Prawa człowieka - symboliczna podstawa sfery politycznej czy czynnik jej zaniku? Claude'a Leforta polemika z Hannah Arendt

Author(s): Arkadiusz Barut / Language(s): Polish Issue: 38/2015

The subject of the article is the analysis of the polemic between Claude Lefort and Hannah Arendt on the role of human rights in the foundation of democracy. Both of the authors put forward the idea of a political sphere, an area of individual liberty and common symbolism. Arendt argues that human rights, understood as pre-political entitlements, mask individualistic egoism and nationalist exclusion, leading to totalitarianism, whereby society loses all signs of its identity. Lefort supports the idea that human rights, conceived as the means of collective political action, express the constitutive and necessary indetermination of modern and post-modern society, the “emptiness” of the place of the subject of power. The author concludes that Lefort’s theory, important as an expression of a contemporary idea of democracy, omits the fact that the full “emptiness” of common political symbolism must lead to its annihilation and the atrophy of common political language – the condition of intersubjectivity.

Konstruktywizm w niemieckiej nauce o stosunkach międzynarodowych

Author(s): Barbara Urban / Language(s): Polish Issue: 38/2015

The aim of this paper is to present how the German science of international relations uses the assumptions of the constructivist approach. In Germany, constructivism enjoys especial respect – due to the historical events in the local environment, realism was not the dominant trend in science. In the specific strategic culture adopted by the country, this role can be attributed to constructivism, which stresses the importance of intangible factors such as identity, norms and ideas. It was mainly used by researchers in the 1990s, when the united Germany sought an identity and place in the European Union. German constructivist research focuses on the identity of actors. In addition, constructivists in West Germany – in contrast to their Anglo-Saxon counterparts – place stronger emphasis on communication and language. At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, research projects related primarily to the identity of the state and its influence on foreign policy. Moreover, constructivists studied the concept of the roles played by individual countries and analysed the impact of changes in the perception of concepts and images of the world on the possibility of the correction of foreign policy. They also studied the impact of institutions as a guarantor of Berlin’s stable position in foreign policy. The pragmatist analysis of foreign policy also focused on the new role of Germany and involved a detailed study of all statements uttered by relevant participants of the discourse.

Conflict of Identity Narratives and Inclusive Language of Global Ethics

Author(s): Janusz Salamon SJ / Language(s): English Issue: 08/2014

The present tensions in the Russian-Ukrainian relations highlight the relevance of narrative identity of the parties involved in political conflicts. In this paper I argue that by paying greater attention to this peculiar element of the motivational structure of political action, one can gain important insights into the dynamics of identity-based conflicts that may be of major significance for the theory and practice of conflict resolution. Keeping in mind the legitimate worries of the Postmodern and liberal individualist social theorists who are uneasy about granting importance to such &lsquo;communitarian&rsquo; and partly non-rational layer of citizens&rsquo; identity, I suggest that recognition of the powerful motivational force of group or national identity narratives &ndash; like the Russian imperial/Orthodox narrative about <em>russkiy mir </em>&ndash; can constitute the first and necessary step towards such <em>transformation</em> <em>of identity narratives</em> that will not only facilitate identity-based conflict resolution, but also provide (narrative) tools for promotion and protection of individual (Kantian) autonomy, as well as individual and group freedom from Foucauldian &lsquo;epistemic violence&rsquo; of &lsquo;grand narratives&rsquo;. Since identity narratives are always particularist and embedded in the local cultures, recognition of their importance in the context of political action points to the need for construction of transcultural rather than universalist/acultural language of global ethics.

Az állampolgárság mint stigma: az állampolgárság hátrányai

(Mi közöm a könyvégetőkhöz?)

