DOCSLIB.ORG

Political Science in Motion and JEAN-FREDERIC MORIN R a E M D I O T N I a O

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Political Science in Motion and JEAN-FREDERIC MORIN R a E M D I O T N I a O Political Science in Motion_Political Science in Motion 16/11/15 10:52 Page1 This book examines recent developments in political science research. What n EDITIONS DE L’UNIVERSITE DE BRUXELLES o are the new influences to which the discipline opens itself up? Is political i t science research converging towards a single model or splitting into different N N o st I streams? What are the new challenges at the beginning of the 21 century? By A R M M addressing these questions, this collection of essays discusses three O O M C n interrelated topics: the relationship between political science and the C i A I problems of politics, the relationship between political science and other N R e E fields of research, and the transformation of the profession. In so doing, this O D c M E volume traces the major trends in contemporary political science research A n R R F e - since the end of the Cold War. Y i N B A c D E J E S As part of this approach, the authors rely on the academic journals as a field T D I l of investigation. Each of the eight chapters focuses on a different journal, N D Political Science a A E c including the American Political Science Review , West European Politics, the i t British Political Science Review , Security Dialogue , the Journal of Common i l Market Studies , International Security , Electoral Studies and the Revue o in Motion française de science politique . n P o i The book is intended to scholars with an interest in the historiography of t political science, the epistemology of knowledge, the sociology of the o M EDITED BY profession as well as the evolution of the field in terms of research agendas, theoretical approaches and methodological debates. n i RAMONA COMAN AND JEAN-FREDERIC MORIN e c n e i c S l a c i t i l o P s r e n t r a p www.editions-universite-bruxelles.be & s n e k y u s , k c u l e g e r u t r SCIENCE PO LITIQUE O P E C N E I C S E U Q I T I e L v u o c Political Science in Motion_pages int_Mise en page 1 16/11/15 10:53 Page1 Political Science in Motion_pages int_Mise en page 1 16/11/15 10:53 Page2 Political Science in Motion_pages int_Mise en page 1 16/11/15 10:53 Page3 Political Science in Motion EDITED BY RAMONA COMAN AND JEAN-FREDERIC MORIN Political Science in Motion_pages int_Mise en page 1 16/11/15 10:53 Page4 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF THE SERIES « SCIENCE POLITIQUE » Pascal Delwit IN THE SAME SERIES Adhérer à un parti. Aux sources de la participation politique , Emilie van Haute, 2009 L’islam à Bruxelles , Corinne Torrekens, 2009 Les voix du peuple. Le comportement électoral au scrutin du 10 juin 2009 , édité par Kris Deschouwer, Pascal Delwit, Marc Hooghe et Stefaan Walgrave, 2010 Ordres et désordres au Caucase , édité par Aude Merlin et Silvia Serrano, 2010 La biodiversité sous influence? Les lobbies industriels face aux politiques internationales d’environnement , Amandine Orsini, 2010 Revendiquer le « mariage gay ». Belgique, France, Espagne , David Paternotte, 2011 Clivages et familles politiques en Europe , Daniel-Louis Seiler, 2011 Party Membership in Europe: Exploration into the anthills of party politics , edited by Emilie van Haute, 2011 Les partis politiques en Belgique , édité par Pascal Delwit, Jean-Benoit Pilet, Emilie van Haute, 2011 Le Front national. Mutations de l’extrême droite française , édité par Pascal Delwit, 2012 L’état de la démocratie en Italie , édité par Mario Telò, Giulia Sandri et Luca Tomini, 2013 Culture et eurorégions. La coopération culturelle entre régions européennes , Thomas Perrin, 2013 Les entités fédérées belges et l’intégration des immigrés. Politiques publiques comparées , Ilke Adam, 2013 Le cumul des mandats en France: causes et conséquences , édité par Abel François et Julien Navarro, 2013 Les partis politiques en France , édité par Pascal Delwit, 2014 L’électeur local. Le comportement électoral au scrutin communal de 2012 , édité par Jean-Benoit Pilet, Ruth Dassonneville, Marc Hooghe et Sofie Marien, 2014 Nationalisme et pouvoir en République de Moldavie , Julien Danero Iglesias, 2014 Qu’est-ce que l’Europe? Essais sur la sociologie historique de Stein Rokkan , Daniel-Louis Seiler, 2014 Introduction à la science politique , Pascal Delwit, 2015, 2 e édition Political Science in Motion_pages int_Mise en page 1 16/11/15 10:53 Page5 EDITIONS DE L’UNIVERSITE DE BRUXELLES Political Science in Motion EDITED BY RAMONA COMAN AND JEAN-FREDERIC MORIN SCIENCE PO LITIQUE O P E C N E I C S E U Q I T I L Political Science in Motion_pages int_Mise en page 1 16/11/15 10:53 Page6 ISBN 978-2-8004-1598-7 D/2016/0171/3 © 2016 by Editions de l’Université de Bruxelles Avenue Paul Héger 26 - 1000 Bruxelles (Belgique) [email protected] www.editions-universite-bruxelles.be Printed in Belgium Table of contents List of tables and figures ......................................................................................... 11 List of acronyms ..................................................................................................... 15 INTRODUCTION . – Toward a More Eclectic, Pluralist and Cosmopolitan Political Science? Ramona COMAN and Jean-Frédéric MORIN ....................................................... 17 1. Politics, pluridisciplinarity and professionalization ..................................... 18 1.1. Three challenges over the history of political science ........................ 19 1.2. Towards eclecticism, pluralism and cosmopolitanism? ...................... 22 2. Investigating scholarly journals ................................................................... 24 2.1. The benefits of exploring a discipline through its journals .................. 24 2.2. Limitations in the study of scholarly journals ...................................... 25 3. Content and orientation of this book ........................................................... 27 CHAPTER 1. – 30 Years of West European Politics: And The Winner Is… Clément JADOT .................................................................................................. 31 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 31 1. Unlocking comparative politics through the use of keywords ..................... 33 2. Issues that count: West European Politics through the prism of content analysis ........................................................................................ 36 2.1. 1978-1987: WEP’s positioning between the one and the many ........... 36 2.2. 1988-1997: WEP’s tardy look at the EU .............................................. 38 2.3. 1998-2007: Forging ahead ................................................................... 40 2.4. 1978-2008: West European Politics, from “splendide isolement” to ongoing internationalization ............................................................ 42 8 POLITICAL SCIENCE IN MOTION 3. From content to challenges: questioning the core values of European comparative politics ..................................................................................... 43 3.1. Political parties in the 21st century: old dogs, new tricks? ................... 43 3.2. West European Politics opening up: one step at a time ....................... 44 Conclusion........................................................................................................ 45 CHAPTER 2. – Assessing Party Research Decline: A View from the British Journal of Political Science Caroline CLOSE ................................................................................................. 47 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 47 1. Data and methods ......................................................................................... 51 2. Assessing the decline in party research: a view from the British Journal of Political Science ....................................................................................... 52 2.1. General perspectives ............................................................................ 52 2.2. The three faces of parties .................................................................... 54 3. Is party research in decline? ........................................................................ 58 CHAPTER 3. – Context Sensitivity and Biases in Political Science: the Case of Economic Voting Studies in the Journal Electoral Studies Lidia NÚÑEZ ..................................................................................................... 