Prof. August erforscht gegenwärtig die Dynamiken und Eskalationsmechanismen demokratischer Konflikte, insbesondere im Kontext ökologischer Transformationen (Klimawandel, Heizungsgesetz, Protestbewegungen). Er entwickelt einen prozessualen theoretischen Rahmen, der Konfliktlinien, Framing-Strategien und Gewalt-Zuschreibungen systematisch analysiert und dabei Mediendebatten, Bewegungsdynamiken und Gegenstrategien einbezieht. Seine Arbeiten helfen Organisationen und der öffentlichen Hand, Konfliktentstehung, Eskalationspfade und De-Eskalationsmöglichkeiten in gesellschaftlichen Transformationsprozessen zu verstehen — relevant für Klimapolitik, Energiewende, Regulierung von Protestbewegungen und strategische Kommunikation in polarisierten Debatten. Methodisch kombiniert er Diskursanalyse, Konflikttheorie und empirische Sozialforschung, um die Mechanismen hinter öffentlichen Auseinandersetzungen transparent zu machen.
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Prof. Dr. Vincent August
HU-FIS-Profil ↗Ökologische Konflikte: Repräsentationsansprüche und Strategien im Streit um die kommende Gesellschaft (ÖkoKon)
university
Förderer: Gerda-Henkel-Stiftung Zeitraum: 05/2023 - 12/2026 Projektleitung: Prof. Dr. Vincent August
transcript Verlag eBooks · DOI
European Journal of Political Theory · DOI
Western democracies experience profound conflicts that induce concerns about polarization and social cohesion. Yet although conflicts are a core feature of democracies, the forms, functions, and dynamics of democratic conflicts have rarely been subject of political theory. This paper aims at furthering our understanding of democratic conflicts. It analyzes the theory of conflict in Mouffe's agonistic pluralism, confronts it with sociological conflict theory, and presents concrete points of departure for a more comprehensive theory of democratic conflicts. The paper, thus, contributes to two lines of research: (1) Regarding agonistic theories, the paper shows that agonistic pluralism fails to provide a convincing theory of conflict since it underestimates the mechanisms and effects of conflict dynamics (e.g. intergroup cohesion, intragroup conflict, domination, and escalation) and fails to account for the variety of conflict interactions. Proponents of agonistic pluralism should therefore invest more into clarifying their core concept. (2) For a general account of democratic conflicts, the paper proposes to pursue interdisciplinary research on the cognitive concepts shaping conflict interactions, the linked practices of conflict regulation, and the processual dynamics of conflicts.
European Journal of Social Theory · DOI
Network concepts are omnipresent in contemporary diagnoses (network society), management practices (network governance), social science methods (network analysis) and theories (network theory). Instigating a critical analysis of network concepts, this article explores the sources and relevance of networks in Foucault’s social theory. I argue that via Foucault we can trace network concepts back to cybernetics, a research programme that initiated a shift from ‘being’ to ‘doing’ and developed a new theory of regulation based on connectivity and codes, communication and circulation. This insight contributes to two debates: Firstly, it highlights a neglected influence on Foucault’s theory that travelled from cybernetics via structuralism and Canguilhem into his concept of power. Secondly, it suggests that network society and governance are neither a product of neoliberalism nor of technological artefacts, such as the Internet. They rather resulted from a distinct tradition of cybernetically inspired theories and practices.