Neogramscianism
Neogramscianism is a current in the study of international relations and international political economy that seeks to break the long stalemate between the realism school of thought and liberal theories. Her critical approach is based on the political philosophy of the Italian communist Antonio Gramsci .
The former director of the International Labor Affairs Institute (ILO), Robert W. Cox , was the first to use Antonio Gramsci's political philosophy for an understanding of international relations.
Scientific understanding of Neogramscianism
Neogramscianism is based on a post-positivist understanding of science. Robert W. Cox divides the theories of international relations into problem-solving theories and critical theories . The former assume that certain properties of the existing world order are permanent. Within this they then try to solve isolated problems. Critical theories, on the other hand, do not take the existing world order for granted, but question it. On the one hand, how it came about, what its current state is and on the other hand, how and who could change it.
Cultural hegemony
The concept of hegemony (" cultural hegemony ") of Neogramscianism differs from the classical theories of international relations in that it does not mean the economic or military dominance of an individual country within the state system. Rather, hegemony is the ability of the ruling class to universalize its interests and convictions so that broad layers of society consider them to be worth striving for, even if they conflict with their personal interests. Hegemony is achieved, for example, when all employees would agree to the sentence " If the economy is doing well, everyone is doing well ".
Levels and elements of hegemony
In contrast to classical Gramscianism, the struggle for cultural hegemony is no longer articulated only on a national level, but takes place on three levels: within the given conditions of production, on the level of states and the existing world order. This happens through the following elements of hegemony: material capacities (means of production), ideas (theories and ideologies) and institutions (contracts, organizations).
Historical block
If a dominant class succeeds in developing a hegemony by means of all elements at all levels of the international system, then the representatives of Neogramscianism speak of a historical bloc, following Gramsci. In the last few decades, a bloc of managers, business people, academics and state officials has emerged based on the values of neoliberalism . Robert W. Cox and Stephen Gill call this block either the transnational capitalist class or the transnational managerial class . On the one hand, informal circles, such as the Mont Pèlerin Society or the Trilateral Commission , but also international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund , the World Bank and international business schools, in which the next generation of this class are trained, play an important role in the formation of this historical block .
Disciplinary Neoliberalism and New Constitutionalism
Despite its strong dominance, neoliberalism has not yet succeeded in achieving cultural hegemony in the sense of Antonio Gramsci. The previous universalization of his ideas cannot overlay his contradictions. Of particular note here are:
- Discrepancy between the power of capital and its democratic control
- Intensification of discipline in the workplace with simultaneous precariousness and marginalization of employment relationships
- Extension of neoliberal discipline to areas that were previously protected from access by the market
The hegemony of neoliberalism is therefore increasingly no longer based on consensus, but rather coercion. Stephen Gill speaks of a disciplining neoliberalism that increasingly subjects all areas of life to market discipline. At the political-institutional level, this disciplining neoliberalism is anchored by a new constitutionalism . This tries to de-democratize political decisions and to cement a neoliberal policy through international agreements. An example of this is the Maastricht criterion (see EU convergence criteria ), which forces national governments to exercise fiscal discipline and makes alternative economic policy impossible.
Criticism of Neogramscianism
- The practical constraints of the capitalist system are underestimated and the possibilities for action of the actors involved are overestimated
- Dominance of the capitalist system is largely based on coercion and not on consensus
- Neogramscians sometimes tend to be fixated on the elite and, in addition, neglect the influence of other actors
- The role of nation states is marginalized in favor of international civil society. For many Neogramscians, states only play a subordinate role (quasi as a "transmission belt") and have hardly any room for maneuver within the existing world order
Neogramscian analyzes
Further analyzes inspired by Gramsci can be found by the Canadian political scientist Stephen Gill and in Germany e.g. B. with Hans-Jürgen Bieling , Jochen Steinhilber, Erik Borg and Christoph Scherrer . The central category for the analysis of rule is still hegemony today . According to Gramsci, hegemony is a form of political rule based on consensus. With the term hegemony, Neogramscianism ties in with the debate about the decline of US hegemony since the 1970s ("American Decline"). Stephen Gill examined the Trilateral Commission as an example of the role of transnational political networks in the development of neoliberal hegemony in international relations (see Gill 1990). Recent work investigates the political character of globalization.
Antonio Gramsci is only one important source for this direction, Eric Hobsbawm , Karl Polanyi , Karl Marx , Max Weber , Niccolò Machiavelli are also included, as well as, as more recent sources, Max Horkheimer , Theodor W. Adorno , Michel Foucault , Jacques Derrida and Stuart Hall . This direction is often referred to as the Critical Theory of International Relations .
literature
- Bernhard Stahl: Understanding international politics. Barbara Budrich Publishing House, Passau 2014.
- Hans-Jürgen Bieling / Frank Deppe : Gramscianism in the international political economy. In: The argument. 217, 1996, pp. 729-740 [introductory article on the subject].
- Hans-Jürgen Bieling / Jochen Steinhilber (Hrsg.): The configuration of Europe. Dimensions of a critical integration theory. Munster 2000.
- Erik Borg: Globalization Project. Social forces in the conflict over hegemony , Hanover 2001
- Sonja Buckel , Andreas Fischer-Lescano (eds.): Hegemony armored with compulsion. Civil society and politics in the understanding of the state by Antonio Gramsci. Baden-Baden 2007. ISBN 978-3-8329-2438-6
- Robert W. Cox : Labor and Hegemony. In: International Organization. 31, 1977, 3, pp. 385-424.
- Robert W. Cox: Power, Production, and World Order. New York 1987.
- Robert W. Cox: World Order and Hegemony - Foundations of the "International Political Economy" (Research Group European Communities, Study No. 11). Marburg, 1998. uni-marburg.de (PDF; 12.9 MB).
- Stephen Gill : American hegemony and the Trilateral Commission. Cambridge 1990.
- Uwe Hirschfeld (ed.): Gramsci perspectives. Contributions to the founding conference of the "Berlin Institute for Critical Theory" e. V. from April 18 to 20, 1997 in the Jagdschloss Glienicke, Berlin. Argument-Verlag, Berlin / Hamburg 1998 (especially the article by Christoph Scherrer).
- Benjamin Opratko; Oliver Prausmüller (ed.): Gramsci global: Neogramscian perspectives in the international political economy. Argument-Verlag, Berlin / Hamburg 2011.
- Christoph Scherrer: Unwilling globalization? The enforcement of liberal foreign trade policy in the USA. Ed. Sigma., Berlin 1999.
Web links
- Erik Borg: Gramsci Quarry
- Michael R. Krätke: Antonio Gramscis Contributions to a Critical Economy
- Fondazione Istituto Gramsci
Individual evidence
- ^ Robert W. Cox : Labor and Hegemony in: International Organization, 31 (1977) 3, pp. 385-424.