61 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 61 1. The impact of the context and its consequences .......................................... 62 2. The method: systematic analysis and its advantages ................................... 64 3. The theory put to the test: economic voting ................................................. 65 3.1. Methodological notes ........................................................................... 66 3.2. Changes in treatment of the issue in the journal: an unbiased evolution? ......................................................................... 67 3.3. The big two .......................................................................................... 70 Conclusions ...................................................................................................... 73 CHAPTER 4. – Toward the Inclusion of Political-Philosophical Articles in the Revue Française de Science Politique: Is a Return Possible? Manuel CERVERA-MARZAL
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Waltz's Theory of Theory
    WALTZ’S THEORY OF THEORY 201 Waltz’s Theory of Theory Ole Wæver Abstract Waltz’s 1979 book, Theory of International Politics, is the most infl uential in the history of the discipline. It worked its effects to a large extent through raising the bar for what counted as theoretical work, in effect reshaping not only realism but rivals like liberalism and refl ectivism. Yet, ironically, there has been little attention paid to Waltz’s very explicit and original arguments about the nature of theory. This article explores and explicates Waltz’s theory of theory. Central attention is paid to his defi nition of theory as ‘a picture, mentally formed’ and to the radical anti-empiricism and anti-positivism of his position. Followers and critics alike have treated Waltzian neorealism as if it was at bottom a formal proposition about cause–effect relations. The extreme case of Waltz being so victorious in the discipline, and yet being so consistently misinterpreted on the question of theory, shows the power of a dominant philosophy of science in US IR, and thus the challenge facing any ambitious theorising. The article suggests a possible movement of fronts away from the ‘fourth debate’ between rationalism and refl ectivism towards one of theory against empiricism. To help this new agenda, the article introduces a key literature from the philosophy of science about the structure of theory, and particularly about the way even natural science uses theory very differently from the way IR’s mainstream thinks it does – and much more like the way Waltz wants his theory to be used.
    [Show full text]
  • Security Dialogue
    Security Dialogue http://sdi.sagepub.com/ Gender Identity and the Subject of Security Gunhild Hoogensen and Svein Vigeland Rottem Security Dialogue 2004 35: 155 DOI: 10.1177/0967010604044974 The online version of this article can be found at: http://sdi.sagepub.com/content/35/2/155 Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com On behalf of: International Peace Research Institute, Oslo Additional services and information for Security Dialogue can be found at: Email Alerts: http://sdi.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://sdi.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav Citations: http://sdi.sagepub.com/content/35/2/155.refs.html >> Version of Record - Jun 1, 2004 What is This? Downloaded from sdi.sagepub.com at Bobst Library, New York University on January 26, 2012 01_Security Dialogue 35/2 5/18/04 10:37 AM Page 155 Gender Identity and the Subject of Security GUNHILD HOOGENSEN & SVEIN VIGELAND ROTTEM* University of Tromsø, Norway This article is a contribution to the ongoing debate on human security in Security Dialogue; the authors argue that they provide an illustra- tion of the complexity and dynamism of security. To illustrate this point, the authors examine security through the notion of societal security as understood by Ole Wæver, and use identity as a ‘door’ to a broader understanding and use of the concept of security. The focus of the article is gender identity as an integral perspective of security. In conjunction with elite-defined state interests, identity articulates the security interests of ‘significant groups’, supporting the articula- tion of security needs by individuals (as they identify themselves with various significant groups) and communities.
