Pub Date : 2023-05-17DOI: 10.1177/13684310231172721
Y. Yurchenko
{"title":"Democratic socialism or barbarism: A reply to Hans-Herbert Kögler","authors":"Y. Yurchenko","doi":"10.1177/13684310231172721","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13684310231172721","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47808,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Theory","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46048167","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-12DOI: 10.1177/13684310231164001
B. Turner
This commentary raises three issues. Kögler fails to cover the complexity of Dugin’s philosophy, including his eschatological ideas. Secondly, in any discussion of Putin’s politics, we need to include the religious dimension. Finally, while Kögler debates the idea of bio-politics, we need to include Russia’s demographic crisis.
{"title":"Putin’s Russia: A commentary on Professor Kögler’s perspective","authors":"B. Turner","doi":"10.1177/13684310231164001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13684310231164001","url":null,"abstract":"This commentary raises three issues. Kögler fails to cover the complexity of Dugin’s philosophy, including his eschatological ideas. Secondly, in any discussion of Putin’s politics, we need to include the religious dimension. Finally, while Kögler debates the idea of bio-politics, we need to include Russia’s demographic crisis.","PeriodicalId":47808,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Theory","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48403115","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-11DOI: 10.1177/13684310231163443
M. Mann
Ko¨gler has written a scathing critique of the attempt by the Russian ultra-nationalist philosopher Aleksandr Dugin to legitimize the Russian attack on Ukraine (Ko¨gler, 2023). Ko¨gler asserts that both Dugin’s theory and President Putin’s action are ‘embedded in and inconceivable without a nationalistic cultural essentialism analysis, which ideologically supports the geopolitical claims of territorial domination via the symbolic ideal of the uniquely Russian national character’. In consequence, says Ko¨gler, this led to politics seeking the total elimination of Ukrainian culture and identity. He says Putin’s ‘imperial Eurasian ideology includes Dugin’s cultural essentialism’. I am sceptical as to Dugin’s influence on Putin, for which Ko¨gler gives no evidence. But his obsession with a philosophy that borders on the metaphysical reveals a cultural essenti-alism of his own, neglecting the more material specifics of the invasion and the dynamics of war itself. I would add more down to earth historical, geopolitical and political aspects of this invasion.
{"title":"Democracy or dictatorship? The moral call to defend Ukraine by Hans-Herbert Kögler","authors":"M. Mann","doi":"10.1177/13684310231163443","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13684310231163443","url":null,"abstract":"Ko¨gler has written a scathing critique of the attempt by the Russian ultra-nationalist philosopher Aleksandr Dugin to legitimize the Russian attack on Ukraine (Ko¨gler, 2023). Ko¨gler asserts that both Dugin’s theory and President Putin’s action are ‘embedded in and inconceivable without a nationalistic cultural essentialism analysis, which ideologically supports the geopolitical claims of territorial domination via the symbolic ideal of the uniquely Russian national character’. In consequence, says Ko¨gler, this led to politics seeking the total elimination of Ukrainian culture and identity. He says Putin’s ‘imperial Eurasian ideology includes Dugin’s cultural essentialism’. I am sceptical as to Dugin’s influence on Putin, for which Ko¨gler gives no evidence. But his obsession with a philosophy that borders on the metaphysical reveals a cultural essenti-alism of his own, neglecting the more material specifics of the invasion and the dynamics of war itself. I would add more down to earth historical, geopolitical and political aspects of this invasion.","PeriodicalId":47808,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Theory","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45548860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-11DOI: 10.1177/13684310231165218
S. Malešević
Hans-Herbert Kögler offers an insightful analysis and a potent moral call to support the defence of Ukraine. This is a sensible moral position that I also share. However, I question Kögler’s approach which overemphasises the ethical arguments alone. I argue that wars do not allow for moral absolutism of any kind and that the best one can do in the conditions of warfare is to endorse a version of contextual morality. Furthermore, I make a case for using the accumulated knowledge of historical sociology to understand the dynamics of war in Ukraine. Building on this knowledge one can advance a multipart argument that favours the continuous support for the defence of Ukraine.
{"title":"The moral fog of war and historical sociology","authors":"S. Malešević","doi":"10.1177/13684310231165218","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13684310231165218","url":null,"abstract":"Hans-Herbert Kögler offers an insightful analysis and a potent moral call to support the defence of Ukraine. This is a sensible moral position that I also share. However, I question Kögler’s approach which overemphasises the ethical arguments alone. I argue that wars do not allow for moral absolutism of any kind and that the best one can do in the conditions of warfare is to endorse a version of contextual morality. Furthermore, I make a case for using the accumulated knowledge of historical sociology to understand the dynamics of war in Ukraine. Building on this knowledge one can advance a multipart argument that favours the continuous support for the defence of Ukraine.","PeriodicalId":47808,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Theory","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42290216","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-08DOI: 10.1177/13684310231174098
Gerard Delanty
The Russo-Ukrainian War marks a significant moment in the post-1945 history of Europe when a new European war has begun that will shape relations with Russia for a long time to come. This war is not a regional war but is a product of the divergent and seemingly irreconcilable paths of the Russian Federation and Ukraine that go back to the collapse of the USSR while the critical juncture was the Iraq war, which set the terms for the current collapse in normative internationalism. The question of military support – its extent and duration – for Ukraine has major implications for the future of Europe. The moral and political challenges for Europe should not be confused with the interests of US foreign policy, which is using Ukraine for purposes that have little to do with what Europe should be concerned with, namely justice and peace.