Author(s): Boldizsár Nagy / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2014

Rawls, a realizmus előfutára? A moralista szerző elméletének változása realista szemszögből A Theory of Justice-tól a Political Liberalismig

Author(s): Anna Ujlaki / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 4/2016

The core of contemporary political realism is built around the critique of political philosophy of Rawls. Realists defi ne their political theory as opposed to political moralism resurgent by A Theory of Justice. This paper emphasizes three main claims related to political moralism which is identifi ed as Rawls’s: fi rst, the problem of priority of morality over the political which is referenced by almost all realists; second, concerns formulated due to the apolitical nature of rawlsian theory; and fi nally, the opposition of the importance of order against justice. In Political Liberalism Rawls made certain modifi cations to his theory as a reply to communitarian critiques, however, claims expressed by realists have never appeared in his works in an explicit manner. The objective of the present paper is to reveal whether “the father of contemporary moralism” gave an answer to realist critiques in Political Liberalism (as already anticipated in Justice as Fairness) while refi ning his theory, as well as to what extent did he turn towards a realist direction. Indeed, late Rawls approached political realism in a certain way, however, this shift can barely be considered as such that realists would have expected, therefore, ultimately the realist critique with regard to the two main works is defi nitely valid.

A standardok problémája a realista politikaelméletben

Author(s): Zoltán Gábor Szűcs / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 4/2016

The aim of the paper is to contribute to the debate about the role of distinction between moral and political standards. Many argue that political realism is based on an anti-moralist position (while others think that realism is about anti-utopianism or anti-idealism). However, as the paper asserts, there is no commonly accepted defi nition of anti-moralism in the realist literature. Actually there are at least two different types of realist anti-moralism: a Hobbesian and a Machiavellian one, but some authors try to fi nd a middle-way between these mainstream approaches. The paper shows that, for example, Andrew Sabl’s Aristotelian-Ciceronian theory of “democratic constancy” is a viable alternative to the two mainstream versions of realist anti-moralism.

Politikai rendszerek háborúja – csillagok közt a jövőnk?

Author(s): Anett Bősz / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2017

Tóth Csaba: A sci-fi politológiája. Athenaeum Kiadó, Budapest, 2016. 360 oldal, 2990 Ft

Subjective vs. Objective Proximity in Poland

New Directions for the Empirical Study of Political Representation

Author(s): Joshua A. Tucker,Radosław Markowski / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2017

While theoretical questions concerning the nature of political representation have long fascinated political scientists of all stripes, the empirical study of political representation has almost exclusively featured studies of stable, established democracies.1 Moreover, left largely unexplored – despite its role as an underlying motivating feature of the whole enterprise – has been the manner in which representation affects the political attitudes and behavior of members of the electorate. We take up precisely this question as we concurrently shift the focus of our study to one of Europe’s most important new democracies: Poland, the largest of the so called new “EU 12.” We introduce a new dataset, the 2005 Polish National Election Study (Polish NES), which was specifically designed to study the topic of political representation. We use the Polish NES to test a wide range of important but relatively unexplored questions concerning the effects of sharing policy positions with political parties. More specifically, we examine whether being closer on issues to a given party increases the likelihood of voting for (or expressing a preference for in the case of non-voters) that party, and whether that effect is stronger for subjective or objective proximity. We also test whether being closer to one’s preferred party is related to feelings of partisanship, consistency in voting patterns, participation in elections, feeling efficacious in regard to the government, and satisfaction with democracy, and we can examine whether this relationship is more important for different versions of objective proximity. We present a variety of findings in the text, but two of the most important are that: (1) smaller perceived distance from a given party (“subjective proximity”) is always correlated with a preference/vote for that party, even when this is not the case using objective measures of the party’s position; and (2) closer proximity to one’s party in both subjective and objective terms is related to more overall satisfaction with the political system, but not necessarily stronger feelings of partisanship or a greater likelihood of participating in the political system though voting.

Normativne implikacije konzervativnoga političkog mišljenja

Author(s): Tomo Jantol / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 01/1994

The author shows modern conservative concepts of politics as a variant of normative political theory. Conservatism shows up as a reaction to enlightened rationalism. In contrast to rationalistic revolutionary constructivism, conservatism pleads for a return to religious basis for man’s spiritual and political life. Conservatism creates policies based upon tradition and the family, which sustains feelings of obligation towards the community. The state is not just an instrument for special interests, but an expression of substantial cooperation in the nation and its society. Thus conservatism leads to a demand for reforms of existing liberal institutions.

