The Invisible Constitution of Politics: Contested Norms and International Encounters - Hardcover

Wiener, Antje

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521895960 ISBN 13: 9780521895965

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2008

Synopsis

As social practices now frequently extend beyond national boundaries, experiences and expectations about fair and legitimate politics have become increasingly fragmented. Our ability to understand and interpret others and to tolerate difference, rather than overcome diversity, is therefore at risk. This book focuses on the contested meanings of norms in a world of increasing international encounters. The author argues that cultural practices are less visible than organisational practices, but are constitutive for politics and need to be understood and empirically 'accounted' for. Comparing four elite groups in Europe, Antje Wiener shows how this invisible constitution of politics matters. By comparing individual interpretations of norms such as democracy and human rights, she shows how they can mean different things, even to frequently travelling elite groups.

About this title

Book Description

As social practices now frequently extend beyond national boundaries, experiences and expectations about fair and legitimate politics have become increasingly fragmented. The author of this book argues that cultural practices are less visible than organisational practices, but are constitutive for politics and need to be understood and empirically 'accounted' for.

About the Author

Antje Wiener is Professor of Politics and International Relations in the Department of European Studies and Modern Languages at the University of Bath.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521895960
• ISBN 13: 9780521895965
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 266