ABSTRACT If one understands political decisions as normatively binding, the question arises as to how bindingness in this sense is produced. Political decisions are not only binding for the citizens concerned. First of all, mutual... more
ABSTRACT If one understands political decisions as normatively binding, the question arises as to how bindingness in this sense is produced. Political decisions are not only binding for the citizens concerned. First of all, mutual bindingness has to be achieved between the political agents involved. This paper aims to present a process-oriented analysis of the normative forces at work in political face-to-face decision interactions. In this context, we introduce a two-dimensional conception of political normativity. The dimension of implicit, in-process normativity complements the dimension of explicit, rule-following normativity. The second part of the paper provides an empirical illustration of a typical political practice of decision-making, taken from an analysis of actual committee meetings. This illustration serves to exemplify the processual character and the dynamics as well as the internal power relations of bindingness-production.
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The idea of a 'chain of legitimation' is a central thought in German constitutional theory. However, the conception of a chain of legitimacy does not appear to be sufficient to justify transnational democracy. Starting from this... more
The idea of a 'chain of legitimation' is a central thought in German constitutional theory. However, the conception of a chain of legitimacy does not appear to be sufficient to justify transnational democracy. Starting from this diagnosis, the paper introduces an alternative conception of transnational legitimacy. In this conception, the layer of legitimacy provided by the chain of legitimation is complemented by a layer of legitimacy that is provided by political practices at the micro-level of the political process. Our conception of transnational legitimacy - which is based on a twofold concept of normativity that distinguishes between an explicit and an implicit dimension of normativity - presents a deeper understanding of where to locate the normative forces at play within the political process. The aim of the paper is to show that at the transnational level, democratic legitimacy can only emerge if the long and abstract legitimation chains are normatively backed by pol...
The concept of 'practice' is offering a new approach to questions in public policy, especially those dealing with the process dimension of the political. But what exactly are practices? The first part of this paper focuses on the... more
The concept of 'practice' is offering a new approach to questions in public policy, especially those dealing with the process dimension of the political. But what exactly are practices? The first part of this paper focuses on the appropriate size or dimension of a political practice: What kind or range of events should be considered as the basic entity of analysis? The second part of the paper presents empirical illustrations from two research projects on committee decision making. These illustrations serve to exemplify the applicability of the concept of 'political practice' to public policy.
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Table of Contents Modality, Intentionality and Discursive Practice Pragmatism, Inferentialism and Modality in Sellars's Arguments against Empiricism Robert Brandom p. 6 Brandom's Five-Step Program for Modal Health Fredrik Stjernberg p. 18... more
Table of Contents Modality, Intentionality and Discursive Practice Pragmatism, Inferentialism and Modality in Sellars's Arguments against Empiricism Robert Brandom p. 6 Brandom's Five-Step Program for Modal Health Fredrik Stjernberg p. 18 The Status of Intentional Vocabulary in Discursive Practice: Reading Making it Explicit in the Light of" Between Saying and Doing" David Lauer p. 23 Logic, Semantics and the Theory of Meaning Inferentialism and the Normativity of Meaning Jaroslav Peregrin p.