    [Show full text]
  • Constructivism Meets Critical Realism
    466572EJT20210.1177/1354066112466572European Journal of International Relations2012Fiaz EJIR Article European Journal of International Relations Constructivism meets critical 2014, Vol. 20(2) 491 –515 © The Author(s) 2012 realism: Explaining Pakistan’s Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav state practice in the DOI: 10.1177/1354066112466572 ejt.sagepub.com aftermath of 9/11 Nazya Fiaz National Defence University, Islamabad, Pakistan Abstract This article investigates the theoretical added-value of critical realist incursions into International Relations constructivism. While constructivism focuses on providing multi- causal explanations, its conceptual horizon and subsequent methodological framework fundamentally obscure and limit the opportunity to conceptualize social dialectic and multi-causality in world politics. In this respect, a critical realist meta-theory can provide constructivism with a greatly expanded conceptual framework that transcends material–ideational divisions, and a framework that is able to envision more clearly the process of social dialectic. Second, critical realism affords a methodological diversity that can withstand simultaneous constructivist investigations into the material, agential, ideational, or structural. Using the synthesis of critical realism and constructivism, I illustrate by way of example by employing Pakistan’s participation in the ‘war on terror’ as a case study. While constructivism can show that Pakistan’s role in the war on terror was preceded by a legitimizing narrative, it is a critical realist depth analysis that sheds new light on how a complex social reality was achieved through the convergence of multi-causal explanatory factors. Keywords Agency, constructivism, critical realism, discourse, meta-theory, multi-causality, Pakistan, social dialectic, structure, war on terror, world politics Corresponding author: Nazya Fiaz, Department of International Relations, National Defence University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
    [Show full text]
  • A Brief Overview of Alexander Wendt's Constructivism Written by Zhan Mengshu
    A Brief Overview of Alexander Wendt's Constructivism Written by Zhan Mengshu This PDF is auto-generated for reference only. As such, it may contain some conversion errors and/or missing information. For all formal use please refer to the official version on the website, as linked below. A Brief Overview of Alexander Wendt's Constructivism https://www.e-ir.info/2020/05/19/a-brief-overview-of-alexander-wendts-constructivism/ ZHAN MENGSHU, MAY 19 2020 For decades, the theory of International Relations was dominated by two approaches: realism and liberalism. Constructivism had been marginalized by these mainstream theories because it focused on social construction instead of material construction (Barkin, 2017). The turning point came late in the 1980s as the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War made people reconsider the explanatory ability of mainstream theories (Hopf, 1998). Consequently, a new debate emerged. Under this, the development of Alexander Wendt’s constructivist theory gained attention in academia and began to stand out (Lapid, 2007). Wendt published ‘Anarchy is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics’ in 1992. In this paper he revealed the limitation of the concept of anarchy from the neorealist and neoliberal theories in explaining international relations (Wendt, 1992). In 1999 he further developed the theory in Social Theory of International Politics. In the book, Wendt opened up a moderate lane in the development of constructivist theory (Guzzin & Leander, 2001) and essentially created a ‘thin’ constructivism. That is, Wendt recognizes the main points of materialism and individualism, as well as a scientific methods of social inquiry.
    [Show full text]
  • 271 Sorensen
    Copyright © British International Studies Association 1998 IR theory after the Cold War GEORG SØRENSEN The end of the Cold War has prompted a good deal of soul-searching in the academic discipline of International Relations (IR).* Some results of this process are already apparent; the dominant version of realism, neorealism, is developing in new directions in an attempt to address major areas where the theory has been shown to contain weaknesses (e.g. domestic politics, international cooperation, the analysis of change).1 Liberal IR-theory is becoming less focused on international institutions and has devoted more attention to the larger issues of democracy and democratization, sovereignty, and change in the context of modernization and globalization.2 Some bodies of established theory are receiving fresh attention, including the International Society (or English) School,3 and there is a renewed interest in the field of international political economy.4 Yet all these theoretical traditions (realism, liberalism, International Society, international political economy) can be seen as enduring perspectives in IR; they build on a long intellectual tradition concerning problems of relations between * Many thanks to Kenneth Glarbo, Knud Erik Jørgensen, Michael Nicholson, Steve Smith, and Alexander Wendt for very helpful comments on earlier drafts. 1 See, for example, Joseph M. Grieco, ‘Realist International Theory and the Study of World Politics’, in M.W. Doyle and G.J. Ikenberry (eds.), New Thinking in International Relations Theory (Boulder, 1997), pp. 163–202; Michael E. Brown et al. (eds.), The Perils of Anarchy. Contemporary Realism and International Security (Cambridge, MA, 1995); John A. Vasquez, ‘The Realist Paradigm and Degenerative versus Progressive Research Programs: An Appraisal of Neotraditional Research on Waltz’s Balancing Proposition’, and the responses by Kenneth Waltz, Thomas Christensen, and Jack Snyder, Colin and Miriam Fendius Elman, Randall Schweller and Stephen Walt, American Political Science Review, 4 (1997), pp.
