Homo Politicus Research Articles

Homo politicus. Der Mensch als politisches, religiöses und historisches Lebewesen aus der Sicht der Philosophie

In his contribution on “Homo politicus”, Prof. Siep deals with the human being as a political, religious and historical creature from the point of view of philosophy. He makes it clear that the zoon politicon in Aristotle is inextricably linked to the definition of human beings as reason and language talent (zoon logon echon). He points out that nowadays the Aristotelian tradition of homo politicus can be supported by scientific and cultural insights. Furthermore, the author also refers to the results of modern brain and behavioral research, which explores the physiological basis of specifically human abilities and deficiencies. In the following, the author goes into the anthropological basics - in particular the reduction of instincts and human language, which enables exchange between rational beings. He makes it clear that public speech was already the language of political beings in antiquity, if it is based on the equal co-determination of everyone, then, according to Aristotle, one speaks of a "polity", which means that one has arrived at democracy. If one also wants to designate other forms of government as “political”, the author believes that the term must be broadened, which in his opinion is made possible by referring to the monopoly on the use of force. The monopoly on the use of force requires legitimation. This leads the author to Max Weber's "Concept of the Political" and its forms of domination. Finally, he raises the question of consensus and dissent in a democracy, how individuals and groups with different views can agree in a 'public speech'.

Review: Petition for a Manifesto for Rooting and Liberating Arab Sociology [Mishkat Mithaq Ta’sseel wa Tahrir ‘Ilm al Ijtima‘a al ‘Arabi], by Mahmoud Al Dhaouadi

Review: <i>Petition for a Manifesto for Rooting and Liberating Arab Sociology [Mishkat Mithaq Ta’sseel wa Tahrir ‘Ilm al Ijtima‘a al ‘Arabi]</i>, by Mahmoud Al Dhaouadi

Climate change and carbon pricing: Overcoming three dimensions of failure

Pricing carbon to address climate change sparks divisions like few other policy options. From street riots to academic debate, it has stirred both passionate and principled disagreement, leaving scarce room for compromise between advocates and critics. Among scholars, what used to be nearly unanimous support for carbon pricing has ceded way to a more bifurcated landscape. We review the growing literature on carbon pricing shortfalls, and suggest a conceptual framework to differentiate three dimensions of failure, based on different manifestations of human behaviour: Homo Economicus, Homo Irrationalis, and Homo Politicus. We also apply this framework to identify and classify principles to overcome the three dimensions of failure. Our Perspective offers an agent-based view on the constraints that prevent deployment and efficient operation of carbon pricing in practice, and identifies pathways for improved policy design and implementation.

Biocentrism as one of the main categories of everyday biopolitical discourse

The main aim of the article is the conceptualization of the categorical apparatus of biopolitics. The focus is on biocentrism as one of the main categories of modern biopolitical discourse. It is stated that biopolitics today offers a variety of research directions and a specific categorical apparatus, while fluctuations in the interpretations of the main terms and categories should be noted. The main terms are considered: «biopolitics», «political man», biopower and biocentrism. The definition of the above terms in the biopolitics is systematized and proposed author’s definitions. «Homo Politicus» as a phenomenon was a complicated and problematic subject of scientific conceptualization. Proposed particulars of the biopolitical view on «Homo Politicus»: «Homo Politicus» is genetically related with another biological species and this definitely has influence to his behaviour in social and political sphere. For instance, any human being as any social primates has genetic inclination to adaptation, domination, subjugation. In case with «Homo Sapiens» this has a form of genetic and social adaptation, political domination and subjugation. The inclination to the domination from one side to the subjugation to another side is genetically «imprinted» in to the nature of the «Homo Politicus». However it is important to be mentioned that nevertheless the «Homo Sapiens» shares inclination of social primates for hierarchical social organization, at the same time he developed capabilities which are unique in animal world, such as: language, culture and morale. Thus, ideas and values created by the human being commenced changing of his behavior in social and political sphere. Author’s definitions: «Political man» as an individual with innate properties of the brain and the psyche that affects his social and political behavior can be adjusted in the process of socialization and education and change in accordance with the challenges of the twenty-first century. Biopolitics as a new evolutionary paradigm of contemporary political science that explores the «political man» as a biological species with an emphasis on psycho-physiological mechanisms of political behavior and their influence on the political process. Biopower as a new model of power relations, enshrined at the legislative level, designed to protect life in all its forms and manifestations. Biocentrism is aimed at protecting life in all spheres, understanding that a person is only part of the overall biodiversity, and therefore has no right to destroy the biosphere guided by economic benefits.

