Contemporary Political Theory Research Articles

Spotlight: Pragmatism in contemporary political theory

This article surveys recent work in pragmatism and political theory. In doing so, it shows both how recent work on pragmatism has secured the view that at its core is a set of arguments about the character of democracy – although the character of those arguments is open to debate and reimagination – and how pragmatist arguments have been reinterpreted and deployed to address contemporary concerns and approaches. This charts a terrain of live disagreements rather than settled opinion.

The material conditions of non-domination: Property, independence, and the means of production

While it is a point of agreement in contemporary republican political theory that property ownership is closely connected to freedom as non-domination, surprisingly little work has been done to elucidate the nature of this connection or the constraints on property regimes that might be required as a result. In this paper, I provide a systematic model of the boundaries within which republican property systems must sit and explore some of the wider implications that thinking of property in these terms may have for republicans. The boundaries I focus on relate to the distribution of property and the application of types of property claims over particular kinds of goods. I develop this model from those elements of non-domination most directly related to the operation of a property regime: (a) economic independence, (b) limiting material inequalities, and (c) the promotion of common goods. The limits that emerge from this analysis support intuitive judgments that animate much republican discussion of property distribution. My account diverges from much orthodox republican theory, though, in challenging the primacy of private property rights in the realization of economic independence. The value of property on republican terms can be realized without private ownership of the means of production.

Does Power “Spread”? Foucault on the Generalization of Power

This essay critically analyzes a common metaphor in political theory, which figures the growth of power as a process of “spreading” or “diffusion.” It argues that narratives that cast the generalization of power as a movement of “spreading” often fail to furnish the specific type of historical evidence that they imply, such that these narratives are frequently received as richly suggestive yet ultimately unjustified. This essay develops an alternative way of conceptualizing the generalization of power, one that rests on rigorous yet speculative evidence of the sort that political theorists are best positioned to find: not proof of literal extension or application of existing powers to new domains, but accidental convergences, isomorphisms, and ideal combinations among disparate practices that introduce large powers into the world. To do this, the essay revisits Foucault’s narrative of the generalization of disciplinary power in modern Western societies, which is perhaps the clearest source for the familiarity of the figure of “spread” in contemporary political theory. It shows that Foucault’s incessant use of the “spread” metaphor naturally invites the dismissive reading that Discipline and Punish received in many quarters, for it implies a historical process that Foucault cannot justify. Yet I argue that in a brief self-criticism, Foucault provides the rudiments for a conception of power’s generalization far more useful and compelling than the metaphoric of “spread.” I suggest that this alternative, if developed, is not just the proper frame for interpreting Foucault’s narrative, but a promising practical resource for contemporary theorists of general powers.

Theory Education in Canada: Foundational Thinkers and Texts in the Subfield 1

This article reports the results of an examination of 187 introductory political theory courses within political science departments across Canada from 2011 to 2016. While instructors and departments know what they are doing in their classrooms, this article provides a broad overview of the field of political philosophy in Canadian universities through an exploration of which texts and thinkers are considered essential, with a focus on the introductory courses that are often mandatory for political science degrees and provide the foundation for the broader discipline. The hope is that these results will provide a stronger foundation for ongoing debates about the status and merits of contemporary political theory training as can be seen in relation to Black Lives Matter, Rhodes Must Fall, and, in Canada, reconciliation efforts between Indigenous and Settler populations. Further, this article suggests that there is little emphasis on uniquely Canadian expressions of political theory at this level—and this likely has implications for the shape of the subfield in the Canadian context.

Accountable Creatures: Primatt’s Dissertation, the Religious Enlightenment, and the Origins of Animal Rights

Abstract Outside the field of animal studies, Humphrey Primatt’s Duty of Mercy has received little attention. This article offers a new perspective on his work by contextualizing Primatt’s ecological worldview within Enlightenment debates about the “essence of mankind.” I argue that Primatt’s call to extend “rights” to all creatures was a deliberate attempt to redraw the contested borders between humans and animals by privileging morality over other characteristics of humanity. The article shows how Primatt, an Anglican vicar, incorporated contemporary ideologies and knowledge into Christian teachings in order to formulate his anthropocentric argument and transform the nature of human-animal interactions.

