Introducing Relational Political Analysis: Political Semiotics as a Theory and Method

Acknowledgments
Praise for Introducing Relational Political Analysis
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Introduction: Political Semiotics as a Theory, Methodology, and Method of Relational Political Analysis
	References
2 The “Relational Turn” in the Social Sciences
	2.1 To Relate Is to Constitute, Not Just Cause
		2.1.1 There’s No Hammer Without a Nail! On the Constitution of “Things”
		2.1.2 Nailing the Hammer: On the Constitution of Constitution and Cause
	2.2 Substantialism and Relationalism
		2.2.1 Self-Action: Did the Wind Start to Blow or the Blow Start the Wind?
		2.2.2 Inter-Action: Blows Gone with the Wind
		2.2.3 Trans-Action: Wind and Blowing “Considered Separately, but Not as Being Separate”
		2.2.4 Relationalism and Substantialism Compared: Three Concepts of Process
	References
3 Relational Approach to the Political: Power, Governance, and Democracy
	3.1 Substantialism and Relationalism in Power Analysis
		3.1.1 Self-Actionalism: Power as a Property or Resource of the Powerful
		3.1.2 Inter-Actionalism: Power as a Relation Between Actors
		3.1.3 The Causalism of Self-Actionalism and Inter-Actionalism
		3.1.4 Trans-Actionalism: Mutual Constitution of Power and Subjects
	3.2 Substantialism and Relationalism in the Study of Governance
		3.2.1 Types of Problems of Governance: Simple, Complex, Wicked, and De-Problematized
		3.2.2 Self-Active Governance: Governing Through Markets or Hierarchies
		3.2.3 Inter-Active Governance: Governing Through Networks
		3.2.4 From the Failure of Substantialism to the Opportunities of Relational Approaches
		3.2.5 From Substantialist Governance Failure to Relational Approach to Governance
		3.2.6 Bob Jessop’s Relational Approach to Governance
		3.2.7 Governance as De-Problematizing (Wicked) Problems
		3.2.8 Governance as Discourse, Culture, and Argumentation
	3.3 Substantialism and Relationalism in the Study of Democracy
		3.3.1 Self-Actionalism and the Study of Democracy
		3.3.2 Inter-Actionalism and the Study of Democracy
		3.3.3 Trans-Actionalism and the Study of Democracy
	3.4 Hegemony in the Intersection of Power, Governance, and Democracy in the Essex School of Political Analysis
	3.5 Taking Stock: What Is Political in Relational Political Analysis?
	References
4 Three Concepts of Semiotics
	4.1 A Semiotic Approach to the Political?
	4.2 Structuralist Self-Actionalism in Semiotics
	4.3 Inter-actionalism in Semiotics: Post-structuralism, Inter-textuality, and Dialogism
	4.4 Trans-actionalism: Cultural Semiotics
	References
5 A Framework of Political Semiotics: Political Logic of the Semiosphere
	5.1 Bringing Discourse Theory and Cultural Semiotics into a Dialogue
		5.1.1 The Ontological Statuses of Discourse and Semiosphere
		5.1.2 Exclusion as Constitutive Condition for Meaning-Making
		5.1.3 The Notion of Translation in Cultural Semiotics
		5.1.4 Bilingualism in Lotman and Laclau
		5.1.5 Overcoming Bilingualism: “Empty Signifiers” and “Rhetoric Translation”
		5.1.6 Naming as a Hegemonic Operation in Laclau and Lotman
		5.1.7 The Forces “Behind” Naming
	5.2 From Congenialities to Fruitful Complements: Expanding the Dialogue
		5.2.1 Naming Is but One Hegemonic Strategy
		5.2.2 Lotman’s Notion of “Text” as a Potential Basis for a Typology of Hegemony
	5.3 Cultural Semiotics and the Study of Communication
		5.3.1 Taking Stock from Neo-Structuralism: Saussurean Semiology as Trans-Actionalist Communication Theory
		5.3.2 Cultural Semiotics as a Trans-Actional Study of Communication
	References
6 Political Semiotics and the Study of the Political: Power, Governance, and Democracy
	6.1 Semiotic Categories for Explaining the Political
		6.1.1 Authoritarian Populism in Power, Governance, and Democracy (Phatic Public Communication)
		6.1.2 Democratic Populism in Power, Governance, and Democracy (Poetic Public Communication)
		6.1.3 Clientelism in Power, Governance, and Democracy (Conative Public Communication)
		6.1.4 Deliberative Power, Governance, and Democracy (Referential Public Communication)
		6.1.5 Radical/Agonistic Democracy, Power and Governance (Metalingual Public Communication)
		6.1.6 Totalitarian Populism in Power, Governance, and Democracy (Emotive Public Communication)
	6.2 General Comments on the Categories of Political Semiotics
		6.2.1 The Categories Are Ideal Types
		6.2.2 The Problem of Metonymy and Metaphor and Their Relation to Language Functions
	6.3 Conclusion
	References
7 Political Semiotics as a Constitutive Explanation and Abductive Research Logic
	7.1 Constitutive Explanation and Causal Explanation
		7.1.1 Causal Explanation—The “Art of Separation”
		7.1.2 Constitutive Explanation—The Art of Considering “Separately, but Not as Being Separate”
		7.1.3 Relational Approach to Research Design: Constitutive and Causal Research Questions
	7.2 Why Constitutive Explanation Entails Abductive Research Logic?
		7.2.1 Deductive, Inductive, and Abductive Reasoning
		7.2.2 Why Is Constitutive Explanation Inherently Abductive?
	7.3 Constructing “a Matter of Course”: Why Semiotics Is a Constitutive Explanation?
	References
8 From Methodology to Methods and Applications: Introducing Political Form Analysis
	8.1 Why Political Form Analysis?
	8.2 Micro-Level Political Form Analysis: The Constitution of the Estonian “Bronze-Speak”
	8.3 Macro-Level Political Form Analysis: European Migrant Crisis and the Constitution of Wickedness
	8.4 Implications of Political Form Analysis
	References
9 Application of Relational Political Analysis: Political Semiotic Explanation of the Constitution of Digital Threats
	9.1 Introduction
	9.2 The Constitution of e-Threats in the Representation of the Media Coverage of Estonian Identity Card Vulnerability
		9.2.1 Chronology of the Case
		9.2.2 Mapping Referent Objects: National Security, Private Sector, and e-Estonia’s Reputation
		9.2.3 Active and Passive Social Actors
		9.2.4 Articulation of the Urgency of Threats
		9.2.5 Ways of Managing Threats
	9.3 The Semiotic Logic of the Constitution of the Scenarios of Security Risks
	9.4 Reputation Damage as a Hegemonic “Empty Signifier” in the Discourse of ID-Security Risks
	9.5 Conclusion: The Constitution of e-Threats as Problems of Power, Governance, and Democracy
	References
Conclusion: The Subject and Agenda for Relational Political Analysis
Index