Oct 2026· International Journal for the Semiotics of Law· 0 citations· 3 references
Abstract
This essay draws attention to the social processes that shape law. It argues, therefore, that processes of political institutionalisation arise out of sociocultural conflicts resolved through force in favour of a single collective actor, albeit only in relative and historically provisional terms. This essay seeks to illuminate the nexus between politics and law by emphasising its symbolic dimension, on the understanding that the threats to freedom, which are intensifying amid the current crisis of liberal democracies, may be more fully grasped through a sociological discussion of representations of power and the cultural wars that accompany them. The first part of the essay focuses on the socially conflictual genesis of the state and its legal order, and thus on its politically inflected character, while the second shows how symbolic forms of legitimation exercise a lasting cultural influence.
The rise of social media has fundamentally altered the political landscape in the Western world, providing the promise of more direct, democratic freedom while also functioning as a tool to uphold and entrench traditional power structures. Through a combination of contemporary political research and the foundational ph...
Zachary Houle· Political Science Undergradu...· 0 citations
This essay intervenes in contemporary debates around neoliberalism and its relationship to both authoritarianism and social democracy. It does so by reconstructing the debate on Thatcherism that took place between Stuart Hall and Bob Jessop in the 1980s. Both authors provide materialist analyses of Thatcherism that p...
Daniel McLoughlin· Historical Materialism· 0 citations
War and violence in Africa's postcolonial conflicts are fundamentally shaped by contested claims of legitimacy across law, politics, and religion. This article argues that the prohibition on the use of force under Article 2(4) of the UN Charter has operated asymmetrically, privileging state authority while marginalizin...
J. J. Niyo· Transformation: An Internati...· 0 citations
In recent decades, an increasingly conspicuous transformation has taken place within sectors of the contemporary Western Left, whereby its commitment to emancipatory politics has become entangled with practices that constrain the epistemic conditions necessary for democratic legitimacy. While historically aligned with...
Which forms of democracy are in crisis in a time of multiple and overlapping socio‐ecological crises, often referred to as the polycrisis era? This commentary engages with debates on the nature of contemporary democratic breakdown and the kinds of political practices required to address it. I argue that the democrati...
Ioannis Rigkos-Zitthen· Geography Journal· 0 citations
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