. The subject of the study is a holistic political and legal process aimed at the development and adoption of adequate anti-extremist legislation. For the most complete disclosure of the problem posed, problem-chronological, formal-legal, institutional and systemic approaches were used. The scientific novelty of the research lies in an attempt to comprehend the state-legal policy aimed at combating various forms of political, national and religious radicalism as an integral and, at the same time, extremely contradictory strategy, which was implemented in the context of the crisis situation in the country. The acquired knowledge will allow us to better understand the changes that have occurred in the understanding of political extremism at the state and legal level in subsequent years. The formation of anti-extremist legislation in post-Soviet Russia was complicated by the confrontation in which all branches of government were involved. Even after overcoming the "crisis of dual power" and the adoption of a new Constitution, the Russian state was in a state of division, which made it difficult to develop and adopt a law on combating extremism. In the mid-1990s, the opinion prevailed in the socio-political discourse about the increased threat from radical nationalist (fascist) formations with the dangerous inaction of law enforcement agencies. These attitudes influenced the President and Parliament, who were the main subjects of the legislative initiative. Excessive politicization of the legislative process made it significantly difficult to develop adequate solutions. The situation was exploited by radicals who continued their illegal activities unhindered. Thus, the problem of countering political extremism did not lose its relevance in the second half of the 1990s and can serve as a subject for further study.

The Forms of Political Participation in Coastal Communities during the 2020 Mayoral Election in Makassar

This research aims to analyze the forms of political participation of coastal communities in the 2020 Local Election in Makassar City. The research method employed is qualitative and descriptive. The study is conducted in the Sangkarrang Islands Regency, with data collection techniques including observation, in-depth interviews, and document analysis. The research took place from February to March 2023. The selection of informants was done through purposive sampling, involving 6 (six) individuals, including representatives from district and sub-district governments, election organizers such as the Election Commission (KPU) and Election Supervisory Board (Panwaslu), youth leaders, community and religious leaders, as well as women leaders familiar with the political forms and participation of coastal communities. The research findings indicate that the forms of community participation in the Makassar mayoral election are reflected in political socialization, campaigns, voting, and the counting process. During political socialization, participation is notably low due to occupational factors. In political campaigns, some members of the community abstain from campaigning, considering it unproductive and a waste of time, while others view it as a communal endeavor. The voter turnout during the election is high, reaching a percentage of 66.84%. Simultaneously, the vote count also demonstrates significant participation, driven by the desire to assess whether the elected local leaders align with community expectations

Prefigurative Politics at Bread and Puppet Theater

Abstract Bread and Puppet (B&P) Theater is one of the oldest, most influential, and well-known puppet theaters both in the United States and abroad and has been at the forefront of puppetry, performance, and political protest for more than half a century. B&P also functions as a site of tension in prefigurative political theory, between creative world building and alternative decision-making structures. B&P fosters a powerful lived experience of prefigurative politics. The political process of envisioning alternative realities took place through performance, puppets, and the shifting sense of temporality in an isolated location. At the same time, B&P operates in a state of flux, at the center of a constant stream of apprentices, volunteers, and audience members. They rely on hierarchical decision-making to facilitate order, which challenges the prefigurative ideal of a democratic community. B&P models a mediated form of prefigurative politics in which a hierarchical governance structure and creative world building exist in tension with one another. The theater has worked within this tension to survive and even flourish. B&P complicates prefigurative politics in social movement theory and practice, as the hierarchy helps preserve some sense of order but conflicts with the more egalitarian vision of the world represented in their performances. B&P's intervention in prefigurative politics offers lessons to social movements and artistic practices in the contemporary resurgence of prefigurative politics.

Afterword: From Number Politics to Infrastructure Politics

Abstract Data infrastructures are the scaffolding of the present. This afterword centres on this claim by broadening the question that animates the special issue – what does lived data politics look like? – to the question of ‘where’ it is taking place today. It extends the gaze to the systemic transformation subtending contemporary data production, which I term ‘governance by data infrastructure.’ This pervasive form of number politics represents the most recent rearrangement in matters of governance of the social. It centers regulatory data infrastructures as the preferred mode of managing complexity, bringing the industry to the kernel of the state. Furthermore, the article asks what it means to think from an anthropological vantage point considering these developments, and what fruitful methodological avenues for research this may open.

Bad Faith and the Contours of Black Consciousness

This discussion essay examines Lewis R. Gordon’s Fear of Black Consciousness (2022) and his analysis of ethics and politics within Black political philosophy. Gordon’s interdisciplinary book weaves together film, jazz, Judaism, and Egyptology (for instance) to interrogate the limits of political liberal concepts such as liberty, justice, and equality for analyzing and addressing anti-Black racism. A central concern facing Gordon is the degree to which bad faith is ignored or underexamined in political philosophy and public debates on social justice and freedom. Exploring how the racialization of the “Black” informs competing responses to anti-Blackness among Black and non-Black communities, this essay weighs the usefulness of Gordon’s metareflective framing for understanding the tension and significance of religion and moral claims in developing theories of freedom within Black political philosophy.

