Introducing Relational Political Analysis: Political Semiotics as a Theory and Method (Palgrave Studies in Relational Sociology)

https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030487799 This book introduces relational thinking to political analysis. Instead of merely providing an overview of possible trajectories for articulating a relational political analysis, Peeter Selg and Andreas Ventsel put forth a concrete relational theory of the political, which has implications for research methodology, culminating in a concrete method they call political form analysis. In addition, they sketch out several applications of this theory, methodology and method. They call their approach “political semiotics” and argue that it is a fruitful way of conducting research on power, governance and democracy – the core dimensions of the political – in a manner that is envisioned in numerous discussions of the “relational turn” in the social sciences. It is the first monograph that attempts to outline an approach to the political that would be relational throughout, from its meta theoretical and theoretical premises through to its methodological implications, methods and empirical applications. Acknowledgments 6 Praise for Introducing Relational Political Analysis 8 Contents 10 List of Figures 15 List of Tables 16 1 Introduction: Political Semiotics as a Theory, Methodology, and Method of Relational Political Analysis 17 References 28 2 The “Relational Turn” in the Social Sciences 31 2.1 To Relate Is to Constitute, Not Just Cause 34 2.1.1 There’s No Hammer Without a Nail! On the Constitution of “Things” 35 2.1.2 Nailing the Hammer: On the Constitution of Constitution and Cause 36 2.2 Substantialism and Relationalism 38 2.2.1 Self-Action: Did the Wind Start to Blow or the Blow Start the Wind? 39 2.2.2 Inter-Action: Blows Gone with the Wind 41 2.2.3 Trans-Action: Wind and Blowing “Considered Separately, but Not as Being Separate” 42 2.2.4 Relationalism and Substantialism Compared: Three Concepts of Process 46 References 51 3 Relational Approach to the Political: Power, Governance, and Democracy 57 3.1 Substantialism and Relationalism in Power Analysis 57 3.1.1 Self-Actionalism: Power as a Property or Resource of the Powerful 58 3.1.2 Inter-Actionalism: Power as a Relation Between Actors 61 3.1.3 The Causalism of Self-Actionalism and Inter-Actionalism 63 3.1.4 Trans-Actionalism: Mutual Constitution of Power and Subjects 65 3.2 Substantialism and Relationalism in the Study of Governance 70 3.2.1 Types of Problems of Governance: Simple, Complex, Wicked, and De-Problematized 71 3.2.2 Self-Active Governance: Governing Through Markets or Hierarchies 75 3.2.3 Inter-Active Governance: Governing Through Networks 78 3.2.4 From the Failure of Substantialism to the Opportunities of Relational Approaches 81 3.2.5 From Substantialist Governance Failure to Relational Approach to Governance 82 3.2.6 Bob Jessop’s Relational Approach to Governance 85 3.2.7 Governance as De-Problematizing (Wicked) Problems 90 3.2.8 Governance as Discourse, Culture, and Argumentation 94 3.3 Substantialism and Relationalism in the Study of Democracy 96 3.3.1 Self-Actionalism and the Study of Democracy 97 3.3.2 Inter-Actionalism and the Study of Democracy 98 3.3.3 Trans-Actionalism and the Study of Democracy 100 3.4 Hegemony in the Intersection of Power, Governance, and Democracy in the Essex School of Political Analysis 107 3.5 Taking Stock: What Is Political in Relational Political Analysis? 112 References 115 4 Three Concepts of Semiotics 123 4.1 A Semiotic Approach to the Political? 123 4.2 Structuralist Self-Actionalism in Semiotics 132 4.3 Inter-actionalism in Semiotics: Post-structuralism, Inter-textuality, and Dialogism 139 4.4 Trans-actionalism: Cultural Semiotics 143 References 147 5 A Framework of Political Semiotics: Political Logic of the Semiosphere 152 5.1 Bringing Discourse Theory and Cultural Semiotics into a Dialogue 155 5.1.1 The Ontological Statuses of Discourse and Semiosphere 156 5.1.2 Exclusion as Constitutive Condition for Meaning-Making 158 5.1.3 The Notion of Translation in Cultural Semiotics 160 5.1.4 Bilingualism in Lotman and Laclau 162 5.1.5 Overcoming Bilingualism: “Empty Signifiers” and “Rhetoric Translation” 164 5.1.6 Naming as a Hegemonic Operation in Laclau and Lotman 166 5.1.7 The Forces “Behind” Naming 168 5.2 From Congenialities to Fruitful Complements: Expanding the Dialogue 171 5.2.1 Naming Is but One Hegemonic Strategy 171 5.2.2 Lotman’s Notion of “Text” as a Potential Basis for a Typology of Hegemony 174 5.3 Cultural