Katolické výhrady vůči liberálnímu chápání svobody a sociálního řádu

This article is a contribution to the recurrent debates on the (in)compatibility between Catholic and liberal tradition. It focuses on the differences between these traditions concerning their conceptual foundations: liberty and, more extensively, social order. In the first part, the article characterizes the most important doctrinal elements of liberal and Catholic political theory. In liberal tradition, the emphasis is upon normative and ontological individualism and the primacy of individual liberty. Catholic social ontology offers a rich understanding of social order where it differentiates between partnerships and communities. This is linked to the specific conceptualization of the common good which is more robustly conceived than in its liberal counterparts. In the second part, the article delineates the different meanings of liberty in contemporary liberal political theory. It demonstrates that the Catholic tradition unambiguously prefers the positive concept of liberty. Next, it dialectically moves to the concept of autonomy. Some versions of autonomy are closer to the Catholic tradition than others, but overall, the Catholic conception is based on a richer metaphysical foundation that links liberty with participation in the common good. The article culminates with D. C. Schindler’s metaphysical criticism of the basic building blocks of liberal thought, which explains the reasons why the liberal conception of the common good cannot accommodate its Catholic counterpart.

Politics of Inclusion: Review Essay

Politics of Inclusion (2009) is an unusual book as its major arguments are not merely valid but are increasingly relevant. Published over a decade ago, it remains a must read for policymakers, political scientists and developmental experts. This review essay has tried to lay down eight key arguments that the book made. These are expanding the ambit of the definition of discrimination from only historical to both past and present forms; accepting that Muslims are not only a poor community but also suffer a peculiar form of discrimination which is increasing; discrimination and backwardness both criterion must be fulfilled for any kind of affirmative action to be institutionalized; state should be welfare in nature and protect all vulnerable social groups; acknowledging that Hindutva is not only against religious minorities but also against women; political representation must be on the four axes of caste, ethnicity, religion and gender; for proper representation of Dalits, tribes, Muslims and women we need electoral reforms and lastly, Scheduled Caste (SC) status must be conferred to Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians. Rather than simply summing up the book, this review essay uses arguments from various contemporary political theorists and social scientists.

The liberalism of fear in China: Hu Ping and the uses of fear and memory in contemporary Chinese liberalism

ABSTRACT Contemporary political theorists have sought to invoke Judith N. Shklar's liberalism of fear in discussions about human rights across cultural and national boundaries. These discussions would benefit from thinking with Chinese liberal thinker and activist Hu Ping, who considered the liberalism of fear an accurate description of the rediscovery of liberalism in contemporary China after the post-Cultural Revolution. Hu's different uses of memories of the Cultural Revolution not only reflected Shklar's thesis in the liberalism of fear that liberals should speak to memories of cruelty to inspire a liberal politics of cruelty-prevention. They also demonstrated how social and political contexts shaped political needs, which, in turn, changed readings of the past and challenged important assumptions in Shklar's political theory. Hu's uses of memory and fear shed light on the limits of Shklar's approach, revealed the importance of confronting the question of courage in any applications of the liberalism of fear, and called for more nuanced discussions about the conditions upon which memories of cruelty could be considered a pro-liberal force.

Amway as Neoliberal Religious Tradition

Why do people desire their own continued oppression under neoliberalism? This essay seeks an answer to this confounding question through analysis of the Amway organization, an American multi-level-marketing (MLM) company that rose to a multi-billion dollar value in the 1980s and 90s. My argument is that Amway serves as a prime case study for the relation between neoliberalism and religious practices––people desire their continued oppression under neoliberalism in part because neoliberalism bears meaning at the level of culture and religion. What sets Amway apart from other MLMs, and makes Amway a prime case study for neoliberalism and religious practices, is its amalgamation of neoliberal ideology with ideas and trends from American evangelicalism, to the extent that it serves as a kind of neoliberal religious tradition. As this amalgamation demonstrates, people may defend neoliberalism with a similar fervor as defending cultural or religious traditions. The conclusion explores the possibility of a decolonial American evangelicalism, which would seek options for broadening the horizons of American evangelicalism beyond the relationship to neoliberalism and the possibility of a critical theology robust enough to thoughtfully critique neoliberalism. In pursuit of this thesis, the essay utilizes a theoretical framework guided by the contributions of scholars including Wendy Brown, Walter Benjamin, Olivier Roy, Walter Mignolo, and Carl Raschke in order to analyze Amway through the lens of contemporary political theories of neoliberalism.

