scholarly journals Towards Biopolitics beyond Life and Death: The Virus, Life, and Death

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Toni Čerkez ◽  
Martin Gramc
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Species ◽  
Donna Haraway ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Political Sphere ◽  
Geological Processes

By engaging with Giorgio Agamben’s article on the Italian government’s measures during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, we argue that COVID-19 points to the limits of the classical biopolitical and thanatopolitical logics of analysis and therefore requires a new conceptual framework. The outbreak of COVID-19 is an example of zoonotic globalisation in which the human species as a biological and geological actor is merely one among many other species that influence biological and geological processes on Earth, thus challenging humanist conceptualisations of politics. Here, the human role in politics is decentralised by thinking the virus as one of the actors that exert influence on how the political sphere is governed. We argue that the virus is the epitome of the ungovernable – an entity or broadly a historical challenge that cannot be subjected to existing mode(s) of governing – due to its interstitial and borderline character, resting between the ontological roots of the dominant modes of governing bios (life) and geos (nonlife), and challenging them by merely existing. We draw upon the works of Ghassan Hage, Nils Bubandt, Elizabeth Povinelli, and Donna Haraway to interrogate the limits of biopolitics and diagnose theoretical conundrums stemming from the division of nature vs. culture and life vs. nonlife entrenched in the existing social-political paradigms. Rather than providing finite answers about the role of the virus as a non-human actor in the political sphere, we raise questions as to how and why it should matter.

scholarly journals STRATEGI DAKWAH SIASYAH PARTAI PERSATUAN PEMBANGUNAN DI JAWABARAT

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-36
Author(s):  
Ridwan - Mubarok
Keyword(s):  
World Politics ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Sphere ◽  
The Past ◽  
The People ◽  
Missionary Movement ◽  
Or Organization

For every Muslim, the role of civilization is identical to authentic mission as a leader as a leader in this earth, whose role is greater than leading a province or country. The participation of ulama, dai or da'wah movements in the political sphere is his right, but the missionary movement or organization must also be aware of and be aware of people or persons who want to manipulate da'wah as a vehicle for world politics. Da'wah movements or dai must be able to use various life instruments that exist today for the sake of da'wah. Ulama and the da'i who join in the organization movement or da'wah movement, must realize that they are part of the chain of struggle of the people. Now is the time for da'i or ulama to proclaim themselves from the past fetters that castrated the political life of the scholars.Bagi setiap muslim, peran peradaban identik dengan misi otentik sebagai pemimpin sebagai pemimpin dimuka bumi ini, yang perannya lebih besar dibandingkan memimpin sebuah provinsi atau negara. Keikutsertaan para ulama, dai atau gerakan dakwah dalam ranah politik merupakan haknya, akan tetapi gerakan atau organisasi dakwah juga harus menyadari serta mewaspadai terhadap orang atau oknum yang hendak memperalat dakwah sebagai kendaraan politik dunia. Gerakan dakwah ataupun para dai harus dapat menggunakan berbagai instrument kehidupan yang ada saat ini untuk kepentingan dakwah. Ulama maupun para da’i yang bergabung dalam gerakan organisasi atau gerakan dakwah, harus menyadari bahwasanya dirinya merupakan bagian dari mata rantai perjuangan umat. Kini sudah saatnya para da’i ataupun ulama dapat memproklamirkan diri dari belenggu masa lalu yang mengebiri kehidupan politik para ulama, PPP menjadi salah satu alternatif.

Interrogating Klein's Shock Doctrine

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 116-128
Author(s):  
Saroj Giri
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
The Political ◽  
Democratic Socialism ◽  
End Of History ◽  
Political Sphere ◽  
Democratic Capitalism ◽  
The End Of History ◽  
Movimientos Sociales