    [Show full text]
  • Constructivism and Reflectivism As the Logical Counterparts in Tesol: Learning Theory Versus Teaching Methodology
    CONSTRUCTIVISM AND REFLECTIVISM AS THE LOGICAL COUNTERPARTS IN TESOL: LEARNING THEORY VERSUS TEACHING METHODOLOGY Abdullah al Mahmud ([email protected]) Monash University, Malaysia (Sunway Campus) 2 Jalan Universiti, Bandar Sunway, Subang Jaya, Selangor Abstract: The gist of the entire constructivist learning theory is that learners are self-builders of their learning that occurs through a mental process in a social context or communication setting, and teachers as facilitators gener- ate learning by creating the expected environment and/or utilizing the pro- cess. This article theoretically proves reflectivism as the logical counterpart of constructivism through establishing their complete interdependence and then suggests certain strategies of reflection to be used in language teaching for ensuring the best possible constructivist learning of language learners. In doing so, the basic tenets of constructivism and reflective thoughts are elab- orated, examining their mutual connection thoroughly in terms of construc- tivist recommendations. The research also focuses on three case studies to depict how the theory of constructivist learning principles comes into prac- tice through judicious reviews or reflective process. Keywords: constructivism, reflectivism, learning theory, teaching methodology Tell me, I’ll forget Show me, I’ll remember Involve me, I’ll understand - Confucius, 551 BC - 479 BC, Chinese Philosopher 237 238 TEFLIN Journal, Volume 24, Number 2, July 2013 With the present trend of teaching coming closer to learners, the ideas like con- structivist learning and reflective teaching are becoming more and more rele- vant and accepted as a norm in education. While constructivism basically deals with the learners’ part, reflectivism comes up with the practical method of bringing it into teaching.
    [Show full text]
  • The Theory of the Firm and the Theory of the International Economic Organization: Toward Comparative Institutional Analysis Joel P
    Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business Volume 17 Issue 1 Winter Winter 1997 The Theory of the Firm and the Theory of the International Economic Organization: Toward Comparative Institutional Analysis Joel P. Trachtman Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/njilb Part of the International Trade Commons Recommended Citation Joel P. Trachtman, The Theory of the Firm and the Theory of the International Economic Organization: Toward Comparative Institutional Analysis, 17 Nw. J. Int'l L. & Bus. 470 (1996-1997) This Symposium is brought to you for free and open access by Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business by an authorized administrator of Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. The Theory of the Firm and the Theory of the International Economic Organization: Toward Comparative Institutional Analysis Joel P. Trachtman* Without a theory they had nothing to pass on except a mass of descriptive material waiting for a theory, or a fire. 1 While the kind of close comparative institutional analysis which Coase called for in The Nature of the Firm was once completely outside the universe of mainstream econo- mists, and remains still a foreign, if potentially productive enterrise for many, close com- parative analysis of institutions is home turf for law professors. Hierarchical arrangements are being examined by economic theorists studying the or- ganization of firms, but for less cosmic purposes than would be served3 by political and economic organization of the production of international public goods. I. INTRODUCrION: THE PROBLEM Debates regarding the competences and governance of interna- tional economic organizations such as the World Trade Organization * Associate Professor of International Law, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.
    [Show full text]
  • The Emergence of Human Security: a Constructivist View
    International Journal of Peace Studies, Volume 14, Number 2, Autumn/Winter 2009 THE EMERGENCE OF HUMAN SECURITY: A CONSTRUCTIVIST VIEW Yu-tai Tsai Abstract In response to the end of the Cold War and the increasing pace of globalization, the concept of human security has taken on greater importance in international relations. This article argues that while conventional approaches to security studies focus on security community or security culture, the constructivist perspective offers additional conceptual tools through its insight into the issues of human consciousness, national identity, and interest formation. Hence, various phenomena of importance to international society can be better understood by applying the insights of constructivism to the concept of human security. The main purpose of this article is to explore human security as elucidated by the constructivist perspective. In light of this analysis, specific issues will be examined, including the relationship between human security and constructivism, the interpretation of human security by constructivist scholars, and the implications of human security for constructivism. ―The state remains the fundamental purveyor of security. Yet it often fails to fulfill its security obligations….That is why attention must now shift from the security of the state to the security of the people—to human security. ‖ —Commission on Human Security, 2003 20 The Emergence of Human Security Introduction The end of the Cold War and the increasing pace of globalization have given rise to fundamental changes in many of the paradigms employed in the social sciences. Amongst the various new ideas which have emerged, ―human security‖ has become somewhat of a buzzword.