Western Balkans: It’s Complicated An Inter-ethnic Communication Interdisciplinary Examination

The western Balkans are persistently grappling with its unfavorable inter-ethnic reputation. Although political toleration has been consistently proposed as a solution for inter-ethnic tensions, this paper argues for the adoption of the Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) framework, offering a fresh perspective to an old problem. Rooted in the 'communication perspective', CMM provides a crucial platform for stakeholders to interact meaningfully. This study aims to present compelling reasons for embracing dialogical methods in interethnic disagreements. The CMM model focuses on empowering participants with knowledge to collectively shape their social realities. To illustrate, we introduce a visual communication model seamlessly integrating political toleration and CMM concepts. This model establishes a dialogical platform, ensuring equal participation from public and civil society stakeholders, and fostering a harmonious social world. In conclusion, CMM offers an alternative communication perspective crucial for those involved in interethnic dialogue. By adopting this approach, individuals and groups can overcome challenges, opening new avenues for understanding and collaboration in the pursuit of peaceful co-existence.

The Concept of "Freedom" in Political Texts by Russian Authors of the 18th Century

The concept of "freedom" is one of the pillars for identifying ideas about the social ideal and one of the guidelines in attempts at social construction of the modern era. The object of this study is the political thought of Russia in the 18th century. The subject of the research is the formation and evolution of the concept of “freedom” in the socio-political texts of Russian authors of the 18th century. The purpose of this article was to identify the specifics of the concept of "freedom", presented in the texts of statesmen and politicians of the 18th century, in relation to the texts created in the pre-Petrine tradition and the texts of the European Enlightenment. The basic research method is the textual analysis of the works of Russian political authors of the 18th century, in its various versions: semantic (including hermeneutics), genetic, comparative. The main conclusion is that the reception of the concept of "freedom" from the texts of the European Enlightenment and the formation, on this basis, of the political concept of "freedom", began in the second third of the 18th century, as evidenced by the texts of V.N. Tatishcheva. This reception ended in the 1780s in the form of three basic interpretations of the concept of "freedom" – liberal (texts by N.I. Panin and his associates), conservative (texts by M.M. Shcherbatov) and democratic (texts by A.N. Radishchev).

Revolution and Disalienation

What are the affects of revolutionary moments? What role do they play in the distinct temporalities of these situations, and how do they relate to the radical political possibilities imagined by their professed ideologies? Such questions have haunted recent political, theoretical and literary works devoted to critical analysis of political revolt and revolution. This article makes three contributions to this ongoing dialogue. First, I elaborate a method of affective mapping to understand the specific roles that particular emotional complexes play in revolutionary situations. Second, I describe a named affective process of disalienation as particularly crucial to the social experience of revolution. Finally, two recent speculative fictions are examined for the complexity of their portrayal of the emotional valences of such moments of disalienation: Hannah Black’s Tuesday or September or The End, and M.E. O’Brien and Eman Abdelhadi’s Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune 2052‐2072. Affect theory thus proves most useful and provocative to political struggle when it can find a political form which sustains revolt by mediating moments of connection between episodic experience and widespread social transformation. Speculative fiction can provide the opportunity to explore and reflect on how to create, sustain and spread such transformative social situations.

Constraint against Constraint: Hunger Strikes and the Score

Abstract In 1961, the poet Jacques Roubaud was dismissed by the French military in Algeria after undergoing a series of “clandestine hunger strikes,” an act he later referred to as his “very first constraint.” By using a term that at once refers to a particular and increasingly prevalent resistance act, the rules and procedures used by post–World War II avant-garde artists and writers, and oppressive structures like prisons that delimit lives, “constraint” provides a way to rethink the history of avant-garde procedural poetry through the act of the hunger strike. This essay analyzes the constraint as a “score,” a method of making that allows for the repeatability and transformation of forms across contexts. This repetition with a difference is underscored by a cast of 1960s and 1970s writers from France, the United States, and Morocco, including Roubaud, Norman H. Pritchard, Bernadette Mayer, Saïda Menebhi, and Abdallah Zrika. Foregrounding the hunger strike and seeing an aesthetics that accords with this provocative and popular act, this essay makes a case for avant-garde practice, rather than the avant-garde object, as acts that might not only reorganize everyday life into weapons and tools, but also thread trans-national possibilities of solidarity through a shared political form.