Undoing Neoliberalism:Homo Œconomicus,Homo Politicus, and theZōon Politikon

Previous articleNext article No AccessUndoing Neoliberalism: Homo Œconomicus, Homo Politicus, and the Zōon PolitikonSamuel A. ChambersSamuel A. Chambers Search for more articles by this author Samuel A. Chambers is professor in the Department of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of numerous books, most recently There’s No Such Thing as The Economy: Essays on Capitalist Value (2018).PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Critical Inquiry Volume 44, Number 4Summer 2018 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/698171 Views: 1281Total views on this site © 2018 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Homo Civicus vs. Homo Politicus: Why Some People Vote But Not Others

Homo Civicus vs. Homo Politicus: Why Some People Vote But Not Others

From Homo Politicus to Immobilized Icon

This article analyses Clifford Geertz’s shift from a social scientist who participated during the Cold War in policy-serving research on modernization in Indonesia to an anthropologist who focused on meaning and treated culture as an ensemble of texts to be read over the shoulder of the native. This shift becomes most evident in the different ways in which Geertz represented the social and political organization of the economy in Java and Bali in two of his major works. The results of these studies, though based on the same fieldwork data, are conflicting due to diverging theories and their epistemic design.

Homo Politicus and His Religiousness in Transitional Societies of Kirghizia

Homo Politicus and His Religiousness in Transitional Societies of Kirghizia

Political Science Concept Formation (Part III) - Different Approaches & Different Definitions

This is the last of three articles discussing concept formation in our field. The first concentrates on concept formation in general and highlights the role of definitions. The second article is more specific. It deals with David Easton’s well-known definition of politics as “authoritative allocation of values”. In this third and final paper the definitional modes of six different approaches are examined. The question, once again, is how formal aspects of defining combine with substantive images of Homo politicus. There is no simple conclusion, of course, because the examples analysed are highly diverse. They range from “subjectivist” approaches like discursive-constructivism all the way to “objectivist” approaches like empirical naturalism. Small wonder that different combinations of formal and substantive considerations prevail. Typical and atypical, tight and loose, soft and hard attributes combine in various ways. And, as is to be expected, the interrelation with political images varies, too.

Political Science Concept Formation (Part II) - David Easton's 'Authoritative Value Allocation'

This is the second of three articles on concept formation in our field. Its purpose is to apply the insights gained in Part I to a specific case, to David Easton’s definition of politics as “authoritative value allocation”. The definition is widely used – mainly because formal and substantive aspects of defining are successfully combined. It names primary rather than secondary attributes, features considered to be meaningful (typical, representative, essential). And it arranges them in a coherent manner that, ultimately, rests on an explicit image of Homo politicus. Given such lucidity the definition is a useful tool for scholars in grasping and shaping political reality. It facilitates the identification of phenomena (facts, data) considered to be “political” but also helps with description and explanation. The definition indicates what separates politics from other social pursuits, especially from economics and sociology. Last but not least, the definition promotes professional identity and the development of an epistemic community. It is also useful in integrating important branches of our discipline, the study of government and of international and of supranational politics. The paper ends with a few words about the methodological (cognitive, epistemological) advantages of Easton’s definition.

Homo artis, Homo laborans, and Homo politicus: The Pursuit of Redemption in Three Recent Argentine Films

Homo artis, Homo laborans, and Homo politicus: The Pursuit of Redemption in Three Recent Argentine Films

Homo Politicus – Towards a Theory of Political Action and Motivation

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to sketch an anthropology for political studies. Political science relies extensively on behavioral models borrowed from economics (taking human action to be rational and self-interested), sociology (explaining behavior in terms of norm-abidance and conformity), or even psychology (seeing actors as being motivated by their emotions, neurosis etc.). Strikingly, political science has not endeavored to develop an anthropology for its own purposes. Does it mean that there are no motivational structures that are distinctively relevant to political action? The paper argues that this is not the case. In fact, there is a distinctive conception of a human actor present in political science, even if implicitly, i.e., the conception of an actor who aims at what she perceives to be the common good, and guides her behavior along the lines of collective rationality. The paper aims at providing the first steps towards laying the theoretical and empirical foundations of such a model.

