A review of Krzysztof Pałecki’s latest monograph “Theory of Power”. The conception of the work, its original composition expressed in the structure, as well as distinctive features distinguishing the work on the Polish publishing market are discussed. Elements making the work difficult to perceive (the use of bullet points, the lack of a clearly marked ending) are also pointed out. The work is worth reviewing due to its innovative contribution to the social sciences, especially in considering the theory of power.
eTh article discusses the factors that encourage the use of the achievements of the broadly understood current of sociobiology in political science research. eTh guid ing thesis here is the assumption that the eefctive use of the achievements of sociobiol ogy for political science research may be an important factor inspiring new interpretations, explanations and forms of viewing the political sphere of social life. At the same time, it stimulates a broad view of the complexity of mutual relations between the sphere of culture and politics and biological factors. eTh condition for such a perspective is a de parture from the reduced, genetically determinist perception of sociobiology and the understanding of culture and politics both in terms of products and determinants of the natural environment. eTh structure of the argument is subordinated to attempts to an swer the following questions: Why is it worth being interested in using neo-evolutionist concepts to explain and describe the political sphere of social life? What is sociobiology and what theoretical assumptions can be a useful instrument of explanation in political science research?
Scientific discussion on political leadership increasingly takes on the form of interdisciplinary argumentation, in which different research perspectives, models and explanatory conceptual grids overlap. This state of affairs is on the one hand dictated by the contemporary trends in scientific research, especially in the broadly defined social sciences, where the cognitive, explanatory or descriptive relevance is achieved only by taking into account a broader, inter-disciplinary nature of scientific knowledge. In this sense, a thorough, reliable research practice consists primarily in crossing the formal borders of scientific disciplines, where researchers renounce the “complex” of detailed and firm definitions of their own subject of study to turn instead towards integration of knowledge from various, often very different, areas. The above is mainly due to the dispersion of objective scientific knowledge, which is conditioned, among others by: scientific and technical progress, the phenomenon of intertextuality (modern researchers in humanities concentrate their research eff ort on the texts and practices associated with this phenomenon, which means that their primary method in analyses of political phenomena is to fortify the text – specifically, to prepare the scientific text in such a way as to meet the standards of scientific writing and withstand criticism in the absence of the writer); as well as conceptual-theoretical pluralism present in social sciences. On the other hand, it is the result of scientific analysis of the given forms and practices of leadership, where nowadays greater attention is paid to the multi-dimensionality of leadership processes in politics, related to: the multi-level nature of concepts and research (meso, micro and macro-theoretical level analyses) and the need to take into account a large number of variables in the study of leadership (personality and environmental, situational, institutional factors, economic, political or religious variables). The consequence of this state of affairs is the multi-paradigm character of leadership, which in this case means that very often highly different ways of defining and explaining the complex relationship between a particular political leader and followers co-exist within the discipline. In addition, the multiplicity of paradigms of political leadership is a feature demonstrating the interdisciplinary nature of knowledge generated by political science, where various claims, theses, observations or conclusions complement each other, for example those originating in disciplines such as sociology, law, psychology, management sciences and cultural studies.
In article, author pay attention to the potential and scope of the impact of new forms of communication on the form and content of theoretical research. In principle, such an effect can be seen in two related, but different dimensions of analysis. In the first place it concerns the scope of the political theory, which is enriched with new areas and issues revealing previously unknown or not perceived problems, phenomena and processes that guide the interests of contemporary researchers. On the other hand, global mass communication techniques significantly shape, and thus change the existing forms of theoretical discourse and the structure of the theory itself. These changes in the perspective f plurality and decentralization of theoretical discourse subjects, as well as the emergence of new research areas which aspire to the status of scientific discipline, gain innovative importance especially from the point of view of the attempts to achieve meta-synthetic accumulation of social knowledge.
