What is Political?

Mark E. Warren

Journal of Theoretical Politics, 1999, vol. 11, issue 2, 207-231

Abstract: Our conceptions of politics ought to: (a) help clarify our normative interests in politics; (b) encompass everyday understandings of politics; and (c) define the domain of politics in ways that serve explanation. Events in the last couple of decades - from the rise of new social movements to the end to the Berlin Wall - have combined with shifts in the culture of expectations within political science to overtake most of our received definitions in these respects. I offer a conception of politics that focuses on the intersection of power and conflict, and argue that such a conception is more in accord with our political world today than are most common conceptions, especially in light of new concerns with democracy and democratization. Finally, I show how this conception illuminates our contemporary understandings of democracy.

Keywords: democracy; democratic theory; political science; politics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1999
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:jothpo:v:11:y:1999:i:2:p:207-231

DOI: 10.1177/0951692899011002004

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