Home  About us  Contact
 

Habermas's Work (habermas + work)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Humanities and Social Sciences75%

Selected Abstracts

Critical Dialogues: Habermasian Social Theory and International Relations1

POLITICS, Issue 3 2005
Alexander Anievas
The works of Jürgen Habermas have been a theoretical inspiration for many students of international relations (IR). To date, however, the majority of critical IR approaches drawing from the Habermasian perspective have done so on purely philosophical grounds. This article will thus explore the utility of the social-theoretical aspects of Habermas's work for critical inquiries into world politics. To this end, it will examine four main elements of his work: the theory of communicative action; public sphere; lifeworld/system architecture; and discourse ethics. It will be argued that adopting the Habermasian conceptual apparatus provides a social-theoretical route to explaining the contradictory and often paradoxical nature of international relations in the epoch of ,globalisation'. While various constructivist approaches to IR have recently offered more socially-oriented applications of Habermas's theoretical framework, the majority of these studies have done so from predominately non-critical standpoints. This article will thus seek to explore the utility of Habermas's work in offering a critical social theory of world politics. [source]

Communication with the Environment?

POLITICS, Issue 3 2000
Non-human Nature in the Theories of Jürgen Habermas
The theories of Jürgen Habermas provide us with a powerful analytical tool for the analysis of politics, including social movements. However, they are lacking in one particular area, the analysis of environmental politics. The reasons behind these difficulties can be traced through the development of Habermas's work and lie in the inability of non-human nature to participate in language-based discourse. The dilemma is acute , the ecocentric moral position needs grounding in the rationality of discourse if it is not to slip into possibly dangerous irrationality, but how can such a grounding occur? This article reviews the development of discussion in this area and investigates advocacy as a possible resolution of the problem. [source]

Habermas on Nationalism and Cosmopolitanism

RATIO JURIS, Issue 4 2002
Pablo De Greiff
After drawing a distinction between a cosmopolitan attitude and institutional cosmopolitanism, this paper reconstructs Habermas's account of the relationship between morality and law in order to argue that this account can be the basis of a cosmopolitan attitude which, although insufficient, on its own, to ground cosmopolitan institutions, can, nonetheless, motivate interest in institutional cosmopolitanism. The paper then examines Habermas's proposal for institutionalizing a system of cosmopolitan governance. It distinguishes and explores the reach and limitations of three arguments in favor of institutional cosmopolitanism not always adequately differentiated in Habermas's work: (a) an argument from the weakness of the nation state, (b) an argument from the democratic deficit of nationalism, and (c) an argument from the state's incapacity to guarantee human rights. [source]

