From Postmaterialism to Sustainable Materialism

2019 ◽  
pp. 23-48
Author(s):  
David Schlosberg ◽  
Luke Craven
Keyword(s):  
Policy Development ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
The Other ◽  
Political Consumerism ◽  
Environmental Movements ◽  
Liberal Pluralism ◽  
Material Life ◽  
The One

We begin the analysis with a discussion of why movement actors shift from more classic political action and policy development into the development of sustainable materialist practices. There is a clear frustration and disillusionment with both contemporary material life on the one hand, and liberal pluralism and capital on the other. The postmaterialist approach to environmental movements is inadequate in a number of ways, as the movements we explore illustrate a clear frustration and disillusionment with both contemporary material life on the one hand, and liberal pluralism and capital on the other. We introduce and discuss a range of other approaches to material action, including lifestyle politics, political consumerism, sustainable consumption, and postcapitalist frameworks, but also lay out their limitations in fully encompassing and explaining sustainable materialist movements.

scholarly journals Liberalism, Governmentality and Counter-Conduct; An Introduction to Foucauldian Analytics of Liberal Civil Society Notions

2015 ◽  
pp. 8-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miikka Pyykkönen
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Potential Field ◽  
Political Action ◽  
The Other ◽  
Coercive Power ◽  
Historical Reality ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One

This article gives an analysis of Foucault’s studies of civil society and the various liberalist critiques of government. It follows from Foucault’s genealogical approach that “civil society” does not in itself possess any form of transcendental existence; its historical reality must be seen as the result of the productive nature of the power-knowledge-matrices. Foucault emphasizes that modern governmentality—and more specifically the procedures he names “the conduct of conduct”—is not exercised through coercive power and domination, but is dependent on the freedom and activeness of individuals and groups of society. Civil society is thus analyzed as fundamentally ambivalent: on the one hand civil society is a field where different kinds of technologies of governance meet the lives and wills of groups and individuals, but on the other hand it is a potential field of what Foucault called ‘counter-conduct’ – for both collective action and individual political action.

1. Interconnections between science and politics

2020 ◽  
pp. 27-53
Author(s):  
Jean-Frédéric Morin ◽  
Amandine Orsini ◽  
Sikina Jinnah
Keyword(s):  
Social Practice ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Political Action ◽  
The Other ◽  
Political Values ◽  
Political Dynamics ◽  
Political Debates ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Science And Politics ◽  
The One

This chapter discusses the complex and multifaceted relationship between science and politics. Although science and politics each follow a distinct logic and pursue distinct objectives, they are inextricably connected to one another. On the one hand, science influences political debates, by drawing attention to certain problems and providing necessary justifications for political action. On the other hand, political dynamics, including political values and power relations, structure the conduct of science. The chapter highlights the different aspects of the co-production of science and politics, in the framework of international environmental debates. An increasing number of studies on global environmental governance suggest that science and politics are co-produced. As they shape each other, it is impossible to understand one without considering the other. Political interactions are partly based on available knowledge, and scientific production is a social practice that is conditioned by its political context.

The Dynamics of Environmental Campaigns

2002 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donatella Porta ◽  
Dieter Rucht
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Division Of Labor ◽  
The Other ◽  
Western World ◽  
Environmental Movements ◽  
Common Pattern ◽  
Environmental Conflicts ◽  
Environmental Campaigns ◽  
The One ◽  
Different Levels

Environmental movements and their activities are studied from various angles, by different methods, and at different levels. While both detailed studies on single incidents of conflict and broad overviews of movements are available, relatively little work has been done at the intermediate level between these extremes. We argue that it is fruitful to engage at this level by undertaking comparative analysis of environmental campaigns. Such studies could help deal with inconclusive observations and findings on the changes of environmental movements during the last three decades. We hypothesize that indeed environmental activism has changed remarkably. By and large, conflicts are no longer marked by a relatively simple constellation of one challenger facing one target or opponent. Instead, we find a complex web of involved actors reaching from local to international levels. These actors tend to form broad alliances, and to link on different issues. Also, their activities are not restricted to only one arena or strategy but involve all available channels, arenas, and action repertoires to have an impact. Quite often, we observe loose coalitions of groups that act in an implicit division of labor, thereby playing on their respective backgrounds, foci, and experiences. Given the variety of actors, their organizational forms and tactics on the one hand and their different contexts on the other, it is unlikely that a common pattern of conflict will emerge across various issues and geographical areas. This is all the more true when comparing environmental conflicts in the Western and Non-Western world.