Stupanj intenzivnosti političkoga. Razmišljanja o Carlu Schmittu

Author(s): Günter Figal / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 03/1994

The author’s starting point is Schmitt’s definition of the political as the degree of association and disassociation of people. Such a definition of the political results in a dual process: on the one hand, political grouping can be stimulated from all quarters, while on the other, nothing is truly political. The political is a fact which cannot be determined. The author claims that Schmitt’s thesis might be defended, provided the distinctiveness of the political is upheld without giving up the definition of the political as a degree of intensity. The author discusses whether the concept of the political can be defined independently of political institutions and then goes on to discuss the forms of the control of the political.

Affective and Aspirational Dimension of Political Reality. Is Knowledge of Politics Still the Domain of Political Scientists?

Author(s): Łukasz Młyńczyk / Language(s): English Issue: 22/2017

Modern knowledge about politics draws from a variety of resources for which the academic environment of political scientists is not at all a nonalternative issuer of information. Not only cognitive egalitarianism is postulated, but also more adequate knowledge is chosen, because the criterion of evaluation is its suitability for practical use. In this way, we stop to recognize that knowledge, par excellence scientific, first permeates with the colloquial understanding and explaining of the politics, and in the next step loses its unique character, rooted in metapolitical scientific research. Empirical effects, so in the case of political analysis, are brought to influence the recipient. Because of this science of politics is gaining a profile of gainful employment, whose achievements little fit into the postulated political reality.

Libertarianism and Original Appropriation

Author(s): Łukasz M. Dominiak / Language(s): English Issue: 22/2017

The article is devoted to the problem of the structure of libertarian theory of justice. It tries to present a map of the main concepts and principles of this theory and to investigate its possible justifications. It explains such fundamental concepts as original appropriation, homesteading, labour theory of property or first possession theory of original appropriation. The article shows merits and drawbacks of alternative libertarian principles of justice in first acquisition and proposes a sketch of an original justification for the first possession theory of original appropriation.

Spotkajmy się – wszyscy jesteśmy teoretykami!

Author(s): Barbara Krauz-Mozer / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2017

Theoretical approach to politics is the domain of emotional disputes, antinomies connected with the interpretation of the phenomenon of science, or the reason for insoluble controversies, concerning the foundations of recognized worldviews. Both social sciences and humanities participate in this discussion, in their own specific way; political science and the theories developed within this domain can be positioned between them. This discussion, however, bears no signs of a matter of fact debate, it is conducted in breach of the principles of scientific rationality. Many a time it has a confessional character: the arguing parties, instead of presenting their own positions in a discursive way, and quoting appropriate arguments, often resort to presenting their own “confession of faith” and use it as a starting point to denigrate the opponent. It is the author’s opinion that social theory and the theories of politics investigated within its frame would help to find and understand the origins of opposing worldviews.

Wyobraźnia twórcza – o źródłach teoretyzowania w nauce o polityce

Author(s): Filip Pierzchalski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2017

The aim of this paper is to analyze the phenomenon of creative imagination as source the creation theory and scientific theorizing in political science. In this understanding, the author made three-views of key topics methodological reflection, which are synonymous the mechanism of the scientific theorizing in political science. The three-views proceed as follows: human imagination → indirectness of scientific cognition → creative theorizing.

Możliwości i ograniczenia kreowania teorii polityki

Author(s): Eugeniusz Ponczek / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2017

Long term comparative studies on the specificity of the multifaceted character of politics, politicization and politicality – entailing both political thought of various ideological currents and thus different axiological interpretations, and also fundamental political notions – should aim to formulate general statements earning the status of significant explanatory and nomological conclusions, which are instrumental in creating specific political theories.Comparative experience in nomological explanation of political phenomena and processes, and also various idiosyncrasies of politicality should enable a political ideation that would contribute to a creative expression of theoretical statements in terms of regularities understood in a probabilistic sense, referring to broadly-understood politics, verifiable in constantly-changing social and political circumstances.It is recommended that efforts to formulate an optimally adequate conceptual paradigm in terms of theory of politics are intensified. As a result, there would appear various proposals of a theory of politics that would correspond to socio-political reality, the theory that should be complementary to numerous sub-fields in political science. Their exponents can express, to a greater or lesser extent, a wish to formulate observations that will become statements with a status similar to that of theoretical ones, which are complementary to investigations and explanations in the area of broadly-understood political research.