Semiotics and the Study of Communication 175 5.3.1 Taking Stock from Neo-Structuralism: Saussurean Semiology as Trans-Actionalist Communication Theory 176 5.3.2 Cultural Semiotics as a Trans-Actional Study of Communication 181 References 184 6 Political Semiotics and the Study of the Political: Power, Governance, and Democracy 187 6.1 Semiotic Categories for Explaining the Political 191 6.1.1 Authoritarian Populism in Power, Governance, and Democracy (Phatic Public Communication) 193 6.1.2 Democratic Populism in Power, Governance, and Democracy (Poetic Public Communication) 200 6.1.3 Clientelism in Power, Governance, and Democracy (Conative Public Communication) 202 6.1.4 Deliberative Power, Governance, and Democracy (Referential Public Communication) 205 6.1.5 Radical/Agonistic Democracy, Power and Governance (Metalingual Public Communication) 210 6.1.6 Totalitarian Populism in Power, Governance, and Democracy (Emotive Public Communication) 215 6.2 General Comments on the Categories of Political Semiotics 220 6.2.1 The Categories Are Ideal Types 220 6.2.2 The Problem of Metonymy and Metaphor and Their Relation to Language Functions 221 6.3 Conclusion 223 References 224 7 Political Semiotics as a Constitutive Explanation and Abductive Research Logic 229 7.1 Constitutive Explanation and Causal Explanation 229 7.1.1 Causal Explanation—The “Art of Separation” 230 7.1.2 Constitutive Explanation—The Art of Considering “Separately, but Not as Being Separate” 233 7.1.3 Relational Approach to Research Design: Constitutive and Causal Research Questions 238 7.2 Why Constitutive Explanation Entails Abductive Research Logic? 242 7.2.1 Deductive, Inductive, and Abductive Reasoning 242 7.2.2 Why Is Constitutive Explanation Inherently Abductive? 248 7.3 Constructing “a Matter of Course”: Why Semiotics Is a Constitutive Explanation? 252 References 256 8 From Methodology to Methods and Applications: Introducing Political Form Analysis 260 8.1 Why Political Form Analysis? 261 8.2 Micro-Level Political Form Analysis: The Constitution of the Estonian “Bronze-Speak” 263 8.3 Macro-Level Political Form Analysis: European Migrant Crisis and the Constitution of Wickedness 269 8.4 Implications of Political Form Analysis 279 References 284 9 Application of Relational Political Analysis: Political Semiotic Explanation of the Constitution of Digital Threats 289 9.1 Introduction 289 9.2 The Constitution of e-Threats in the Representation of the Media Coverage of Estonian Identity Card Vulnerability 292 9.2.1 Chronology of the Case 292 9.2.2 Mapping Referent Objects: National Security, Private Sector, and e-Estonia’s Reputation 292 9.2.3 Active and Passive Social Actors 297 9.2.4 Articulation of the Urgency of Threats 302 9.2.5 Ways of Managing Threats 306 9.3 The Semiotic Logic of the Constitution of the Scenarios of Security Risks 309 9.4 Reputation Damage as a Hegemonic “Empty Signifier” in the Discourse of ID-Security Risks 312 9.5 Conclusion: The Constitution of e-Threats as Problems of Power, Governance, and Democracy 315 References 318 Conclusion: The Subject and Agenda for Relational Political Analysis 320 Index 325 This book introduces relational thinking to political analysis. Instead of merely providing an overview of possible trajectories for articulating a relational political analysis, Peeter Selg and Andreas Ventsel put forth a concrete relational theory of the political, which has implications for research methodology, culminating in a concrete method they call political form analysis. In addition, they sketch out several applications of this theory, methodology and method. They call their approach "political semiotics" and argue that it is a fruitful way of conducting research on power, governance and democracy - the core dimensions of the political - in a manner that is envisioned in numerous discussions of the "relational turn" in the social sciences. It is the first monograph that attempts to outline an approach to the political that would be relational throughout, from its meta theoretical and theoretical premises through to its methodological implications, methods and empirical applications.-- Provided by publisher "This book introduces relational thinking to political analysis. Instead of merely providing an overview of possible trajectories for articulating a relational political analysis, Peeter Selg and Andreas Ventsel put forth a concrete relational theory of the political, which has conrete implications for research methodology, culminating in a conrete method they call political form analysis." --Back cover