A Space of Our Own: The Case for Masters-Level Professional Anthropology

1997 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-21
Author(s):  
Marsha Jenakovich ◽  
R. Murdoch
Keyword(s):  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Applied Research ◽  
Applied Anthropology ◽  
The Other ◽  
Professional Experience ◽  
The Past ◽  
Independent Consulting ◽  
The One

For the past three years, both of the authors have been participants in the creation of a network of anthropologists practicing with masters' degrees. The observations in this article have slowly grown out of the experiences of members of this network, as well as the professional experience of the authors. Murdoch, on the one hand, has been consistently engaged in work on the fringes of applied research, with a focus on policy development and NGOs. Jenakovich, on the other, has worked primarily with grassroots, educational, nonprofit organizations, with a 2-year stint as assistant graduate director for an applied anthropology training program. Both authors also have experience with independent consulting.

scholarly journals Everyday Life and Everyday Communication in Coronavirus Capitalism

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 375-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Fuchs
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Social Space ◽  
The Other ◽  
Fear Of Death ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Existential Crisis ◽  
Collective Experience ◽  
The One ◽  
Everyday Communication

In 2020, the coronavirus crisis ruptured societies and their everyday life around the globe. This article is a contribution to critically theorising the changes societies have undergone in the light of the coronavirus crisis. It asks: How have everyday life and everyday communication changed in the coronavirus crisis? How does capitalism shape everyday life and everyday communication during this crisis? Section 2 focuses on how social space, everyday life, and everyday communication have changed in the coronavirus crisis. Section 3 focuses on the communication of ideology in the context of coronavirus by analysing the communication of coronavirus conspiracy stories and false coronavirus news.  The coronavirus crisis is an existential crisis of humanity and society. It radically confronts humans with death and the fear of death. This collective experience can on the one hand result in new forms of solidarity and socialism or can on the other hand, if ideology and the far-right prevails, advance war and fascism. Political action and political economy are decisive factors in such a profound crisis that shatters society and everyday life.  

scholarly journals The Atmosphere of Democracy: Knowledge and Political Action

2020 ◽  
pp. 69-91
Author(s):  
Nico Stehr
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Behavioral Changes ◽  
The Other ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThe leading scientists debating climate change increasingly view the relationship between knowledge and governance as an “inconvenient democracy.” On the one hand, the discrepancy between the knowledge of climate change and citizens’ commitments to behavioral changes amounts to the diagnosis of an “inconvenient mind”; on the other hand, the inertia of policies to capture progress in knowledge leads to the diagnosis of “inconvenient institutions.” The sense of political ineffectiveness felt especially among climate scientists provokes a strong disenchantment with democratic governance. As a result, some scientists propose that political action based on principles of democratic governance be abandoned. In my article, I argue that such a view is mistaken.

scholarly journals The Meaning of Radicalisation in Modern Social Pedagogy

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (Spec. Iss.) ◽  
pp. 103-127
Author(s):  
Ana Bogdan Zupančič
Keyword(s):  
Structural Change ◽  
Community Development ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Political Action ◽  
The Other ◽  
Societal Issues ◽  
Social Pedagogy ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Realistic Option ◽  
The One

The article defines radicalisation as part of the processes of modern liberation, which are recognised in the interlacement of emancipatory potential in social pedagogy and mobilisation in the theory of community development. In parallel to this, we problematise the internally divided socio-pedagogical attitude, which, on the one hand, seeks to liberate, and on the other hand, is repeatedly caught in the preservation of existing “oppressive” power relations. In doing so, we consider the concerns regarding political action as the goal of “radicalising” social pedagogy, which indicate that in social pedagogy we have internalized collaboration as a democratic “norm” of solving social and other societal issues and thus accepted it as the only formally realistic option to achieve structural change.