Humanity as Homo Culturus

This paper claims that human beings are first of all Homo Culturus and only then Homo Politicus, Homo Sociologus, or Homo Oeconomicus. Human beings are distinguished from all other species by what I call human symbols (HS), namely, language, thought, religion, knowledge/science, myths, laws, and cultural values and norms. As such, they are central to the human identity of individuals, groups, and societies and therefore basic keys for understanding and explaining individual as well as collective behaviors in human societies. The theoretical framework/paradigm of Homo Culturus also helps to explain the phenomenon of the human mind in its various forms: the illiterate mind, the educated mind, and the highly intellectual minds of scientists and scholars such as Ibn Khaldun.

Humanity as Homo Culturus

This paper claims that human beings are first of all Homo Culturus and only then Homo Politicus, Homo Sociologus, or Homo Oeconomicus. Human beings are distinguished from all other species by what I call human symbols (HS), namely, language, thought, religion, knowledge/science, myths, laws, and cultural values and norms. As such, they are central to the human identity of individuals, groups, and societies and therefore basic keys for understanding and explaining individual as well as collective behaviors in human societies. The theoretical framework/paradigm of Homo Culturus also helps to explain the phenomenon of the human mind in its various forms: the illiterate mind, the educated mind, and the highly intellectual minds of scientists and scholars such as Ibn Khaldun.

(De)Constructing Homo Politicus: Evidence from Post-Communist World Under EU Integration Asymmetrical Relation

This research deals with transformations of political identities under the influence of EU integration in a contemporary Balkan post-communist context; by this I mean entering and exiting the specific social domain of political action as a result of changed understanding that people make of their identities, individual and collective forces, limitations to understand social realities, and opportunities to change their lives. Beyond the Aristotelian vision of men as being natural political creatures, Machiavelli-inspired understanding of politics as strategic interaction, Tocquevillian image of politics as nets for social protection and Marxist idea of politics as superstructure for protecting and promoting economic interests hides a vast area where people also become involved or detached from politics despite their natural constitution and objective interests. They get in and out of the politics following logic that acts in coordination at different levels of analysis: intentions, motivations, beliefs, mentalities and attitudes. This combination of different levels, far from turning political identity into purely psychological phenomenon, requires a new analysis on the level of inter-subjective meaning.This research, based on a paradigm both interpretative and constructivist, provides findings pertaining to the effects of EU integration on people in two post-communist countries in the Balkans. I take two cases, Bulgaria and Macedonia, as examples of states already within the Union and as examples of those still waiting to become members. I use qualitative methodology, mainly semi-directive in-depth interviews and non-participant ethnographic observations from three field trips to these countries between 2009 and 2011.The findings confirm that these two political communities, far from being settled and static, are in a state of perpetual motion. Informants report moving into different directions regarding their place in politics as a direct result of European integration; through the process of inter-subjective understanding of this integration. People may become political or a-political, the same way as they may become more or less Bulgarian, or Macedonian, or European. These informants may become simultaneously more present in some aspects of political action, such as participation, and less present with others, such as social trust. These variations represent different cultural trajectories dynamically coexisting within national political community.