Bariery eksplanacyjne w ekonomii i politologii

Author(s): Zbigniew Blok / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2017

The aim of the article is to present diverse directions of methodological evolution that took place in two social disciplines: economics and political science. The source of these diametrically opposite methodological decisions, taken by the exponents of “major currents” in these disciplines, can be attributed to diverse strategies of building the identities of their respective disciplines and different perception of the nature of social sciences. Economists, having taken their set of research instruments from formal sciences, were in favour of methodological monism and constructed the identity of their discipline in opposition to other representatives of social sciences. Whereas political science (conscious of the specific character of the subject studied by social sciences) adopted the perspective of methodological dualism, which is the reason why it has been shaping its identity not in opposition to, but within the frame of one scientific field – equipped with common research methods, but focusing on different aspects of research. The article also describes present results of these diverse methodological choices: on the one hand, there is a crisis of explanatory and predictive abilities of economics, brought about by increasing formalization of applied research models; on the other hand, we can currently observe a shift towards interpretationism in political science, which focuses on decoding the meanings and motives of human actions.

Instytucjonalne aspekty teorii polityki

Author(s): Andrzej Jabłoński / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2017

The subject of this essay is conceptualization of political institutions as an important research field for the theory of politics. An article is divided into seven parts. The first section reminds of the traditions in the institutional political studies. The second part embraces a conceptual analysis and traces a tendency in the political science literature to stretch the concept of institution beyond its original meaning. Third part puts attention to the functional approach to the conceptualization of political institutions. And the next part an author points out the many disciplinary aspects of the new institutional analysis, which requires an involvement of many disciplines such as political science, law, political sociology and economy. The last three sections are devoted to the relationships between political actor and institutions, the mechanisms of institutional power, and the role of social networks in the institutional analysis.

Czy filozofia polityki przeobrazi się w estetykę polityczną? Przyczynek do analizy metateoretycznej

Author(s): Michał R. Węsierski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2017

Contemporary public debate less and less touches the key issues for the traditional philosophy of politics, and more and more focused on very form of the statements. The political correctness reduces serious, profound discussions and causes, that some philosophical problems are “untouchable”. Many issues brought up publicly are starting being subject to an evaluation in aesthetic categories. The aim of the article is to show the contemporary context of designating the external conditions for practicing political philosophy and to present an overview of the factors affecting the framework of content and formal frames such debate.

O wielorakim sensie formuły „cel uświęca środki”

Author(s): Mirosław Karwat / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2017

The proverb “the end justifies the means” has multiple functions, it can be an observation, an appraisal, a postulate, a directive, a moral code. “Justify” can mean ex-plain, excuse, exculpate, vindicate, authorize, uphold, and in Polish it literally corresponds in meaning to the word “sanctify.” This saying can both have a motivational character (when used to dispel the doubts or inhibitions of the speaker), but it can also be used as a rationalisation (to confront the opposition, objections, criticism of those around the speaker). It is mentioned together with the amoral and cynical, as well as with those socially useful versions of Machiavellianism.

Normative Political Theory

Author(s): Dorota Pietrzyk-Reeves / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2017

Normative political theory was developed in ancient Greece and provided the foundations for political research. Its role was never questioned until the rise of logical positivism and empirical social science with its claims to be truly scientific’ that is, value neutral. The article starts with a short overview of this controversy and provides an analysis of the nature of normative theorizing, the structure of a normative argument and the role of normative political theory. The last section focuses on the problematic relationship between empirical and normative research. It is argued that political philosophy can be practical, but before it becomes oriented towards practical goals, it should deal with purely deductive fact-insensitive principles.