Polycentrism

The theory of polycentrism was coined by Palmiro Togliatti and saw itself as a characterization of the working conditions of the communist parties in comparison between different countries after the de-Stalinization in the Soviet Union in 1956.

The term was later expanded as a general name for a system with several centers, as a unit in diversity (including political science , architecture and urban planning ).

In the area of intercultural competence , polycentrism is understood as an attitude or mental attitude of openness towards other cultures , views and ways of life: when intercultural contexts of action are not only interpreted against the background of one's own cultural experiences, but the independence of other cultures is recognized and culture-specific evaluations are relativized. In the sense of non-ethnocentrism, this is in contrast to the attitude of ethnocentrism .

Current representatives of the concept in political science are Simin Davoudi and Vincent Ostrom.

Literature and web links

• Hans Heinz Holz: The foundation of the doctrine of polycentrism in Gramsci and Togliatti , in: Ders., Currents and tendencies in neo-Marxism. Hanser Verlag, Munich 1972, pp. 12-29. [Ger.]