    [Show full text]
  • Nº 86 Centro De Estudios Filosóficos “Adolfo García Díaz” 2017-2 Maracaibo - Venezuela Mayo - Agosto Revista De Filosofía, Nº 86, 2017-2, Pp
    Dep. Legal ppi 201502ZU4649 Esta publicación científica en formato digital es continuidad de la revista impresa Depósito legal pp 197402ZU34 / ISSN 0798-1171 ···GUILLERMO ANDRÉS DUQUE SILVA Y JAVIER CADAVID RAMÍREZ: ¿Colombia hacia una democracia radical? La Democracia ampliada y la participación política de las FARC-EP···PEDRO MANUEL URIBE GUZMÁN:La tolerancia sustentada: una práctica para la democracia···ASBEL BOHIGUES:Repensando el papel de la élite política en los procesos democráticos···ALESSANDRA PETRONE Y LUCIA PICARELLA: El cosmopolitismo de la utopía a la posible implementación práctica···PATRICE VERMEREN:Saint-Just contre Saint-Just? Miguel Abensour, la Révolution comme énigme et le paradoxe de son héros···LIBERTAD LEÓN GONZÁLEZ:Una Novela Histórica de la Emancipación,Diálogos Discursivos en la Red··· Universidad del Zulia Facultad de Humanidades y Educación Nº 86 Centro de Estudios Filosóficos “Adolfo García Díaz” 2017-2 Maracaibo - Venezuela Mayo - Agosto Revista de Filosofía, Nº 86, 2017-2, pp. 91-116 Saint-Just contre Saint-Just? Miguel Abensour, la Révolution comme énigme et le paradoxe de son héros Saint-Just against Saint-Just? Miguel Abensour, the Revolution as an Enigma and the Paradox of his Hero Patrice Vermeren Université Paris VIII Paris, Francia Résumé Pourquoi lire Saint-Just aujourd’hui ? Selon Miguel Abensour, pour mieux s’interroger sur l’énigme du politique dans sa double dimension de domination et d’émancipation. Saint-Just se tient dans une tension interne : inventeur de lois, à l’ombre desquelles s’avance la tyrannie, il est en même temps créateur d’institutions, génératrices de liberté. Saint-Just a opposé deux répliques à la glaciation du peuple par la Terreur : les Institutions et l’héroïsme révolutionnaire.
    [Show full text]
  • The Copenhagen School and Japan in the Late Tokugawa Period 1853-1868
    The Copenhagen School and Japan in the Late Tokugawa Period 1853-1868 History and International Relations 1 Abstract This paper analyses Japan in the late Tokugawa period using the Copenhagen School of security studies as a theoretical framework. The scope of analysis lies strictly within the time period of 1853-1868. The intended nature of the analysis is simple, and mainly aims to understand the late Tokugawa period through the lens of the Copenhagen School. It also aims to contribute to the literature of the subject area, in that it uses an interpretivist international relations theory to analyse the late Tokugawa period in Japan. The theoretical framework is applied by examining three of the Copenhagen School’s core aspects—securitization theory, regional security complex theory, and the broadening of the security agenda into five distinct sectors—and applying each of them in turn. The analysis draws from a range of examples from the given time period, largely focusing on domestic attitudes towards the prospect of modernization and Westernization, and foreign economic and imperial interests towards Japan. The analysis also considers the actions of contemporary actors at various levels of analysis, and analyses them as acts of securitization where suitable. The analysis finds that the use of the Copenhagen School as a mode of historical enquiry produces a nuanced and structured understanding of various aspects of late Tokugawa Japan. By placing the case study in the context of securitization theory, regional security complex theory, and analysing empirical examples with respect to the five sectors of security, the events of late Tokugawa Japan can be construed as a constructivist network of security dynamics, as opposed to a traditional reading of history in a simple chronological fashion.