Research on relations between art and politics has its tradition. However, it mainly refers to literature, whose part, as far as its authors’ intentions are concerned, is of a political character, in a lesser degree – of a picture. Sound, especially if it is not linked to a text and/or a picture, is considerably more seldom analyzed from the point of view of its importance in politics. As long as a word and a picture happen to convey unequivocal political meaning, qualified as such by most recipients, sound cannot be obviously considered a political message. It is questionable whether music can convey any meaning in whatever sense. If one can manage to suppress this doubt, it will result in a question how to construe the senses conveyed through the medium of melodic – rhythmic structures. However, the findings in the field of widely understood humanities affirm that music serves as a creator’s message directed to both individual and collective receivers. Political science studies often bring up a matter of communication between authorities and the subjects (in authoritarian regimes), and also between representatives of a nation or people claiming their role and electorate (in democratic regimes). At the end of the 1960s, American and Canadian scientists made room for music, one of the most widespread communicators, i. a. in political sphere. At that time, interdisciplinary teams including American sociologists, political scientists, culture and media experts undertook.
Tezą niniejszej artykułu jest twierdzenie, iż specyficzną cechą pisarstwa w dziedzinie teorii polityki jest jego trangresywność, a więc przekraczanie niektórych norm. Oznacza to, że podejmuje ono polemikę z wzorcem naukowości, który wyraża się w formalnych regułach, stanowiących aktualne kryterium naukowości. Obranie perspektywy teorii polityki, inspirowanej dorobkiem Pierre’a Bourdieu, pokazuje, że przyjęta definicja nauki jest kluczową stawką w grze toczonej na polu nauki, w tym na „subpolu” teorii polityki. Celem artykułu jest pokazanie, iż transgresywny charakter piśmiennictwa teoriopolitycznego nie stawia go poza naukowością, lecz jest formą negocjacji samych norm naukowości poprzez przekraczania przyjętych, sztywnych wzorców pisarskich, zaś jego nieszablonowa forma jest determinowana przez jego przedmiot.
EN
The thesis of this paper is the claim that the characteristic of writing in the field of theory of politics is its trangressiveness, i.e., exceeding certain norms. It means that it is arguing with scientificity pattern, i.e., formal rules that constitute the current criterion of scientificity. Adopting a theory of politics perspective, inspired by Pierre Bourdieu’s achievements, allows to show that definition of science is the stake in the game in the scientific field and the subfield of theory of politics. The aim of this paper is to show that the transgressive character of theory of politics writing is not unscientific, but it is rather a form of negotiations of the very norms of science by crossing the rigid patterns of writing, and its unconventional form is determined by its subject.
Presented article offers a general overview of the interpretive approaches in the social and political sciences. The article starts with the definitions and etymology of the term “interpretation” and its synonyms. In the section 1 the author refers to the interpretive methodology of Max Weber and its actuality in the academic disciplines such as ethnography, sociology, history and law. The section 3 explains the usefulness of interpretive methods in doing research within a qualitative methodology in the social and political sciences. Sections 4 and 5 describe the nature of relations between interpretation, understanding and explanation. The last section brings attention on the application of interpretive methodology in the political science and political theory. Instead of a summary the author shares a reflection on the condition of science and a future of interpretative studies.
PL
Celem niniejszego artykułu jest wprowadzenie do teorii interpretacyjnej, próba zarysowania głównych zagadnień i problemów, jakie nasuwa podejście interpretacyjne w naukach społecznych i politycznych. Do głównych zagadnień analizowanych w artykule należą kolejno: kwestie definicyjne, weberowska tradycja metodologiczna, metoda interpretacyjna w badaniach jakościowych, natura relacji między interpretacją a rozumieniem i wyjaśnianiem, znaczenie podejścia interpretacyjnego w nauce o polityce i teorii polityki. Autor podejmuje próbę ustalenia definicji i etymologii pojęcia „interpretacja”, sytuuje je w rodzinie terminów pokrewnych, rozważa istotny problem naukowego statusu badań interpretacyjnych. Wskazuje także czynniki, które mogą się przyczynić do podniesienia efektywności badań interpretacyjnych w procesach wyjaśniania i zrozumienia działań społecznych i politycznych. W zakończeniu sygnalizuje wyzwania stojące przed nauką, dostrzega w nich pole badawcze dla analizy interpretacyjnej.