Thinking with Paul Kramer's “Power and Connection”

I am delighted to have an opportunity to reflect on Paul Kramer's rich and highly influential “Power and Connection: Imperial Histories of the United States in the World.” Since its publication in 2011, “Power and Connection” has been a cornerstone of my graduate U.S. in the World classes and has been invoked in every graduate qualifying exam. The essay has had a direct and indirect influence on the wave of innovative scholarship that has been produced in the past decade. I first want to note some of the essay's important interventions. Then, rather than attempting to extend or update Kramer's extensive historiographical review, I want to think with “Power and Connection” by taking up two of Kramer's suggestions and discussions. First, I take up his suggestion to think about imperial power through a Gramscian frame of domination and consent, arguing that the concept of hegemonic struggle is critical for thinking about power within empires and shifts in global imperial formations. Second, I engage Kramer's discussion of the relationship between imperial and transnational histories, arguing that scholars need to consider transnationalism as a highly specific and contingent political formation, as well as an analytic category and sometimes actors' category.

An Inclusion demoderation hypothesis: the revolutionary socialists in a democratic transition

ABSTRACT Revolutionary Socialists appeared in the mid-1990s as young secular Egyptians who distanced themselves from traditional co-opted parties. Disillusioned with formal politics, these ‘Revsoc’ emerged as anti-institutional opponents to the ruling elites and the structure of liberal democracy. The Trotskyist organization rejected elected bodies, seeking a Soviet-style democracy. However, the Revsoc in the 2000s opted to exploit the margin and participate in parliamentary and syndicalist elections, cooperating with reformist liberals and Islamists and reconciling with representative democracy under Mubarak. Throughout the transitional period following the January revolution, as formal politics had become more inclusive, the Revsoc held shifted to anti-institutional positions. By boycotting the elections and referendums and distancing themselves from parties that legitimized the transitional process, the Revsoc radicalized during the most ambitious democratic opening in Egypt’s modern history, in contrast to the conventional inclusion—moderation argument. However, they surprisingly started endorsing elections and supporting reforms again after the military coup.

Securing financial returns in politically uncertain worlds: Finance and urban water politics in Brazil

Studies of financialization have highlighted how politics, particularly through the state, drives the increasing entanglement of financial actors and rationales in the production of urban space. This article shifts the angle to consider the challenges that uncertain politics pose for such entanglement. Looking beyond techno-calculative practices, it explores how finance works politically to sustain value extraction within fragmented regulatory landscapes. It does so through historical and ethnographic analysis of financial investment in urban water and sanitation provision in Brazil, drawing on fieldwork, interviews, and a new dataset on public-private contracts to interrogate how private water companies navigate politico-regulatory relations under financial investors like private equity. It shows that while these providers were quite engaged in local politics under their original owners (construction groups), under financial investors they sought to “escape” it by curbing ties to public officials, reducing the autonomy of local subsidiaries, and successfully lobbying for national standards on regulatory norms. It argues these centralizing efforts constituted forms of centripetal politics meant to enhance asset monitoring, increase regulatory legibility, and reduce political uncertainty. The findings illuminate how financial investors work across political scales to navigate political risk and sustain financial value, thus problematizing the conventional analytical focus on how finance capitalizes on local forms of entrepreneurial politics. Crucially, they reveal the need to treat institutional environments not simply as filters for financial investment but as objects of political contestation by financial actors. This allows for blurring the boundaries between finance and politics, and for politicizing finance.

Legal Issues in the Demands for Self-Determination in Nigeria

Abstract There have been different ethnic political struggles calling for self-determination through secession in Nigeria since independence. There have also been calls for ‘restructuring’ the Nigerian federation to achieve what is called ‘true federalism’ believing that it is the only panacea for each ethnic group to achieve relative independence and self-determination within Nigeria. In addition, the question of control over natural resources has been a major issue in claims for self-determination. This article examines the legal issues involved in these self-determination demands in Nigeria. It finds that self-determination started as a moral or political concept before it developed into a legal concept under international law. Under international law, self-determination has emerged as external self-determination, internal self-determination, self-determination as indigenous autonomy, self-determination as a right against intervention and economic self-determination. It has also manifested in the same form in constitutional law. Against the backdrop of these findings, it is argued that self-determination demands assume three different legal forms in Nigeria manifesting as the right to external self-determination, the right to internal self-determination and the right to economic self-determination. It is further argued that there is no right to external self-determination or secession in Nigeria. In addition, it is argued that internal self-determination manifests as the right against discrimination on ethnic grounds in Nigeria and that it constitutes a fundamental right. Lastly, it is argued that the right to economic self-determination does not exist in Nigeria as natural resources are vested in the government while the interests of the people are undermined.