In The Shock Doctrine Naomi Klein rightly critiques capitalism in its repressive ‘market fundamentalist’ avatar. But she does not problematise ‘democratic capitalism’ or the very form of capitalist democracy. Instead she advocates the latter. Thus for her the role of social movements is limited to the extension of democracy, from the political sphere, to the economic. No problem as such there – until we find that her advocacy for social movements derives from the need to make sure “disillusioned citizens would not go looking once again for a more appealing ideology, whether fascism or Communism” (p. 54). It is hard to overlook her liberal rationale. Neoliberalism must be challenged, since it is a bad candidate to keep the ‘hard left’ in check. Klein functions within the paradigm of the ‘end of ideology’ and the ‘end of history’: anything beyond liberal capitalist democracy takes us to ‘totalitarianism’, where fascism and communism merge. Social movements and people's subjectivity that tend towards the ‘hard left’ (for example, those on the left of Allende's democratic socialism in Chile who were fighting the coup), finds mention in her analysis, if at all, only to be repudiated as a danger. En su La Doctrina del Shock, Naomi Klein critica correctamente al capitalismo en su versión represiva, de ‘fundamentalismo de mercado’, pero no problema-tiza sobre ‘el capitalismo democrático’, o sobre la forma de la democracia capitalista misma. De lo contrario, la apoya. Es decir que para ella el rol de los movimientos sociales se limita a extender la democracia desde la esfera de la política hacia la de la economía. Hasta ahí no hay problema, hasta que nos encontramos con que su apoyo a los movimientos sociales es un resultado de la necesidad de asegurar que “ciudadanxs desilusinadxs no se [metan] en la búsqueda de una ideología más cercana a sus intereses, sea el facismo o el comunismo” (p. 54). Resulta difícil dejar de lado su racionalidad liberal: hay que desafiar al neoliberalismo porque no es buen candidato a mantener a la ‘izquierda dura’ bajo control. Klein funciona claramente dentro del paradigma del ‘fin de las ideologías’ y del ‘fin de la historia’: todo lo que existe más allá de la democracia liberal capitalista es el ‘totalitarismo’, adonde !facismo y comunismo se fusionan! Los movimientos sociales y la subjetividad de quienes tienden hacia la ‘izquierda dura’ (por ejemplo, aquellxs a la izquierda del socialismo democrático de Allende en Chile que lucharon contra el golpe) son mencionados en su análisis (si es que son mencionados) sólo para ser repudiados por ser considerados como un peligro.

scholarly journals Within the heart’s darkness: The role of emotions in Arendt’s political thought

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Degerman
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
The Relationship

Interest in the political relevance of the emotions is growing rapidly. In light of this, Hannah Arendt’s claim that the emotions are apolitical has come under renewed fire. But many critics have misunderstood her views on the relationship between individuals, emotions and the political. This paper addresses this issue by reconstructing the conceptual framework through which Arendt understands the emotions. Arendt often describes the heart – where the emotions reside – as a place of darkness. I begin by tracing this metaphor through her work to demonstrate that it is meant to convey the inherently uncertain nature of emotions rather than a devaluation of them. I proceed to challenge the notion that Arendt adopts the Enlightenment dichotomy between reason and emotion. In fact, she rejects both as a basis for politics. However, she does identify some constructive roles for the emotions. I argue that fear is intrinsically connected to courage – the principal political virtue – in Arendt’s philosophy. In light of my discussion, I then reinterpret the role of compassion and pity in On Revolution, concluding that Arendt’s insights can help us avoid the potential pitfalls of the contemporary project to recuperate the emotions in politics.

Arendt, Truth, and Epistemic Responsibility

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 149-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasemin Sari ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Hannah Arendt ◽  
Political Action ◽  
The Political ◽  
Epistemic Responsibility ◽  
Factual Information ◽  
Philosophical Perspective ◽  
Political Sphere ◽  
Normative Order

In this article, I offer a politico-philosophical perspective to reassess the much-contested role of truth in politics to put forth a principle of political action that will make sense of a “right to unmanipulated factual information,” which Hannah Arendt understands as crucial for establishing freedom of opinion. In developing a principle of epistemic responsibility, I will show that “factual truth” plays a key role in Arendt’s account of political action and provides a normative order that can extricate her account from charges of immoralism. The article will be divided into three sections: section 1 deals with the distinction between rational truths and factual truths, and the question of their validity, section 2 deals with what a principle of political action is, and lastly, section 3 proposes a principle of “epistemic responsibility” that becomes action-guiding in the political sphere, in order to shed new light on the 2013 Gezi Park protest, one of the recent democratic uprisings of our century.

The Democratizer Army Paradox: The Role of the Algerian Army in Impeded Democratization

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 1033-1047
Author(s):  
Furkan Halit Yolcu
Keyword(s):  
Process Tracing ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Sphere ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Military

The main paradox of the civil–military relations theory has been the protection of the political sphere from the military, which is administered by the politicians. The new dilemma lies under the paradox that occurs when the political sphere is entirely co-opted by the military, which is legitimized through democratization instead of protection of the civilian sphere. The question regarding the continuity of the pathology, the military superiority over the civil administration, has been largely omitted. This study is an attempt to respond to this conundrum related to the continuity of pathological civil–military relations. The main focus is the pathology that occurs when the military is the modernizer or the democratizer in a country. The study uses process tracing to collect the data as research attempts to unravel the rationale behind the continuity of military dominance in politics. In doing so, it will attempt to trace the causality between the lack of democratization and military dominance over politics in the case of Algeria.