Understanding and Efficiency: Habermas's Concept of Communication Relief

COMMUNICATION THEORY, Issue 2 2008
Thomas Hove
This commentary calls attention to a topic neglected in the scholarly reception of Habermas's work,the concept of communication relief. In his recent public sphere theory, he classifies different media forms that are necessary for coordinating different types of social action. He identifies three such media forms: linguistic agreement, steering media, and generalized communication. Although communication scholars acknowledge his ideas on linguistic agreement, they have overlooked those on steering media and generalized communication. Accordingly, this analysis focuses more on the latter two media forms, which fall under the broader concept of relief mechanisms. Extending the media theories of Talcott Parsons, Habermas identifies four types of relief mechanisms: money, power, influence, and value commitment. Money and power perform steering media functions that promote efficiency. Influence and value commitment perform generalized communication functions that promote not only efficiency but also understanding. Implications for normative theories of mass-mediated democratic communication are discussed. Résumé Compréhension et efficacité : Le concept habermassien du soulagement communicationnel Ce commentaire attire l,attention sur un sujet négligé dans la réception universitaire des travaux de Habermas : le concept du soulagement communicationnel (communication relief). Dans sa récent théorie sur la sphère publique, il classifie différentes formes de médias nécessaires à la coordination de différents types d'action sociale. Il identifie ainsi trois formes médiatiques : l,accord linguistique, les médias de direction et la communication généralisée. Bien que les chercheurs en communication reconnaissent ses idées sur l'accord linguistique, ils ont négligé celles sur les médias de direction et la communication généralisée. Par conséquent, cette analyse se concentre surtout sur les deux dernières formes médiatiques, regroupées sous le concept de mécanismes de soulagement. Prolongeant les théories médiatiques de Talcott Parsons, Habermas identifie quatre types de mécanismes de soulagement : l,argent, le pouvoir, l'influence et l,engagement envers des valeurs. L'argent et le pouvoir accomplissent des fonctions de médias de direction qui promeuvent l,efficacité. L'influence et l,engagement envers des valeurs accomplissent des fonctions de communication généralisée qui promeuvent non seulement l'efficacité mais aussi la compréhension. Les conséquences pour les théories normatives de la communication démocratique de masse sont commentées. Abstract Verstehen und Effizienz. Das Habermas'sche Konzept der Kommunikationserleichterung Dieser Kommentar greift ein Thema auf, dass in der bisherigen wissenschaftlichen Auseinandersetzung mit den Arbeiten Habermas' vernachlässigt wurde , das Konzept der kommunikativen Erleichterung. In seiner aktuellen Theorie der Öffentlichkeit klassifiziert er verschiedene Formen von Medien, die notwendig sind, um verschiedene Arten von sozialem Handeln zu koordinieren. Er identifiziert drei solche Medienarten: linguistische Übereinstimmung, Führungsmedien und generalisierte Kommunikation. Obwohl Wissenschaftler seinen Ideen zur linguistischen Übereinstimmung zustimmen, haben sie die Annahmen zu Führungsmedien und generalisierter Kommunikation bislang übersehen. Dementsprechend fokussiert dieser Beitrag auf diese zwei Medienformen, welche dem Konzept des Erleichterungsmechanismus zuzuordnen sind. In Erweiterung der Medientheorien von Talcott Parsons identifiziert Habermas vier Typen von Erleichterungsmechanismen: Geld, Macht, Einfluss und Wertebindung. Geld und Macht leisten führende Medienfunktionen, welche Effizienz fördern. Einfluss und Wertebindung hingegen erfüllen generalisierte Kommunikationsfunktionen, welche nicht nur Effizienz, sondern auch Verständnis fördern. Abschließend werden Schlussfolgerungen für normative Theorien der massenmedial vermittelten demokratischen Kommunikation diskutiert. Resumen La Comprensión y la Eficiencia: El Concepto de Comunicación de Alivio de Habermas Este comentario llama la atención sobre un tema desatendido en la recepción de los estudiosos del trabajo de Habermas,el concepto de la comunicación de alivio. En su teoría reciente sobre la esfera pública, Habermas clasifica las formas diferentes de los medios que son necesarias para coordinar distintos tipos de acciones sociales. Él identifica 3 formas de los medios: acuerdos lingüísticos, la dirección de los medios, y la comunicación generalizada. Aún cuando los estudiosos de la comunicación reconocen sus ideas sobre los acuerdos lingüísticos, han pasado por alto la dirección de los medios y la comunicación generalizada. Por consiguiente, este análisis se enfoca más en estas dos últimas formas de los medios, las cuales caen bajo el concepto amplio de mecanismos de alivio. Extendiendo las teorías de los medios de Talcott Parsons, Habermas identifica 4 tipos de mecanismos de alivio: dinero, poder, influencia, y valor del compromiso. El dinero y el poder funcionan como dirección de los medios que promueven la eficiencia. La influencia y el valor del compromiso funcionan como las funciones de comunicación general que promueven no sólo la eficiencia sino también la comprensión. Las implicancias para las teorías normativas de los medios masivos de comunicación democráticos son discutidas también. ZhaiYao Yo yak [source]