The Socio-Political Complex

The Socio-Political Complex PDF Author: A. Khoshkish
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 1483136175
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 407

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Socio-Political Complex: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Political Life explores the socio-political complex and the whys of politics. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this book covers topics ranging from political science and other sciences to political culture; man's physiological and psychological drives; groups and group dynamics; metaphysical and material variations of values; social semantics; and bourgeois nationalism. This monograph is comprised of 14 chapters and opens with a discussion on man's psychological, anthropological, social, economic, and socio-psychological dimensions. A historical review of the conversion of power into authority is then presented, and bourgeois nationalism is described as the pervasive shape of contemporary politics. The last two chapters consider the contours of political institutions, processes, behavior, and systems, with emphasis on pluralism, government, and the Constitution. A brief epilogue reflects on some political phenomena that furnish the fabric for ""the emperor's new clothes."" This book will appeal to both social and political scientists, as well as students and that segment of the general public interested in social problems and politics.

The Socio-Political Complex

The Socio-Political Complex PDF Author: A. Khoshkish
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 1483136175
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 407

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Socio-Political Complex: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Political Life explores the socio-political complex and the whys of politics. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this book covers topics ranging from political science and other sciences to political culture; man's physiological and psychological drives; groups and group dynamics; metaphysical and material variations of values; social semantics; and bourgeois nationalism. This monograph is comprised of 14 chapters and opens with a discussion on man's psychological, anthropological, social, economic, and socio-psychological dimensions. A historical review of the conversion of power into authority is then presented, and bourgeois nationalism is described as the pervasive shape of contemporary politics. The last two chapters consider the contours of political institutions, processes, behavior, and systems, with emphasis on pluralism, government, and the Constitution. A brief epilogue reflects on some political phenomena that furnish the fabric for ""the emperor's new clothes."" This book will appeal to both social and political scientists, as well as students and that segment of the general public interested in social problems and politics.

The Collapse of Complex Societies

The Collapse of Complex Societies PDF Author: Joseph Tainter
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521386739
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Get Book Here

Book Description
Dr Tainter describes nearly two dozen cases of collapse and reviews more than 2000 years of explanations. He then develops a new and far-reaching theory.

Development in Difficult Sociopolitical Contexts

Development in Difficult Sociopolitical Contexts PDF Author: A. Ware
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137347635
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 351

Get Book Here

Book Description
This edited volume explores development in the so-called 'fragile', 'failed' and 'pariah' states. It examines the literature on both fragile states and their development, and offers eleven case studies on countries ranking in the 'very high alert' and 'very high warning' categories in the Fund for Peace Failed States Index.

Sociophysics

Sociophysics PDF Author: Serge Galam
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461420318
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 450

Get Book Here

Book Description
Do humans behave much like atoms? Sociophysics, which uses tools and concepts from the physics of disordered matter to describe some aspects of social and political behavior, answers in the affirmative. But advocating the use of models from the physical sciences to understand human behavior could be perceived as tantamount to dismissing the existence of human free will and also enabling those seeking manipulative skills . This thought-provoking book argues it is just the contrary. Indeed, future developments and evaluation will either show sociophysics to be inadequate, thus supporting the hypothesis that people can primarily be considered to be free agents, or valid, thus opening the path to a radically different vision of society and personal responsibility. This book attempts to explain why and how humans behave much like atoms, at least in some aspects of their collective lives, and then proposes how this knowledge can serve as a unique key to a dramatic leap forwards in achieving more social freedom in the real world. At heart, sociophysics and this book are about better comprehending the richness and potential of our social interaction, and so distancing ourselves from inanimate atoms.

Sociocybernetics and Political Theory in a Complex World: Recasting Constitutionalism

Sociocybernetics and Political Theory in a Complex World: Recasting Constitutionalism PDF Author: Roberto Gustavo Mancilla Castro
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004441271
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 126

Get Book Here

Book Description
In Sociocybernetics and Political Theory in a Complex World, Roberto Mancilla offers new takes on known ideas of political and constitutional theory; the advent of information technology and globalization puts them in crisis, as many stem from centuries past.