{"title":"Introduction to the special issue on the Russo-Ukrainian War: A new European war? Considerations on the Russo-Ukrainian War","authors":"Gerard Delanty","doi":"10.1177/13684310231174098","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13684310231174098","url":null,"abstract":"The Russo-Ukrainian War marks a significant moment in the post-1945 history of Europe when a new European war has begun that will shape relations with Russia for a long time to come. This war is not a regional war but is a product of the divergent and seemingly irreconcilable paths of the Russian Federation and Ukraine that go back to the collapse of the USSR while the critical juncture was the Iraq war, which set the terms for the current collapse in normative internationalism. The question of military support – its extent and duration – for Ukraine has major implications for the future of Europe. The moral and political challenges for Europe should not be confused with the interests of US foreign policy, which is using Ukraine for purposes that have little to do with what Europe should be concerned with, namely justice and peace.","PeriodicalId":47808,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Theory","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47146921","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-07DOI: 10.1177/13684310231172599
M. Khomyakov
The essay seeks to complement Hans-Herbert Kögler’s article on the moral case for supporting Ukraine in its current defence against aggression from Putin’s Russia. To do so it tries to offer a more adequate account of what Kögler calls the politico-national and symbolic-ideological standing of Russia in this conflict. On the political side, the article points out the neoliberal, securitized and, in the final analysis, criminal character of Putin’s regime. Analysing the national aspect, it pictures Russian society as a morally corrupt, atomized and depoliticized one, which, at the same time, is a hostage of the terrorist regime. Finally, on the ideological aspect, it calls in question Kögler’s claim about the importance of Dugin’s Eurasian ideology, arguing for the impossibility to promote any essentialist ideology in the extremely atomized contemporary Russian society. The moral case for supporting Ukraine consists in defending Ukraine, Russia and, in final analysis, humanity from the morally corrupting and physically destroying influence of Putin’s terrorist regime.
{"title":"Thinking of war, facing the catastrophe: The Russian-Ukrainian War","authors":"M. Khomyakov","doi":"10.1177/13684310231172599","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13684310231172599","url":null,"abstract":"The essay seeks to complement Hans-Herbert Kögler’s article on the moral case for supporting Ukraine in its current defence against aggression from Putin’s Russia. To do so it tries to offer a more adequate account of what Kögler calls the politico-national and symbolic-ideological standing of Russia in this conflict. On the political side, the article points out the neoliberal, securitized and, in the final analysis, criminal character of Putin’s regime. Analysing the national aspect, it pictures Russian society as a morally corrupt, atomized and depoliticized one, which, at the same time, is a hostage of the terrorist regime. Finally, on the ideological aspect, it calls in question Kögler’s claim about the importance of Dugin’s Eurasian ideology, arguing for the impossibility to promote any essentialist ideology in the extremely atomized contemporary Russian society. The moral case for supporting Ukraine consists in defending Ukraine, Russia and, in final analysis, humanity from the morally corrupting and physically destroying influence of Putin’s terrorist regime.","PeriodicalId":47808,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Theory","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47420769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-04DOI: 10.1177/13684310231170345
Jan Nederveen Pieterse
There are three main parts to Ko¨gler’s article (Ko¨gler, 2023). First, a critique of the abstraction of morality in geopolitics. Second, an examination of Putin’s Eurasian ideology with a focus on Alexander Dugin’s perspective on Russia. Third, highlighting the importance of normative and moral principles in support for Ukraine, with a review of media debates in Germany. The lead title, ‘Democracy or Dictatorship?’
{"title":"International morality and international law","authors":"Jan Nederveen Pieterse","doi":"10.1177/13684310231170345","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13684310231170345","url":null,"abstract":"There are three main parts to Ko¨gler’s article (Ko¨gler, 2023). First, a critique of the abstraction of morality in geopolitics. Second, an examination of Putin’s Eurasian ideology with a focus on Alexander Dugin’s perspective on Russia. Third, highlighting the importance of normative and moral principles in support for Ukraine, with a review of media debates in Germany. The lead title, ‘Democracy or Dictatorship?’","PeriodicalId":47808,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Theory","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46275948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-04DOI: 10.1177/13684310231170774
A. King
Against pacifist calls for peace at any price in Ukraine, Hans-Herbert Kögler argues that the west has a moral obligation to support Ukraine in its war against Russia. Kögler’s argument is well-made. However, he does not mention the war at all. This may be an oversight because while moral principles may be universal, in practice, the context defines how morals are applied. Drawing on Clausewitz’s concept of the Trinity, this response seeks to develop Kögler’s moral argument by examining the practical, military implications of the war. It argues that because the war is heavily urbanised, the west’s moral commitment is likely to be very deep and long.
