scholarly journals Realism and Real Politics. The gap between promise and practice in Bernard Williams’ realism

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janosch Prinz
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Bernard Williams ◽  
Cast Doubt

This paper seeks to show that Bernard Williams’ approach to legitimacy falls short of its aspirations in ways that cast doubt on its fitness for guiding the practice of future realist political theory. More precisely, the paper focuses on the shortcomings of Williams’ realism in establishing a connection to (the practices of) politics, and on how to redeem those shortcomings in a way that would render them suitable for guiding future realist political theory. The first substantive section of the paper considers how compatible Williams’ commitments to diagnosis and interpretation are, with how he spells out his realist thought. The second section argues that making good on Williams’ commitments requires realist political theorists to rethink the sources of their insights and the basis of their claims, and sketches pragmatist and ethnographic approaches as promising examples of how realists could match theoretical commitments in practice.

Normativism and realism within contemporary democratic constitutionalism

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 661-681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerio Fabbrizi
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Constitutional Theory ◽  
Bernard Williams ◽  
Political Realism ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Realist Perspective ◽  
Realist Conception

The renewed interest on political realism can offer a new reading of the traditional dichotomy between normative and realist conception of constitutionalism. The purpose of this article is to analyse this renewed discussion, especially by focusing on the relationship between “political realism” and “political constitutionalism,” in the light of some theorists and authors—such as Richard Bellamy and Jeremy Waldron. After a brief introduction in which political realism will be discussed, especially through Bernard Williams’ reinterpretation, the article proposes a rereading of democratic constitutionalism from the classical dichotomy between normativism and realism in political theory. The focus will be set on three key issues: 1. Richard Bellamy’s constitutional theory in a realist perspective; 2. An insight of legal constitutionalism under a normative banner; 3. A brief conclusion in which the risks of a majoritarian and populist constitutionalism will be discussed.

scholarly journals From Practice to Principle and Back: Applying a New Realist Method to the European Union’s Democratic Deficit

2017 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 339-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Pieter Beetz
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Order ◽  
Democratic Deficit ◽  
Bernard Williams ◽  
Step Method ◽  
Realist Theory ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Political Theories ◽  
Sensitive Phase ◽  
European Union Studies

The prospect of a Brexit illustrates that the European Union’s legitimacy deficit can have far-reaching political consequences. In normative political theory, realists take a keen interest in questions of legitimacy. Building on Bernard Williams’ realist writings, I propose a two-step method of normative political theorization. Each step contains both a practice-sensitive phase and a practice-insensitive phase. First, the conceptualization of a norm should draw on conceptual resources available to agents within their historical circumstances. Second, the prescriptions that follow from this norm should take into account whether political order can be maintained. Applying this method to the European Union’s democratic deficit yields, first, based on public opinion research, the norm of European deep diversity and, second, a set of prescriptions for a demoicratic confederacy. Thereby, I demonstrate that this realist method is able to yield political theories distinct from other philosophical approaches. Moreover, I contribute a realist theory to the normative literature in European Union studies.

scholarly journals Politics and the limits of philosophy: Bernard Williams on realism in political theory

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-101
Author(s):  
Ivan Mladenovic
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Bernard Williams ◽  
Political Realism ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
Normative Political Theory

Bernard Williams?s papers collected in the volume In the Beginning Was the Deed: Realism and Moralism in Political Argument had a great influence on contemporary normative political theory. Williams not only revived the topic of realism in political theory, but also defended the approach of political realism that he contrasts to the approach of political moralism. This paper will focus on the distinction between political realism and political moralism. Moreover, the question of legitimacy will be considered in the light of this distinction. After examination of the distinction between political realism and political moralism, we will be in a position to address the main question that this paper aims to answer: does political realism set any limits on political philosophy?

