Article Version of Record

Rethinking prefigurative politics: Introduction to the special thematic section

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Cornish, Flora
Haaken, Jan
Moskovitz, Liora
Jackson, Sharon

Abstract / Description

This special thematic section responds to the 21st century proliferation of social movements characterised by the slogans ‘another world is possible’ and ‘be the change you want to see’. It explores prefigurative politics as a means of instantiating radical social change in a context of widening global inequalities, climate change, and the crises and recoveries of neoliberal global capitalism. ‘Prefigurative politics’ refers to a range of social experiments that both critique the status quo and offer alternatives by implementing radically democratic practices in pursuit of social justice. This collection of articles makes the case for psychologists to engage with prefigurative politics as sites of psychological and social change, in the dual interests of understanding the world and changing it. The articles bridge psychology and politics in three different ways. One group of articles brings a psychological lens to political phenomena, arguing that attention to the emotional, relational and intergroup dynamics of prefigurative politics is required to understand their trajectories, challenges, and impacts. A second group focuses a political lens on social settings traditionally framed as psychological sites of well-being, enabling an understanding of their political nature. The third group addresses the ‘border tensions’ of the psychological and the political, contextualising and historicising the instantiation of prefigurative ideals and addressing tensions that arise between utopian ideals and various internal and external constraints. This introduction to the special section explores the concept and contemporary debates concerning prefigurative politics, outlines the rationale for a psychological engagement with this phenomenon, and presents the articles in the special thematic section. The general, prefigurative, aim is to advance psychology’s contribution to rethinking and remaking the world as it could be, not only documenting the world as it is.

Keyword(s)

prefigurative politics activism political psychology democracy horizontalism radicalism social movements resistance political responsibility global capitalism crisis

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2016-05-24

Journal title

Journal of Social and Political Psychology

Volume

4

Issue

1

Page numbers

114–127

Publisher

PsychOpen GOLD

Publication status

publishedVersion

Review status

peerReviewed

Is version of

Citation

Cornish, F., Haaken, J., Moskovitz, L., & Jackson, S. (2016). Rethinking prefigurative politics: Introduction to the special thematic section. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 4(1), 114–127. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v4i1.640
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Cornish, Flora
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Haaken, Jan
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Moskovitz, Liora
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Jackson, Sharon
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2018-11-26T12:44:56Z
  • Made available on
    2018-11-26T12:44:56Z
  • Date of first publication
    2016-05-24
  • Abstract / Description
    This special thematic section responds to the 21st century proliferation of social movements characterised by the slogans ‘another world is possible’ and ‘be the change you want to see’. It explores prefigurative politics as a means of instantiating radical social change in a context of widening global inequalities, climate change, and the crises and recoveries of neoliberal global capitalism. ‘Prefigurative politics’ refers to a range of social experiments that both critique the status quo and offer alternatives by implementing radically democratic practices in pursuit of social justice. This collection of articles makes the case for psychologists to engage with prefigurative politics as sites of psychological and social change, in the dual interests of understanding the world and changing it. The articles bridge psychology and politics in three different ways. One group of articles brings a psychological lens to political phenomena, arguing that attention to the emotional, relational and intergroup dynamics of prefigurative politics is required to understand their trajectories, challenges, and impacts. A second group focuses a political lens on social settings traditionally framed as psychological sites of well-being, enabling an understanding of their political nature. The third group addresses the ‘border tensions’ of the psychological and the political, contextualising and historicising the instantiation of prefigurative ideals and addressing tensions that arise between utopian ideals and various internal and external constraints. This introduction to the special section explores the concept and contemporary debates concerning prefigurative politics, outlines the rationale for a psychological engagement with this phenomenon, and presents the articles in the special thematic section. The general, prefigurative, aim is to advance psychology’s contribution to rethinking and remaking the world as it could be, not only documenting the world as it is.
    en_US
  • Publication status
    publishedVersion
  • Review status
    peerReviewed
  • Citation
    Cornish, F., Haaken, J., Moskovitz, L., & Jackson, S. (2016). Rethinking prefigurative politics: Introduction to the special thematic section. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 4(1), 114–127. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v4i1.640
    en_US
  • ISSN
    2195-3325
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1415
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1731
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Publisher
    PsychOpen GOLD
  • Is version of
    https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v4i1.640
  • Keyword(s)
    prefigurative politics
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    activism
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    political psychology
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    democracy
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    horizontalism
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    radicalism
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    social movements
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    resistance
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    political responsibility
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    global capitalism
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    crisis
    en_US
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    Rethinking prefigurative politics: Introduction to the special thematic section
    en_US
  • DRO type
    article
  • Issue
    1
  • Journal title
    Journal of Social and Political Psychology
  • Page numbers
    114–127
  • Volume
    4
  • Visible tag(s)
    Version of Record