واقع دور وسائل الإعلام في تنمية الوعي بالمُشارکة السياسية لدى طلبة الجامعات الأردنية استنادًا إلى النظريات السياسية المُعاصِرَة من وجهة نظر الطلبة أنفسهم

تهدف الدراسة الحالية الکشف عن واقع دور وسائل الإعلام في تنمية الوعي بالمشارکة السياسية لدى طلبة الجامعات الأردنية استنادا إلى النظريات السياسية المعاصرة من وجهة نظر الطلبة أنفسهم. تکونت عينة الدراسة من (400) ( 124طالبا، و276طالبة) من طلبة البکالوريوس في الجامعات الأردنية في الأقاليم الثلاث، تم اختيارهم بطريقة العينة الطبقية. ولتحقيق أهداف الدراسة تم تطوير الأداة من خلال تحليل الأدب النظري الذي تناول الموضوع؛ وبعد أن تم التحقق من دلالات الصدق والثبات ، تم تطبيقها على العينة. أظهرت نتائج السؤال الأول أن المتوسطات الحسابية لواقع دور وسائل الإعلام في تنمية الوعي بالمشارکة السياسية تراوحت ما بين (3.67-4.28) ومستواها مرتفع. کما أظهرت نتائج السؤال الثاني؛ وجود فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية تعزى لمتغير الجنس ولصالح الإناث، وعدم وجود فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية تبعا لمتغير الکلية والسنة الدراسية، وقد أظهرت نتائج السؤال الثالث أن المتوسطات الحسابية لإجابات أفراد عينة الدراسة عن فقرات التحديات التي تواجه الإعلام في تنمية الوعي بالمشارکة السياسية تراوحت ما بين (3.80-4.14) ومستواها مرتفع. The current study aims to reveal the reality of the role of the media in developing awareness of political participation among Jordanian university students based on contemporary political theories from the students' point of view themselves. The study sample consisted of (400) students (124 males and 276 females) students from undergraduate students in Jordanian universities in the three regions, were selected by stratified sampling method. To achieve the objectives of the study, the tool was developed by analyzing the theoretical literature that dealt with the subject; After verifying the indications of validity and reliability, they were applied to the sample. The results of the first question showed that the averages of the reality of the role of the media in developing awareness of political participation ranged between(3.67-4.28)and its level is high,. The results of the second question also showed; There are statistically significant differences due to the gender variable in favor of females, and there are no statistically significant differences due to according to the variable of the college and the academic year. The results of the third question showed that the arithmetic averages of the answers of the study sample members to the challenges facing the media in developing awareness of political participation ranged between (3.80-4.14) and its level is high.

Freedom Without Responsibility: the Promise of Bolsonaro’s COVID-19 Denial

Jair Bolsonaro, the current President of Brazil, has made himself into one of the most influent advocates of COVID-19 denial. His health policy and his political doctrine are partly based on an implicit moral claim, which is neglected by contemporary political theory. Bolsonarism’s rhetoric raises a moral claim to freedom without responsibility, which relieves its followers from the burdens that emerge from liberal accounts of liberty or from basic goods accepted in a political community. In opposition to liberal or communitarian accounts, Bolsonarism endorses a Hobbesian concept of freedom that describes it as the absence of ‘impediments to motion’. Nonetheless, it differs from Hobbes because it treats this liberty as endowed with moral value and non-negotiable through a social contract.

COOPERATION OF INSTITUTIONS IN THE DEMOCRATIC STATE. EUROPEAN UNION MODEL

In this study, the author explains the priority position on the agenda of scientists from various segments of social sciences. In the contemporary western political theory from the end of the 1990s, the theoretical and practical resizing of political institutions becomes a priority both within the states and in the regulation of international relations. The analysis of various approaches of political and social institutions allowed the author to conclude that governance, including coalition governance, can be effective in terms of co-working, cooperation, collaboration and active participation of citizens in the decision-making process. Also, the cultural and moral component of the decision factor is important, regardless of the practiced level: local, national, regional, global. The author places the theses promoted by Moldovan scholars at the basis of the activity of the heads of state institutions and of the civil servants.