ON REALIST LEGITIMACY

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Wendt
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Bernard Williams ◽  
Theories Of Justice ◽  
The Right ◽  
Realist Perspective ◽  
Distinct Approach

Abstract:In the last ten or fifteen years, realism has emerged as a distinct approach in political theory. Realists are skeptical about the merits of abstract theories of justice. They regard peace, order, and stability as the primary goals of politics. One of the more concrete aims of realists is to develop a realist perspective on legitimacy. I argue that realist accounts of legitimacy are unconvincing, because they do not solve what I call the “puzzle of legitimacy”: the puzzle of how some persons can have the right to rule over others, given that all persons are equals. I focus on the realist accounts of legitimacy developed by Bernard Williams and John Horton.

scholarly journals Genealogical Solutions to the Problem of Critical Distance: Political Theory, Contextualism and the case of Punishment in Transitional Scenarios

Res Publica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Testini
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Hybrid Method ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Critical Distance ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Bernard Williams ◽  
Historical Inquiry ◽  
Specific Kind ◽  
Action Guidance

AbstractIn this paper, I argue that one approach to normative political theory, namely contextualism, can benefit from a specific kind of historical inquiry, namely genealogy, because the latter provides a solution to a deep-seated problem for the former. This problem consists in a lack of critical distance and originates from the justificatory role that contextualist approaches attribute to contextual facts. I compare two approaches to genealogical reconstruction, namely the historiographical method pioneered by Foucault and the hybrid method of pragmatic genealogy as practiced by Bernard Williams, arguing that they both ensure an increase in critical distance while preserving contextualism’s distinctiveness. I also show, however, that only the latter provides normative action-guidance and can thus assist the contextualist theorist in the crucial task of discerning how far certain contextual facts deserve their justificatory role. I prove this point by showing how a pragmatic genealogy of the practice of punishment can inform the contextualist’s reflection about the role this practice should play in a transitional scenario, i.e. in the set of circumstances societies go through in the aftermath of large-scale violence and human rights violations.

Referendum: A Complement or a Threat to Representative Democracy?

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 197-218
Author(s):  
Cirila Toplak
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Representative Democracy ◽  
Original Form ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Public Issues ◽  
Cast Doubt ◽  
Elected Representatives ◽  
National Experience

AbstractReferendum, the instrument which allows the citizens to directly decide on important public issues, is the original form of democratic decision-making procedure. It may be perceived as a welcome and necessary complement to representative democracy, especially in the current crisis of confidence in political institutions and parties. However, leaving the decisions to citizens may also cast doubt on the ability and credibility of the elected representatives; the referenda may become a public vote of confidence or distrust in the initiator(s). This article considers the implementation of the referendum in history, as well as the conception of it in political theory and political practice, and implementation of the referendum in (post-Communist) Central Europe. To this end, a comparative analysis of six Central European representative democracies is presented, from the perspective of past national experience with direct democracy, and related national issues and regulatory solutions.

Testing pragmatic genealogy in political theory: The curious case of John Rawls

2020 ◽  
pp. 147488512090977
Author(s):  
Francesco Testini
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
John Rawls ◽  
Alternative Strategy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Bernard Williams ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Democratic Societies ◽  
Basic Ideas ◽  
Miranda Fricker

Starting from the ‘Dewey Lectures’, Rawls presents his conception of justice within a contextualist framework, as an elaboration of the basic ideas embedded in the political culture of liberal-democratic societies. But how are these basic ideas to be justified? In this article, I reconstruct and criticize Rawls’s strategy to answer this question. I explore an alternative strategy, consisting of a genealogical argument of a pragmatic kind – the kind of argument provided by authors like Bernard Williams, Edward Craig and Miranda Fricker. I outline this genealogical argument drawing on Rawls’s reconstruction of the origins of liberalism. Then, I clarify the conditions under which this kind of argument maintains vindicatory power. I claim that the argument satisfies these conditions and that pragmatic genealogy can thus partially vindicate the basic ideas of liberal-democratic societies.

Political Theory and African Politics

1968 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael F. Lofchie
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Special Problem ◽  
Political Life ◽  
African Politics ◽  
Violent Behaviour ◽  
National Unity ◽  
Cast Doubt ◽  
Special Challenge ◽  
African Political Parties

The subject-matter of African politics has always presented a special challenge and a special problem to political scientists, namely to develop a theory which would make sense of a vast, inchoate, and unfamiliar body of material. This problem has become particularly acute in the last year or two. The rapid deterioration of African political parties, a series of military coups, recurrent crises of national unity, and heightened tendencies towards anomic and violent behaviour have not only cast doubt on previous assumptions as to the nature of African political life but have also led to a heightened mood of theoretical uncertainty among political scientists.

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