    [Show full text]
  • Note Critique
    Document generated on 10/01/2021 11:46 p.m. Cahiers Société Note critique – Partir des textes avec Miguel Abensour Manuel Cervera-Marzal, Miguel Abensour, critique de la domination, pensée de l’émancipation, Paris, Sens & Tonka, 2013, 252 pages Gilles Labelle, L’écart absolu : Miguel Abensour, Paris, Sens & Tonka, 2018, 380 pages Jérôme Melançon Marx, critique du capital et de la société Number 2, December 2020 URI: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1075550ar DOI: https://doi.org/10.7202/1075550ar See table of contents Publisher(s) Collectif Société ISSN 2562-5373 (print) 2562-5381 (digital) Explore this journal Cite this note Melançon, J. (2020). Note critique – Partir des textes avec Miguel Abensour / Manuel Cervera-Marzal, Miguel Abensour, critique de la domination, pensée de l’émancipation, Paris, Sens & Tonka, 2013, 252 pages / Gilles Labelle, L’écart absolu : Miguel Abensour, Paris, Sens & Tonka, 2018, 380 pages. Cahiers Société, (2), 269–284. https://doi.org/10.7202/1075550ar © Collectif Société, 2020 This document is protected by copyright law. Use of the services of Érudit (including reproduction) is subject to its terms and conditions, which can be viewed online. https://apropos.erudit.org/en/users/policy-on-use/ This article is disseminated and preserved by Érudit. Érudit is a non-profit inter-university consortium of the Université de Montréal, Université Laval, and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Its mission is to promote and disseminate research. https://www.erudit.org/en/ Note critique – Partir des textes avec Miguel Abensour Jérôme MELANÇON Université de Regina Manuel Cervera-Marzal, Miguel Abensour, critique de la domination, pensée de l’émancipation, Paris, Sens & Tonka, 2013, 252 pages.
    [Show full text]
  • William Morris, Utopian Theory and the Claims of the Past
    My Utopia is Your Utopia? William Morris, Utopian Theory and the Claims of the Past Joe P.L. Davidson Abstract This article examines the relationship between utopian production and reception via a reading of the work of the great utopian author and theorist William Morris. This relationship has invariably been defined by an inequality: utopian producers have claimed unlimited freedom in their attempts to imagine new worlds, while utopian recipients have been asked to adopt such visions as their own without question. Morris’s work suggests two possible responses to this inequality. One response, associated with theorist Miguel Abensour, is to liberate reception, with Morris’s utopianism containing an invitation to readers to reformulate the vision proffered. However, this response, despite its dominance in contemporary utopian theory, not only misreads Morris but also undermines the political efficacy of utopianism. Consequently, I suggest that Morris responds to the problem of utopian inequality by constraining production, proposing a historical control on utopianising; new utopias are directed by an archive of visions articulated in past struggles. Keywords Freedom, Miguel Abensour, Social change, Utopia, William Morris Publication Information Davidson, J. P. L. (2019) ‘My utopia is your utopia? William Morris, utopian theory and the claims of the past’, Thesis Eleven, 152(1), pp. 87–101. doi: 10.1177/0725513619852684. 1 Introduction It is something of a cliché to say that one person’s utopia is another person’s dystopia. This phrase, however tired, contains an important moment of insight, articulating a significant concern regarding the political and social value of utopia. To propose a utopian vision is a particularly audacious, we might even say brash, form of activity.
    [Show full text]