Hay, C.S. (2014) Neither real nor fictitious but ‘as if real’: A political ontology of the state. British Journal of Sociology, 65 (3). pp. 459-480. ISSN 0007-1315
Abstract
The state is one of series of concepts (capitalism, patriarchy and class being others) which pose a particular kind of ontological difficulty and provoke a particular kind of ontological controversy – for it is far from self-evident that the object or entity to which they refer is in any obvious sense ‘real’. In this paper I make the case for developing a distinct political ontology of the state which builds from such a reflection. In the process, I argue that the state is neither real nor fictitious, but ‘as if real’ – a conceptual abstraction whose value is best seen as an open analytical question. Thus understood, the state possesses no agency per se though it serves to define and construct a series of contexts within which political agency is both authorized (in the name of the state) and enacted (by those thereby authorized). The state is thus revealed as a dynamic institutional complex whose unity is at best partial, the constantly evolving outcome of unifying tendencies and dis-unifying counter-tendencies.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2014 Wiley. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in British Journal of Sociology. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: C.S. Hay., 'Neither real nor fictitious but ‘as if real'? A political ontology of the state', which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12082. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. |
Keywords: | State; political ontology; realism; ‘as if realism’ |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Politics and International Relations (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Politics and International Relations (Sheffield) > Political Economy Research Centre (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > University of Sheffield Research Centres and Institutes > Political Economy Research Centre (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 24 Sep 2015 13:00 |
Last Modified: | 26 Oct 2016 12:56 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/1468-4446.12082 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:88673 |