Філософські виміри культурної політики

Against the background of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the question of an effective cultural policy that would support national identity, contribute to the purification of consciousness from propaganda myths and preserve the heritage of Ukrainian culture is becoming more acute. Since cultural policy is related to both aesthetic-artistic and cultural-anthropological dimensions of social life, in order to identify the effective influence of cultural policy on dominant social practices, it is necessary to find out the universal principles of its functioning. The purpose of this article is to identify the relevant philosophical and methodological basis of cultural policy for modern Ukrainian realities. Based on the fundamental ideas of Richard Rorty’s pragmatic philosophy and his analysis of cultural policies, the generally accepted nature of the inferential approach to social reality on the part of individual social groups was ascertained. The variability of cultural policy depending on the type of social organization community/society is demonstrated. In small social groups of the authoritarian type, social epistemological authority is mediated by the individual preferences of the leader of this group, so the tools of cultural policy are weak (patriarchal family, religious or political sect). An authoritarian or totalitarian mass society shows a high propensity for linguistic practices of propaganda, which can be seen as an extreme distorted form of cultural politics. In democratic societies, cultural policy is able to harmonize social life, improving its practices and building a value-symbolic world that constitutes culture in a broad sense. The social institute of education has all the tools, including digital ones, to shape the necessary social practices and educate a critical thinker who is able to generate conceptual knowledge, i.e. see relationships and be aware. Openness in decision-making, interaction of expert groups, public discussions are necessary elements for an effective cultural policy, which should be different from “cultural management”. Creative cultural industries play an important role in modern popular culture societies, and these industries significantly strengthen the economic component of social life. Public projects and initiatives effectively help to preserve Ukrainian culture, influence the level of awareness of Ukrainians and the economic well-being of our country.

Research on the Development of Russian Translation Teaching Materials Within the Framework of Ideological and Political Education

Integrating curriculum ideology and politics into the construction of professional teaching materials is the mainsupport for the reform and development of education and teaching, and the main starting point for ideological and political work throughout the entire process of education and teaching. This article makes constructive thinking and conclusions on how to make the ideological and political education concept run through the talent training system, and how to integrate the ideological and political content of the curriculum into the construction content of translation textbooks in an all-round way.

Prefigurative politics in action research for just cycling futures

ABSTRACT The paper proposes that action research, not as a predefined set of methods but rather as a mode of research, should be considered a key asset in creating transformative knowledge on just cycling futures. I explain, firstly, why action-oriented, experimental, and participatory research should deploy the concept of prefigurative politics – the performing of not-yet cycling futures here and now – as a theoretical, methodological and practical resource to counter hegemonic, oppressive, essentialist and authoritarian mobility rationalities. Second, I argue why prefigurative action research is most applicable when involving diverse actors across cycling governance networks into a democratic social learning process. These arguments are developed by synthesising literatures from social movement studies and mobility and transport justice, and by providing examples of four social cycling innovations among a population often marginalised from transport policy and planning – children and young people. In conclusion, the paper proposes a model for conducting prefigurative action research on cycling.

Untitled (Notes on Fascism This Time)

Abstract This is a short commentary on the relevance of Jair Bolsonaro for the critical theorizing of the political. In it, I consider the resurfacing of fascism in the past decade or as the manifestation of a political form which is consistent with the mode of thinking that nourishes the liberal political architecture. I do so by discussing key philosophical, critical, and anticolonial formulations which indicates present the elements that allows for the kind of binding of the state with its citizens that supports fascism, both in the past and in the present.

Agonist relationships in the toddler classroom: Exploring the connection between conflict and care

Dominant Western discourse in early childhood education frames conflict as a disruptive and damaging force that is antithetical to the “ideal” classroom environment. However, critical early childhood scholars have begun to reconceptualize the role of conflict in early childhood classroom dynamics, exploring its potential as a productive and necessary force that supports current and future political participation for young children. This paper draws from data collected during an eight-month ethnography of care practices in an infant/toddler classroom at a university laboratory school in the Southeastern United States. Using Chantal Mouffe's theories political conflict, we interpret one teacher's understandings of conflict in her classroom and the practices that she engaged in support of what Mouffe would term “agonist conflict” (i.e., friendly, rather than antagonistic, conflict). Findings demonstrate that this teacher views agonist conflict to be a productive process for young children—one that enables them to articulate their political subjectivities as members of their classroom community and one that will foster their engagement as citizens of a broader democratic society. As such, the emotional support and scaffolding she provided to support such engagement constitute a political form of care. This research holds implications for reconceptualized understandings of peer conflict in early childhood contexts and insight into how teachers can better support children's developing political engagement through agonist conflict with their peers.