Solon's "Theôria" and the End of the City

2000 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 304-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Ker
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Political Sphere ◽  
The City

How are we to understand Solon's departure from Athens "for the sake of theôria" immediately after the introduction of his laws (Hdt. 1.29)? Previous accounts have taken theôria to mean "sightseeing," but the goal of Solon's departure-to avoid explaining or changing the laws-is guaranteed by certain religious features of theôria: the theôros plays the role of civic guardian and must not add to or subtract from an oracle he conveys to the city, and during the theôria the city itself must remain pure and avoid disturbances. Solon adapts these features of theôria to establish his laws as a pseudo-oracular discourse, as a purification of the city, and as a permanent civic medium. The beginning of Solon's open-ended journey thus gives ideological finality to the laws at the middle of the city. This reading of Solon's theôria coheres with other instances of the creative adaptation of ritual in archaic Greek politics. It also develops our understanding of the discourse on theôria as regulating the laws (nomoi) that constitute the political sphere.

Toleration and Some Related Concepts in Kant

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-192
Author(s):  
Andrew Bain ◽  
Paul Formosa
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Political Sphere

AbstractIn this article we examine Kant’s understanding of toleration by including a study of all instances in which he directly uses the language of toleration and related concepts. We use this study to resolve several key areas of interpretative dispute concerning Kant’s views on toleration. We argue that Kant offers a nuanced and largely unappreciated approach to thinking about toleration, and related concepts, across three normative spheres: the political, the interpersonal and the personal. We examine shortcomings in earlier interpretations and conclude by arguing that the theme of toleration in Kant’s work, while coherent and important, is neither as central nor as peripheral as suggested by previous interpretations. Further, while Kant is critical of the arrogance of toleration in the political sphere, he is more positive toward the role of toleration in the interpersonal and personal spheres since it promotes virtue.

Egyptian Orthodox Church Among Inconsistent Political and Social Contexts

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-199
Author(s):  
Ahmed M. Amin
Keyword(s):  
Social Contexts ◽  
The Political ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Political Sphere ◽  
Political Role ◽  
Political Transformations ◽  
Important Player ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Church

Beginning with the uprising in 2011 and until the reelection of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in 2018 for a second term, the Egyptian Orthodox Church has been an important player as the representative of the Coptic Christians in the country. This article examines the role of the Egyptian Orthodox Church since the establishment of the republic in 1952 and explores the historical events that sought to redefine the role of the Church in the political sphere. Unlike the previous studies focusing on Coptic Christians and their position in the sociopolitical contexts, this study tackles the political role of the Orthodox Church in its institutional capacity. The study concludes that the Egyptian Orthodox Church has turned into an important political player in the political sphere, and its political role increased substantially with the uprising. Its power is manifested in its support for the political transformations in 2013 and the backing the regime until today.

scholarly journals State Anti-Robbery Squad operations and restructuring in Nigeria: Semiotics of the #EndSARS protests

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-113
Author(s):  
Nnennaya Uchendu Ola ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Knowledge ◽  
Surface Features ◽  
The Social ◽  
Systemic Level ◽  
Structural Imbalance

End State Anti-Robbery Squad (#EndSARS) protests represent symptoms of systemic issues in Nigeria. Those issues range from ideological differences of the various ethnic nationalities to the constitutional and structural imbalance in the political and economic equation. This paper attempts to put in perspective the implications of the over-centralisation of both political and economic powers. To do this, this research examines the events leading up to the #EndSARS protest, as well as the various signs and symbols emanating from the #EndSARS movement. Semiotics Theory is employed as conceptual framework and methodology to highlight the factors that ail Nigeria at the systemic level. Semioticians engage in a search for deep structures underlying the surface features of phenomena. With Semiotic theory as framework, this paper takes seriously the social conditions that led to the #EndSARS Protests, not neglecting the role of ideologies. The research has the potential to make useful contributions to both academic and socio-political cum economic knowledge for a meaningful national dialogue among contesting ethnic groups in Africa.

scholarly journals Immer Ärger mit der Materialität? – Politische Ökologie und das Dispositiv der Dürre im Nordosten Brasiliens

2016 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 229-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Schmitt
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Political Ecology ◽  
Michel Foucault ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
The Political ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
Material Conditions ◽  
Political Character

Abstract. While the role of materiality was understudied in most social sciences, there was a sensibility for these issues in political ecology. The different approaches of political ecology focused on the political character of ecology and the ecological (and thus material) character of politics. But a conceptual framework that captures the different dimensions of the societal nature relations was seldom explicitly elaborated. Following the considerations of Michel Foucault, this article explores whether dispositive analysis as a concept and as a method offers a way to integrate both social and material conditions into studies of political ecology. By examining water infrastructure and the dispositive of drought in Northeastern Brazil, this paper displays how dispositive analysis is a means to identify different elements, their autonomies as well as their interconnectedness. Focusing on the entanglements of discourses, institutionalizations, subjectivity, practices and materiality allows capturing the materiality of discourses and the discursivity of material orders.

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