scholarly journals Populism as an Essentially Contested Concept or: On the Dangers of Centrism

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Marius Hansteen
Keyword(s):  
Social Conflict ◽  
Symbolic Representation ◽  
Mirror Image ◽  
Radical Democracy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Central Feature ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Political Dynamics ◽  
The People ◽  
Essentially Contested Concept

The term «populism» is most often used polemically, and notably as a pejorative term, denoting an actual or potential threat to democracy. If, however, all problems and challenges to democracy are projected into an image of the populist danger, we encounter nothing but «centrism» as a mirror-image of «populism». Theories of «radical democracy» propose a more analytical concept of «populism», denoting the political dynamics of social conflict, i.e. how popular frustrations, claims and demands are articulated. In this perspective, political «agonism» is vital to democracy. My own take on these questions: «Democracy» is an essentially contested concept, but if we a central feature is that the «people» («demos») is the basis for the legitimacy of its institutions and policies, we must recognize that conflicts over the symbolic representation of «the people» are fundamental. To dismiss the problem is as dangerous as to claim that it is solved.

scholarly journals KONTRIBUSI NU SEBAGAI ORGANISASI CIVIL SOCIETY DALAM DEMOKRATISASI

Dialog ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-64
Author(s):  
Suryani Suryani
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
The Political ◽  
Muslim Community ◽  
Political Dynamics ◽  
The People ◽  
Nahdlatul Ulama

This paper illustrates how the political dynamics of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) as a part of civil society in Indonesia in the national political constellation. NU is a concrete example of the people power in the form of civil society whose existence should be noted. As the largest Muslim community in Indonesia, NU was recorded as the entity who contacted and reinforced the concept of civil society in Indonesia earlier than other Muslim modernist communities. NU activists and intellectuals play an earlier role in developing the discourse of civil society since the independence to now compared to Muhammadiyah, HMI alumni, or other Muslim leaders alumni from Masyumi.

The King Is King by the Grace of the People: The Exercise and Control of Power in Subject-Ruler Relations

1995 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ørnulf Gulbrandsen
Keyword(s):  
Political Leadership ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Political Dynamics ◽  
Authority Figure ◽  
The People ◽  
Political Relations ◽  
The Face ◽  
And Control

In the face of the dominating tradition of British structural functionalism, anthropological studies of political leadership represented an important move towards accounting for the dynamics of centralized, as well as acephalous, polities (for example, Barth 1959 and Baily 1970; cf. Schapera 1956). Moreover, in focusing upon political actors and, by extension, political relations, these studies necessarily took account of the role of the subjects. Yet, despite Gluckman's innovative notion of “rituals of rebellion” (1954; cf. Beidelman 1966), the issue of political leadership has rarely focused upon the political dynamics of the ruler-subject relationship, examining the concerns and responses of those who more or less voluntarily subject themselves to an authority figure. Even such an important contribution as Succession to High Office (Goody 1966) completely ignores this issue.

Constituent Power

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Radical Democracy ◽  
Carl Schmitt ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
Constituent Power ◽  
The People

Recent social and political developments, including the presidential elections in the United States, antidemocratic state policies in Hungary and Poland, and the political climate in the rest of Europe have brought questions relating to the position and composition of ‘the people’ in constitutional democracies to the forefront. This book confronts these questions head on as leading scholars across the fields of law, legal theory, political theory and history explore the contemporary problems facing constitutional democracies. With a strong focus on constitutional law, this book examines the legal as well as the political power of ‘the people’ in constitutional democracies. Bringing together an international range of contributors from the USA, Latin America, the UK and continental Europe, it explores the complex relationship between constitutional democracy and ‘the people’ from the angles of constitutional law, legal theory, political theory, and history. Contributors explore this relationship through the lens of radical democracy, engaging with the work of key figures such as Hannah Arendt, Carl Schmitt, Claude Lefort, and Jacques Rancière.

The Heavens are High and the Emperor is Near: An Imperial Power System that is Open to the People

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-145
Author(s):  
Lei Ge
Keyword(s):  
Power System ◽  
Power Structure ◽  
Personal Relationship ◽  
Personal Relationships ◽  
The Political ◽  
Continuous Development ◽  
Political Dynamics ◽  
The People ◽  
Imperial Power ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract When we say that “the Emperor is near,” we are referring not to his nearness to the officials below him but rather to the people. It has always been an indispensable element of the emperor’s authority that he is able to establish a clear relationship with the populace and allow them to directly feel his presence in their everyday lives—both materially and morally—and even more importantly, feel the emperor’s concern for the people on a regular basis. Fostering the people’s sense of coexistence with the emperor is essential to solidifying the emperor’s position and maintaining the emperor’s almost holy image. The development of the imperial power structure through the Qin and Han Dynasties can thus be seen as the continuous development of the relationship between the emperor and his subjects. The main agents in the imperial society can be defined as the emperor, his officials, and the people; it can not be limited simply to the political dynamics between the emperor and the officials. Through his autocratic rule, the emperor has the ability to build a personal, transcendent connection with the people. Imperial rule is by definition autocratic, but the entire imperial power structure necessarily includes the people and his personal relationship with them. By citing multiple historical examples, we can begin to see how the emperors established such personal relationships with the people and why they were important to his rule.