Artykuł traktuje o realizmie politycznym u Hermanna Rauschninga. Pokrótce zostały tu omówione historyczne podwaliny poglądów H. Rauschninga, zestawienie teorii realizmu politycznego z jej wersją u niemieckiego autora, wyróżnienie dwóch typów realizmu oraz zestawienie teorii z praktyką. Autor chciał podkreślić defensywny charakter rauschningowskiego realizmu nastawiony na obronę stanu posiadania sprzed rewolucji narodowosocjalistycznej. H. Rauschning nie wymagał od realistów tworzenia nowych podejść – opierał się na założeniu, że kontynuowanie polityki pokojowego rozwoju stosunków między państwami podtrzyma pomyślną koniunkturę. W temacie dwóch typów realizmu, H. Rauschning wymienił realizm sensu stricto, opierający się na wcześniej wymienionej obronie stanu posiadania oraz realizm narodowosocjalistyczny, który opierał się na podporządkowaniu prawideł prowadzenia działania politycznego dla abstrakcyjnych celów. Zdaniem H. Rauschninga, takie działanie wypaczało sens realizmu, ponieważ z jednej strony zacierało granicę między rzeczywistymi uwarunkowaniami polityki a spłaszczeniem ideologicznym; z drugiej strony stwarzało możliwość realizowania scenariusza politycznego niezgodnego z żywotnymi interesami społeczności, która została objęta jurysdykcją danej władzy. Autor wymieniał także enumeratywnie zagrożenia związane z wypaczonym stosowaniem wyznaczników teorii realizmu, które prowadziły do utraty pierwotnego znaczenia przez uniwersalne pojęcia polityczne.
EN
The article deals with the political realism of Hermann Rauschning. Briefly discussing the historical backgrounds of Rauschning’s views, the theory of political realism with its version in the German author, the distinction of two types of realism, and the compilation of theory and practice. The author wanted to emphasize the defensive character of the Rauschning’s realism aimed at defending the state of possession before the National Socialist revolution. Rauschning did not require realists to create new approaches- it was based on the premise that continuing the policy of peaceful development of relations between states would sustain a prosperous situation. In the topic of two types of realism, Rauschning listed the perfect realism, based on the previously mentioned defense of state of possession and national-socialistic realism, which was based on subordinating the rules of political action to abstract purposes. According to Rauschning, such action distorted the sense of realism, because on the one hand it blurred the boundary between real policy conditioning and ideological flattening; On the other hand, it provided the opportunity to pursue a political scenario that was incompatible with the vital interests of the community, which fell under the jurisdiction of the authority. The author also listed extensively the dangers associated with the distorted use of the determinants of the theory of realism, which led to the loss of primordial significance by universal political concepts.
W artykule przedstawiono jedną z form zaangażowania militarnego państw, jaką są konflikty o niskiej intensywności. Wykazano, że inicjowanie i udział w nich może stanowić instrument polityki zagranicznej. W pierwszej części dokonano charakterystyki tego typu konfliktów, określając poziom wykorzystywanych środków, zakres terytorialny, dynamikę prowadzonych działań oraz ich status prawny. Ponadto wskazano przykłady konfliktów z bieżącej praktyki politycznej. W drugiej części artykułu poddano analizie cele, do których dążą państwa wykorzystujące konflikty o niskiej intensywności, takie jak destabilizacja wrogiego państwa lub zakwestionowanie jego pozycji politycznej, próby rozstrzygnięcia sporów terytorialnych i rewizji granic państwowych, generowanie problemów wewnętrznych, budowanie własnej pozycji politycznej, a także zmiana koniunktury polityczno-prawnej. Treść artykułu dotyczy teorii polityki, jednak całokształt przedstawionych zagadnień może służyć jako podstawa dla refleksji nad przykładami z praktyki politycznej.
EN
The article presents one of the forms of military involvement of states, which is a lowintensity conflict. It has been shown that initiating and participating in them can be an instrument of foreign policy. The first part describes this type of conflict, specifying the level of funds used, the territorial scope, the dynamics of the activities carried out and their legal status. In addition, examples of conflicts from current political practice were identified. The second part of the article analyzes the goals pursued by states using lowintensity conflicts, such as destabilizing a hostile state or questioning its political position, attempts to resolve territorial disputes and revise state borders, generating internal problems, building their own political position, as well as changing the political and legal circumstances. The content of the article concerns the theory of politics, but the totality of the issues presented may serve as a basis for reflection on examples from political practice.
The main aim of this paper is not only to present fundamental features of an interpretive theory of politics, but above all to demonstrate significance and potential possibilities connected with the interpretive paradigm when used to research and understand the phenomenon of politics. This aim relates to the underlying assumption that the core of political science is in fact of a multiparadigm and pluralist character.
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