Public education unbounded

Green School New Zealand is a private school whose school fees confirm for critics the inequity of private education, but the school may contribute to an alternative vision of public education if its commitment to sustainability is recognised as a public good. Conventional understanding of public education is challenged by contemporary political and democratic theory on the nature of publics. While public education generally refers to education funded by the state, if public education is limited to education provided by the state it restricts the good that it can do because the state is not equitable in whose interests it serves. Concepts of public education need updating to reflect understandings of varied publics and the individuals of which they are comprised (pluralist publics); the freedom of publics in subjectivity and sovereignty (unbounded publics); and the mutuality and equality of relations within publics (publicness). Green School New Zealand undoubtedly works against public interests in some respects; however, its focused concern for the environment represents an emergent publicness that is not apparent in schools that are more closely bound to the priorities of the state. When we recognise their public dimensions, schools like Green School New Zealand may help with rethinking public education and how we develop new systems of education that act for the good of pluralist, unbounded but connected publics.

PENELITIAN AWAL ASPEK KEFAHAMAN MAHASISWA TERHADAP KURSUS FALSAFAH DAN ISU SEMASA (FIS): TINJAUAN DI UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SABAH (UMS)

The Philosophy and Contemporary Issues (FIS) course was introduced for undergraduate level study in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) starting from the September 2019 intake. An initiative of Dr. Maszlee Malik, the Minister of Education Malaysia during that period, the course is aimed at creating a generation of scholars capable of critical and rational thought, able to engage in analytical and systematic discourse, and guided by wisdom and prudence when faced with diverse contemporary ideology challenges. This course is compulsory for all HEI students including those in Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). Philosophy in general is perceived as a difficult subject to comprehend. Since FIS is a new course, this study is relevant to examine students’ understanding of the subject matter as taught in UMS specifically those in the 2020/2021 intake. Utilising a quantitative approach, the aspect of student understanding in FIS was analysed in a descriptive manner based on online questionnaire instruments. Findings showed UMS undergraduates had a relatively high and encouraging level of understanding in FIS. This proves that the notion of courses related to philosophy being difficult and uninteresting was not wholly accurate. The FIS course could be fine-tuned to ensure it is able to continue its role as a medium for the inculcation of new thought culture among undergraduates.

Hume’s Politics and Four Dimensions of Realism

Debates between realists and idealists in contemporary political theory have been confused by a tendency to conflate several distinct methodological theses. This paper distinguishes between four dimensions of realism and shows how a novel reading of Hume’s politics can help us make sense of the importance of these theses and the relationships between them. More specifically we argue that a theory we call normative conventionalism can be distilled from two of Hume’s more surprising and controversial essays “The Idea of a Perfect Commonwealth” and “That Politics May Be Reduced to a Science.” This theory views norms and institutions as conventional solutions to problems of coordination and conflict that are historically contingent, but also provides us with an approach to gaining leverage on our practices so that we can say something about which norms and institutions are worth emulating.

Rethinking democracy in times of crises: Towards a pragmatist approach to the geographies of emerging publics

How do societies respond to ‘super wicked’ problems that often occur at very large spatial and temporal scales? On the one hand, there exists a tendency to conceive of liberal democracy as inconvenient, inflexible and as incapable of dealing with complex and elusive issues such as climate change or questions of environmental injustice. On the other, these issues have given rise to manifold ‘emerging public spheres’ inside and outside existing democratic institutions. Since both of these tendencies refer to the idea of sustainability, this contribution discusses the relationships between different future trajectories of sustainability and democracy in particular with regards to their inherent spatialities. Building on this, and following the works of contemporary political theorists and human geographers, it suggests conceptualizing democracy from a pragmatist point of view as coined by the North American philosopher John Dewey. In doing so, it becomes possible to reframe democracy in the Anthropocene and to conceive of it as an ever-evolving phenomenon of problem-solving communities that convene around different issues of shared concern. This perspective allows thinking beyond theorizations of global democracy, in favor of a democratic model that shows openness for social complexity and uncertainty and which accepts that the spaces of democratic action are not given from the outset but that they are brought into being by the emerging publics themselves.

