The ‘Political’ Role of Social Movements: A Critical Review of Rationalist Approaches

Abstract

The rationalist social movement approaches, which have been dominant in social movement literature, are curiously silent concerning how social movements transform existing social structures. This study contends that the silence of rationalist approaches on that issue is related with the failure of these approaches to conceptualize the ‘political’ role of social movements. It, first, outlines the conceptual distinction made by Claude Lefort, Chantal Mouffe, and Ernesto Laclau between ‘the political’ and ‘the politics’, and by Jacques Ranciére between ‘the politics’ and ‘the police’, in order to differentiate the moment of the institution of the social from the institutionalized politics. Then, examining rationalist approaches by drawing on this distinction, it argues that these approaches confine social movements within the boundaries of the conventional politics, ignoring the political role that movements can play. As such, they fail to conceptualize how movements challenge and transform existing social structures. The study concludes by pointing out the analytical and political effects of this conceptual weakness of rationalist approaches.

Keywords

• Social Movements
• Rationalist Approaches
• the Politics
• the Political
• Structural Change

Toplumsal Hareketlerin 'Siyasal' Rolü: Rasyonalist Yaklaşımların Eleştirel Bir Değerlendirmesi

Abstract

Toplumsal hareketler yazınında son yıllarda hâkim bir konum edinerek pek çok toplumsal hareket analizine yön veren rasyonalist yaklaşımlar, toplumsal hareketlerin mevcut toplumsal yapıları nasıl değiştirdiği veya değiştirebileceği konusunda dikkate değer bir suskunluk sergilerler. Bu çalışma rasyonalist yaklaşımların bu suskunluğunun toplumsal hareketlerin ‘siyasal’ rollerini kavramsallaştıramamaları ile ilgili olduğunu tartışıyor. Çalışmada öncelikle, çağdaş siyasi düşüncede toplumsalı değiştirip dönüştüren moment ile kurumsallaşmış siyasi pratikler arasında kavramsal bir ayrım yapmak üzere Claude Lefort, Chantal Mouffe ve Ernesto Laclau tarafından kullanılan ‘siyasal’ ve ‘siyaset’ kavramları ile Jacques Ranciére tarafından kullanılan ‘siyaset’ ve ‘polis’ kavramları ele alınmaktadır. Rasyonalist toplumsal hareket yaklaşımlarının bu ayrım ekseninde incelendiği ikinci bölümde ise bu yaklaşımların toplumsal hareketleri tamamen kurumsal siyasetin alanına hapsederek siyasal rollerini göz ardı ettikleri ve böylece toplumsal yapıları nasıl değiştirip dönüştüreceklerini kavramsallaştırmakta oldukça yetersiz kaldıkları gösterilmektedir. Çalışma rasyonalist yaklaşımların bu yetersizliğinin çeşitli analitik sorunlar doğurmanın yanı sıra önemli siyasi sonuçları olduğuna da dikkat çekerek sonlanmaktadır.

Keywords

• Toplu Toplumsal Hareketler
• Rasyonalist Yaklaşımlar
• Siyaset
• Siyasal
• Yapısal Değişim

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