Definitions Matter: Reflections on Political Science Concept Formation

This is the first of three papers on political science concept formation. An initial text was presented at the 2010 APSA Convention (http://ssrn.com/abstract=1644465), but, as the discussion showed, the topic is more challenging than expected. I knew that conceptual quality is determined by the nature of definitions, but, as I began to realize, it is the selection of definitional attributes that matters most. I was also aware that scholars work with a conception of the matter investigated, with pre-conceived images of Homo politicus. I was surprised, however, to see how varied and intricate the interplay between attribute selection and images can be. These insights are not overly surprising. After all, we are dealing with both concept formation and politics. A single article grew into a publication composed of three parts. Part I addresses basic issues of concept formation. The focus is mainly on definitional attributes and their impact on conceptual usefulness. Attribute selection is important, because it determines how typical or atypical, tight or loose, hard or soft conceptual arrangements are. Finally, and as mentioned, it is a scholar’s image of Homo politicus that plays a role. Its interrelation with the three formal aspects can vary but is of crucial importance. All of these dimensions, in various combinations, determine conceptual functionality or, differently put, a concept’s usefulness in grasping and shaping reality. The purpose of Part II is to look at a concrete example, at David Easton's well-known definition of politics as “authoritative value allocation”. If the definition is regarded as useful by many, it is because Easton’s image of Homo politicus is successfully combined with the three more formal aspects of defining mentioned above. The concept, as a result, is a useful instrument in grasping and shaping political reality. Among other things it permits the identification of interesting variables, which is of particular importance to a behavioural empiricist like Easton. The definition’s integrative potential is considerable as well. As we will see, it is relevant for the study of both government and of international politics. Part III is more broadly conceived; the definitional modes of six different approaches are examined. The question, once again, is how formal aspects of defining combine with substantive images of Homo politicus. The examples analysed include such diverse approaches as inter-subjective discursivism, rational positivism and naturalist determinism. Small wonder that the combinations detected vary significantly. Explicit and tacit images of politics combine in different ways with attributes that are typical or atypical, tight or loose and hard or soft. Needless to add that some approaches are more functional than others.

Daughters’ Stories: Family Memory and Generational Amnesia

After World War II, most Bulgarian Jews emigrated legally to Israel. Those who stayed had to take part in the building of socialism and integrate in a monolithic “socialist nation.” Thereby they had to “forget” their ethnic identity (“aided” by the state in various ways) and to become Homo politicus rather than Homo ethnicus. Since 1990, a revival of Jewish identity has begun in Bulgaria. Here I explore how the women of three generations from the same family reinvent their Jewish identity in their life stories. Drawing on this particular case, I suggest an approach to the question of the interplay of individual and collective memory. I focus on family and generation as different types of collectivities influencing individual memories and self-actualizations.

Passions and interests revisited: the psychological foundations of economics and politics

Homo Politicus, Homo Oeconomicus. Can these two abstract human types meaningfully be distinguished? Is there a characteristic set of motivations that drive human beings in so far as they are political actors and a different set that drive their economic lives? What are the psychological foundations of economics and politics? The answers to these questions have significant implications both for the study and the practice of economics and politics. If homo politicus is essentially identical to homo oeconomicus, it is safe to generalize from the study of economic behavior to political phenomena. If not, such a procedure will distort our understanding of politics. Similarly, if we design political institutions and public policies assuming that people will behave as they do when they confront economic choices, we may find our intentions thwarted if we have neglected the distinctive motivations characteristic of political action.

Citizenship and consumption

List of Illustrations List of Figures and Tables Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors Introduction: K.Soper & F.Trentmann PART 1: RETRIEVAL Civic Choices: Retrieving Perspectives on Rationality, Consumption, and Citizenship M.Bevir & F.Trentmann Consumption and Politics in Twentieth-Century China K.Gerth Sartorial Manoeuvres in the Dusk: Blue Jeans in Socialist Hungary F.Hammer PART 2: TALK AND ACTION Consuming without Paying: Stealing or Campaigning? The Civic Implications of Civil Disobedience around Access to Water B.Morgan The Banality of Consumption M.Hilton 'Public Connection' and the Uncertain Norms of Media Consumption N.Couldry, S.Livingstone & T.Markham The Moral Force of Consumption and Capitalism: Anti-Slavery and Anti-Sweatshop M.Micheletti PART 3: PROSPECTS Exit Homo Politicus , Enter Homo Consumens Z.Bauman Consumer Citizenship in Post-national Constellations? M.Everson & C.Joerges Sustainability, Well-being and Consumption: The Limits of Hedonic Approaches J.O'Neill 'Alternative Hedonism' and the Citizen-Consumer K.Soper Index

A new partnership between science and politics. European scientists ought to adapt to new research policy paradigms.

A new partnership between science and politics. European scientists ought to adapt to new research policy paradigms.