‘Victim playing’ as a form of verbal aggression in the Czech parliament

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Berrocal
Keyword(s):  
Political Action ◽  
The Other ◽  
Discourse Structure ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Scarce Resources ◽  
Linguistic Style ◽  
The Core ◽  
The People ◽  
Discourse Strategies ◽  
The One

Abstract As the core of political discourse is the struggle for power and scarce resources, conflict seems to be an essential component of political action and interaction. In addition, conflicts in parliament are manifested in many different ways. They range from disputes during the plenary sessions to more personal attacks in the question time. This paper, however, examines an atypical display of parliamentary discourse, namely a speech by a social democratic MP David Rath, which regarded a vote on his extradition and was delivered on 5 June 2012. This speech obviously did not fulfil the primary function of the parliamentary sessions, i.e. legislating and decision-making. Here the MP was given the opportunity to present his own version of events and ask fellow MPs to maintain his parliamentary immunity. The analysis revealed two intertwining discourse strategies. On the one hand, the MP who is charged with several criminal acts presents himself as a victim of a conspiracy. In that, he aims to divert attention from the criminal case while calling for sympathy and providing self-justification. On the other hand, he uses his time to verbally complain about his arrest, the conditions in which he is held in custody, and the people he holds responsible for his current situation; he uses verbal attacks to undermine and disqualify a number of overt and covert enemies. The key aim of the analysis is to explore how victimhood is constructed in discourse, what discourse strategies are observable at the macro-level and how they are reflected in the discourse structure and in the linguistic style.

Clientelism, Law and Politics. Considerations in the Light of the Argentine Case

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Rivas
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Other ◽  
Law And Politics ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Political Relations ◽  
The One ◽  
Empirical Approaches

AbstractThe purpose of this article is, on the one hand, to explain what clientelism is through a description of its characteristics in its current Argentinean form. On the other hand, it will evaluate clientelism from a legal and political point of view. In order to achieve these purposes, we will distinguish clientelism from legitimate politics, and then offer a critical evaluation in case there were any differences. Regarding the first objective, it will be necessary to resort to some kind of canonical definition, broad enough to grasp different clientelistic phenomena. Then, it will be possible to explain its Argentinean particularities, noting that it happens to be a specially interesting kind of clientelism because of its refinement and breadth. As to the second objective, we will oppose to the reasoning that equates clientelism and legitimate types of political action. We will argue that ordinary politics is different and that, in fact, this difference turns clientelism illegitimate. Criticism against clientelism may include empirical approaches but, as these only show deficiencies of a particular public policy, they lack the ability to be extended to other cases. Alternative criticism may be more interesting, but it will necessarily be weaker as it may only reveal a model of citizens and political relations upon which clientelism is grounded.

scholarly journals Political Movement By Apolitical Activist: Gezi Park Protests

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferihan Polat ◽  
Ozlem Ozdesim Subay
Keyword(s):  
Political Action ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
The Other ◽  
Political Movement ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Party Government ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One

Gezi Park Protests leaving its mark in the June of 2015, is understood from so many perspectives by national and international academicians. On the one hand, some social scientists recognize this movement as apolitical action by analyzing the identity of activist, on the other hand, some of them claims that this movement is a political one by pointing out that the aim of the movement is against the Ak Party Government especially Erdoğan himself. This study aiming to understand Gezi Park Protests puts forward that having apolitical identity of activists is not enough to recognize the movement as apolitical one and also claiming that having political action cannot be explained by the idea that the movement is just against the Ak Party Government. This study justifying that this movement cannot be explained by the idea of domestic political conflict and separation as Turkey is a part of global capitalist order, focuses on dimensions of crossing national borders. Beyond the evaluation of Gezi Park Protests as an international conspiracy, interpretation of this movement as a part of the growing public protests against the system on a global scale is a more plausible perspective to understand the multidimensional social reality.

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