Why Society is a Complex Matter

Why Society is a Complex Matter PDF Author: Philip Ball
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9783642289996
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Society is complicated. But this book argues that this does not place it beyond the reach of a science that can help to explain and perhaps even to predict social behaviour. As a system made up of many interacting agents – people, groups, institutions and governments, as well as physical and technological structures such as roads and computer networks – society can be regarded as a complex system. In recent years, scientists have made great progress in understanding how such complex systems operate, ranging from animal populations to earthquakes and weather. These systems show behaviours that cannot be predicted or intuited by focusing on the individual components, but which emerge spontaneously as a consequence of their interactions: they are said to be ‘self-organized’. Attempts to direct or manage such emergent properties generally reveal that ‘top-down’ approaches, which try to dictate a particular outcome, are ineffectual, and that what is needed instead is a ‘bottom-up’ approach that aims to guide self-organization towards desirable states. This book shows how some of these ideas from the science of complexity can be applied to the study and management of social phenomena, including traffic flow, economic markets, opinion formation and the growth and structure of cities. Building on these successes, the book argues that the complex-systems view of the social sciences has now matured sufficiently for it to be possible, desirable and perhaps essential to attempt a grander objective: to integrate these efforts into a unified scheme for studying, understanding and ultimately predicting what happens in the world we have made. Such a scheme would require the mobilization and collaboration of many different research communities, and would allow society and its interactions with the physical environment to be explored through realistic models and large-scale data collection and analysis. It should enable us to find new and effective solutions to major global problems such as conflict, disease, financial instability, environmental despoliation and poverty, while avoiding unintended policy consequences. It could give us the foresight to anticipate and ameliorate crises, and to begin tackling some of the most intractable problems of the twenty-first century.

Social Power in International Politics

Social Power in International Politics PDF Author: Peter van Ham
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 9780203857847
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 258

Get Book Here

Book Description
Social power, defined as "the ability to set standards, create norms and values that are deemed legitimate and desirable, without resorting to coercion or payment", is a central part of contemporary international politics. This text introduces and defines the concept of social power and considers how it works in international politics. It demonstrates how social power is a complex phenomenon that manifests itself in a wide variety of ways and circumstances, particularly in culture, institutions, law, and the media. Providing a global perspective on the role of social power from the EU, the US, the Middle East, and China, this book: Focuses on the key aspects of social power: centrality, complexity, and comprehensiveness. Examines the complex relationship between soft and hard power, the role of the media, and new communications technologies. Explores the interplay between state and non-state actors in framing the public discourse, setting the agenda, molding identities, and ultimately determining the outcome of policy processes. Features a broad range of international case studies and addresses issues including: culture and pop culture, media, public diplomacy, and branding. With particular focus on the social power of non-state actors, such as non-governmental organizations, the media, and consumers, Social Power in International Politics offers a thought-provoking new perspective on how power is exercised in the complex reality of the contemporary world. It will be of particular interest to students and scholars of international relations, political science, and media and communications studies.

The Social and Political Body

The Social and Political Body PDF Author: Theodore R. Schatzki
Publisher: Guilford Press
ISBN: 9781572301405
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Get Book Here

Book Description
Beginning with the provocative premise that the body is the anchor of the social order, this book delves into the multidimensional relationship between sociopolitical bodies and human bodies. It explores the way that prevailing economic and political institutions affect our experience of our physical selves and, in turn, the ways that our bodily senses, energies, activities and desires reinforce or challenge the status quo.

National Identities and Socio-Political Changes in Latin America

National Identities and Socio-Political Changes in Latin America PDF Author: Antonio Gomez-Moriana
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 113566773X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 506

Get Book Here

Book Description
This study frames the social dynamics of Latin American in terms of two types of cultural momentum: foundational momentum and the momentum of global order in contemporary Latin America.

Sociopolitical Aesthetics

Sociopolitical Aesthetics PDF Author: Kim Charnley
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350008702
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Get Book Here

Book Description
Since the turn of the millennium, protests, meetings, schoolrooms, reading groups and many other social forms have been proposed as artworks or, more ambiguously, as interventions that are somewhere between art and politics. This book surveys the resurgence of politicized art, tracing key currents of theory and practice, and mapping them against the dominant experience of the last decade: crisis. Drawing upon leading artists and theorists within this field – including Hito Steyerl, Marina Vishmidt, Art & Language, Gregory Sholette, John Roberts and Dave Beech – this book argues for a new interpretation of the relationship between socially-engaged art and neoliberalism. Kim Charnley explores the possibility that neoliberalism has destabilized the art system so that it is no longer able to absorb and neutralize dissent. As a result, the relationship between aesthetics and politics is experienced with fresh urgency and militancy.