scholarly journals Contracting a Radical Democracy in the Balkans - The Return of the People as a Possibility for a Leftist Inauguration of Politics

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-88
Author(s):  
Artan Sadiku
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Radical Democracy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Event ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
The People ◽  
The Will

My aim is to strengthen the argument against the dereliction of the notion of democracy – as it has resulted in the Balkans and elsewhere and to provide a thesis that a radical political change in the Balkans requires the occurrence of a political event by which a new social contract can establish itself as a genuine expression of the will of the people, or more precisely a new mode of state as a result of a new balance of class antagonisms. Reaffirming the notion of the people against its political correlative – the citizen, I aim to prove that the ‘return of the people’ – as concept is crucial for the radicalization of the concept of democracy which enables the leftist politics to be inaugurated into the political proper. Author(s): Artan Sadiku Title (English): Contracting a Radical Democracy in the Balkans - The Return of the People as a Possibility for a Leftist Inauguration of Politics Journal Reference: Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Summer 2015) Publisher: Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities – Skopje  Page Range: 67-88 Page Count: 13 Citation (English): Artan Sadiku, “Contracting a Radical Democracy in the Balkans - The Return of the People as a Possibility for a Leftist Inauguration of Politics,” Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Summer 2015): 67-88.

Communal Democracy: The Social Contract and Confederalism in Rojava

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Knapp ◽  
Joost Jongerden
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Radical Democracy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Process Of Change ◽  
Active Participant ◽  
Short Overview ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Idea

The article engages with the question of self-governance and its implications for the concept of citizenship in Rojava. A short overview of the historical development of the political idea of democratic autonomy applied in Rojava is given, a model that claims to be on the way to creating a stateless model of radical democracy whose realisation involves forms of emancipation of the citizen, from a subject of a state to an active participant. The social contract and the structure of self-governance in Rojava is examined from this perspective, and the conclusion drawn that citizenship, which has been seized by the statist model, is currently being reclaimed by the people in Rojava through democratic autonomy. The process of change of citizenship is being effected through participative action and self-education as acts of citizenship and aims to separate the idea of government from the idea of the state.

The Brunanburh Campaign: A Reappraisal

2005 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Halloran
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Variant Form ◽  
Political Dynamics ◽  
Battle Of Brunanburh

Modern accounts of the battle of Brunanburh have generally suggested a location in the Northumbrian-Mercian borderlands east or west of the Pennines, a conclusion based in part on analysis of the aims and strategy of Anlaf Guthfrithson, Viking king of Dublin. This article re-examines the political dynamics of the coalition against Athelstan, taking account of the territorial and political ambitions of the kings of Alba and Strathclyde, and proposes a radically different interpretation of the campaign of 937. It also questions the reliability of the variant form Brunanburh as a guide to the battle's location and concludes that the most likely site was Burnswark in Annandale.

On the Will of the People: Notes on the Political “Theory” of Populism

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claus Offe
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
The Political ◽  
The People ◽  
National People ◽  
The Will

The “will of the (national) people” is the ubiquitously invoked reference unit of populist politics. The essay tries to demystify the notion that such will can be conceived of as a unique and unified substance deriving from collective ethnic identity. Arguably, all political theory is concerned with arguing for ways by which citizens can make e pluribus unum—for example, by coming to agree on procedures and institutions by which conflicts of interest and ideas can be settled according to standards of fairness. It is argued that populists in their political rhetoric and practice typically try to circumvent the burden of such argument and proof. Instead, they appeal to the notion of some preexisting existential unity of the people’s will, which they can redeem only through practices of repression and exclusion.

PERAN ULAMA SELAKU PEWARIS NABI DALAM KONTESTASI PEMILU-PILPRES TAHUN 2019 DI INDONESIA

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
abdul muiz amir
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
The Political ◽  
Archival Data ◽  
Political Event ◽  
Online Social Media ◽  
The People ◽  
Religious Issue ◽  
The Face ◽  
Religion And State

This study aims to find a power relation as a discourse played by the clerics as the Prophet's heir in the contestation of political event in the (the elections) of 2019 in Indonesia. The method used is qualitative based on the critical teory paradigm. Data gathered through literary studies were later analyzed based on Michel Foucault's genealogy-structuralism based on historical archival data. The findings show that, (1) The involvement of scholars in the Pemilu-Pilpres 2019 was triggered by a religious issue that has been through online social media against the anti-Islamic political system, pro communism and liberalism. Consequently create two strongholds from the scholars, namely the pro stronghold of the issue pioneered by the GNPF-Ulama, and the fortress that dismissed the issue as part of the political intrigue pioneered by Ormas NU; (2) genealogically the role of scholars from time to time underwent transformation. At first the Ulama played his role as well as Umara, then shifted also agent of control to bring the dynamization between the issue of religion and state, to transform into motivator and mediator in the face of various issues Practical politic event, especially at Pemilu-Pilpres 2019. Discussion of the role of Ulama in the end resulted in a reduction of the role of Ulama as the heir of the prophet, from the agent Uswatun Hasanah and Rahmatan lil-' ālamīn as a people, now shifted into an agent that can trigger the division of the people.

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