Classroom Games to Teach Contemporary Political Theory

The use of games and simulation pedagogy has proliferated across political science and international relations, yet remains fledgling in political theory. Irrespective of discipline, the benefit of games and simulations is well established. However, existing simulations in political philosophy tend to address the teaching of the history of ideas, and historical theorists, rather than contemporary political theory. In this paper, I contribute to the increasing use of classroom games in contemporary political theory. I detail two specific classroom games designed for a course at an Australian university. These games address applied issues in contemporary political theory: equality of opportunity, and the right to just remuneration. Specifically, the games are designed to teach Cohen and Swift’s respective conceptions of equality of opportunity, and Van Parijs, Walzer, and Miller on the right to just remuneration. I first set out the design and implementation of the activities, together with possible improvements for instructors. I then address the broader role of classroom games to teach political theory, before concluding by reporting on student feedback.

English Medium university STEM teachers’ and students’ ideologies in constructing content knowledge through translanguaging

ABSTRACT New norms of linguistic ideology and practices emerged as English grows in higher education in non-English speaking countries. English Medium Instruction (EMI) has been formalised by overlooking the role of other (e.g. native) languages in knowledge construction and communication. This study investigates STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) teachers’ and students’ language-related ideologies about translanguaging at a private university in Bangladesh where English has been adopted as an instructional medium. The participants of this study include 6 university teachers and 10 students from STEM background. In-depth interviews with teachers and students reveal that, while English has been used as the official language for instruction, translanguaging has been highlighted for its purposeful use and significance in STEM classrooms, primarily in the construction of knowledge, communication, and scientific meaning-making. The findings of the study also shed light on the mismatch between macro-level English-only monolingual language policy adoption driven by contemporary ideologies associated with English, and micro-level stakeholders’ ideologies of translanguaging in STEM pedagogy. This study, therefore, argues for a change in the way of looking at bilinguals’ language practices and embracing the linguistic rights and reality for more flexible and inclusive language policy in higher education.

Interpretative flexibility and conflicts in the emergence of Mobility as a Service: Finnish public sector actor perspectives

Mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) is still largely under development, with high uncertainties of its societal implications. This development is happening across sectoral, multi-layered, and multi-actor networks. Previous case studies on understanding networked governance of MaaS inform us that there is a range of challenges in the current institutional arrangements, lack of shared MaaS vision, divergent interests, and even conflicts over roles and responsibilities. These case studies have used analytical frameworks based on socio-technical transitions theory, complemented with theories from institutional and business studies. This study focuses on Finland, aiming to provide additional insights about perspectives of non-commercial actors. In particular, we provide a more sophisticated understanding of underlying reasons for conflict and lack of cooperation concerning an understanding of MaaS, its implications, and associated governance actions. The applied analytical framework is building upon concepts from the philosophy and sociology of emerging technology, as well as the contemporary political theory of Chantal Mouffe. Interview findings from seventeen non-commercial organisations have been classified into five categories, namely definitions, operational and business aspects, user perspectives, systemic effects, and governance. Discussion of these interview findings focuses on the interpretative flexibility of MaaS and governance processes in the context of inherent conflict in the value-laden mobility domain. The paper concludes with outlining directions for further synthesis in developing analytical frameworks for studies of governance and responsible innovation in the domain of emerging mobility technologies.

Thorstein Veblen, Bard of Democracy

Few remember Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929) as a connoisseur of beauty or champion of beauty’s importance to an institutionally modern and technologically sophisticated society. Similarly few credit Veblen with any constructive theory of politics. Yet Veblen’s conception of the beautiful, his account of its role in human cultural evolution, and his critique of its perversion in the industrialized societies of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are invaluable to contemporary social-aesthetic aims of political and economic reconstruction. In contrast to the Veblen of memory, the real Veblen devoted significant intellectual energy to building a theory of what political thinkers today call public work: creative, negotiated, open-ended production of shared goods by individuals alert both to self-interest and collective needs. Partaking of the rich tradition of philosophical pragmatism, Veblen's social aesthetics also points to that tradition's continuing value for contemporary aesthetic, social, and political theory. Indeed, further augmented by recent advances in cultural evolutionary theory, Veblen’s pragmatist, public-work aesthetics suggests a vision of democratic citizenship defined by cooperative imagination, production, critique, and re-creation of a moral and material commonwealth. The so-called “bard of savagery,” therefore, is better understood as a “bard of democracy,” narrating the travails and affirming the ideals of a culture aspiring to self-government. His is a vision that might lend the fragmented field of social aesthetics a common, compelling narrative of its own.