汉斯·赫伯特·科格勒(Hans Herbert Kögler)反对和平主义者在乌克兰不惜一切代价实现和平的呼吁,他认为西方有道德义务支持乌克兰对俄罗斯的战争。科格勒的论点很有说服力。然而,他根本没有提到战争。这可能是一种疏忽,因为尽管道德原则可能是普遍的,但在实践中,背景决定了道德的应用方式。根据克劳塞维茨的三位一体概念,这一回应试图通过研究战争的实际军事影响来发展科格勒的道德论点。它认为,由于战争是高度城市化的,西方的道德承诺可能是非常深刻和长期的。
{"title":"On the moral significance of military operations: A response to Hans-Herbert Kögler","authors":"A. King","doi":"10.1177/13684310231170774","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13684310231170774","url":null,"abstract":"Against pacifist calls for peace at any price in Ukraine, Hans-Herbert Kögler argues that the west has a moral obligation to support Ukraine in its war against Russia. Kögler’s argument is well-made. However, he does not mention the war at all. This may be an oversight because while moral principles may be universal, in practice, the context defines how morals are applied. Drawing on Clausewitz’s concept of the Trinity, this response seeks to develop Kögler’s moral argument by examining the practical, military implications of the war. It argues that because the war is heavily urbanised, the west’s moral commitment is likely to be very deep and long.","PeriodicalId":47808,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Theory","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49655498","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-04DOI: 10.1177/13684310231168585
R. Suny
{"title":"Another Russia: A reply to Hans-Herbert Kögler","authors":"R. Suny","doi":"10.1177/13684310231168585","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13684310231168585","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47808,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Theory","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47683380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-02DOI: 10.1177/13684310231170363
Pavlo Smytsnyuk
Hans-Herbert Kögler ’ s essay is an original and illuminating contribution to the discussion on how to ethically approach the Russo-Ukrainian War. 1 In my response, I concentrate on the aspects of Kögler ’ s essay where he emphasizes the necessity of understanding the ‘ rationality ’ of Russia ’ s actions – as a condition of eventual negotiations and peace-making. I will focus on four themes, promoted by the Russian Orthodox Church – Russkii mir , Eurasianism, collective versus individual rights, and militarism – the conjunction of which provides theological hermeneutics consistent with the invasion of Ukraine. Kögler is right in pointing out that the expansionist character of Russia did not appear overnight in February 2022 but was building over the last decades. Over this period, Russia has internalized, yet again, the imperialist motif of its czarist and Soviet history. One could wonder to what extent the Russian political leadership is under the influence of Alexander Dugin or, indeed, any other philosophical or ideological frameworks of thought. However, I suggest that there has been an overlapping consensus, to use a Rawlsian term, between Russian policymakers, conservative intellectuals and the Church, which made the 2022 invasion actively or passively supported by the majority of the Russian population. The arguments to which different players appeal vary, but they
{"title":"Rationalizing the war in Ukraine through religion: The Orthodox Church and Russia’ imperialist motif (A response to Hans-Herbert Kögler)","authors":"Pavlo Smytsnyuk","doi":"10.1177/13684310231170363","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13684310231170363","url":null,"abstract":"Hans-Herbert Kögler ’ s essay is an original and illuminating contribution to the discussion on how to ethically approach the Russo-Ukrainian War. 1 In my response, I concentrate on the aspects of Kögler ’ s essay where he emphasizes the necessity of understanding the ‘ rationality ’ of Russia ’ s actions – as a condition of eventual negotiations and peace-making. I will focus on four themes, promoted by the Russian Orthodox Church – Russkii mir , Eurasianism, collective versus individual rights, and militarism – the conjunction of which provides theological hermeneutics consistent with the invasion of Ukraine. Kögler is right in pointing out that the expansionist character of Russia did not appear overnight in February 2022 but was building over the last decades. Over this period, Russia has internalized, yet again, the imperialist motif of its czarist and Soviet history. One could wonder to what extent the Russian political leadership is under the influence of Alexander Dugin or, indeed, any other philosophical or ideological frameworks of thought. However, I suggest that there has been an overlapping consensus, to use a Rawlsian term, between Russian policymakers, conservative intellectuals and the Church, which made the 2022 invasion actively or passively supported by the majority of the Russian population. The arguments to which different players appeal vary, but they","PeriodicalId":47808,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Theory","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47299628","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}