Suchergebnisse

This article serves as an introduction to the special section on Sensorial Politics, which includes articles by Nicholas Caverly, Elsa Davidson, Susan Falls and Ali Kenner. The introduction outlines the arguments of the articles before proceeding to a discussion of the common themes they illuminate as a whole. In particular, they address four key issues: the relationship between the sensorial and the political; the role of sensorial disruption and its political effects; the issue of labor; and the issue of knowledge. We conclude that while these pieces advance our understanding of the relationships between the sensorium and politics, they also open up avenues for ongoing research and theorization, particularly in our contemporary situation, in which the Covid-19 pandemic has recast sensorial politics in new ways.

AbstractThe way forward for the left in the new political landscape

To understand the depth of transformations in all spheres of society generated by
migration, new terminology is needed. The notion of "postmigrant societies" implies that the
distinction between local and migrant population loses its relevance in certain social spheres.
According to the familiar epistemological framework, societies are presented as consisting of
"local population" on the one hand, and "migrant population" on the other. This understanding,
however, is becoming obsolete. First, it does not reflect the fact that the phenomenon of spatial
mobility is embedded in the social structure. A significant part of the so-called local population
is itself included in migration processes. People who are considered to be part of the
"autochthonous population" are in fact migrants themselves due to different circumstances
(contract work, long-term stay in another country due to studies, involvement in joint business
projects, participation in international scientific teams, availability of real estate abroad, etc.). At
the same time, those people who are regarded as "migrants" by common sense can be well
integrated into the social institutions of their new homeland. Second, the traditional
epistemological framework does not reflect contemporary demographic trends. It is unable to
capture two points: (a) population rotation within the framework of circular/pendulum migration;
(b) qualitative change in the urban population of industrialized countries.

In the article I present a reflection around the radical democratic project proposed by Chantal Mouffe & Ernesto Laclau. Specifically, I examine the application of the project in the context of the 'new social movements' & especially, of feminist movement. I state the need of drawing attention to universalism & essentialism as the main obstacles to generate a collective proposal without margins. Nevertheless, doubts remind about the possibility of building up a feminism tailored by the radical democratic project, in a stage in which the political action of such a movement is characterized by categories that are closed & crystallized.

Der Beitrag behandelt berühmte Utopien sowie die Dystopien des 20. Jahrhunderts und die Science Fiction der Gegenwart. Der soziale Hintergrund dieser Konzeptionen, ihre Gesellschaftsbilder und der Stellenwert der Technologie in diesen Utopien werden mit einem Blick auf die Konstruktion der Gesellschaft von morgen diskutiert. (ICEÜbers)

In 1962, the late Professor Sir Bernard Crick published his seminal work In Defence of Politics. Fifty years on, formal political processes have never been in greater need of defending. In this article, former Home Secretary David Blunkett MP argues that in order to defend politics we need to change the way in which we 'do' our politics. In a 21st century response to Professor Crick's challenge to defend the role of politics in providing a counterweight to the financial markets and economic imperialism, Blunkett considers how it is possible to renew political democracy as a force for progressive change. The last five years of political and financial turmoil have seen politics smeared and even, in the case of Greece and Italy, elected governments removed and replaced by technocrats. With the power of government behind the people, it would be possible to foster a whole new spirit of seeing the political process as a way of organising, advising and yes funding a demand for something better from big institutions both public and private.