Popular in Social Sciences

Books

City Time: On Being Sentenced to Rikers Island

Independent Scholar David A. Campbell

Culture and Society

The City as a Growth Machine: Toward a Political Economy of Place

New York University Harvey Moltoch

Economics

Gender and Economics

University of California Santa Barbara Shelly Lundberg

American Politics

Keeping the Republic

Boston College Marc Landy

Banks and Policy Organisations

Greening the financial sector

European Investment Bank Matteo Ferrazzi

British Politics

Entrepreneurial thinking: the politics and practice of policy impact

University of Sheffield Matthew Flinders

Culture and Society

Carceral Entrapments: Views from the Prison/Street Interface in India

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi Mahuya Bandyopadhya

Diffusion and Disappointment of the World Left

View more insights in Social Sciences - Political Science - Political Theory

View more figures from Université de Montréal

View the page of Milan Bernard

Read the Study

Milan Bernard argues that that the anticipation of leftist diffusion influences partisans and adversaries, to see revolution as a potentially globalizing institution through a spill-over logic.

Image courtesy of interviewee. May 7, 2024

Generating Workspace

Export as PDF

The speaker reflects on their early academic work related to political movements, specifically focusing on the rise of a radical left party in Greece during the period following the Arab Spring (2014-2015). They explore the impact of this party on social movements globally and question whether it represents hope for democratization or a sign of inevitable failure. The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding how political ideas and practices diffuse across national boundaries.

They argue for a deeper analysis of political theory in conjunction with international relations, aiming to bridge these fields to understand the spread of revolutionary ideas. They discuss the role of networks, both formal and informal, in facilitating the diffusion of ideas, and highlight that practitioners play a crucial role in translating these ideas into action.

The speaker shifts focus to the concept of solidarity, which has gained renewed interest during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how it can serve as a principle for political action rather than merely a moral or charitable concept. They underscore the significance of local and global networks in shaping political movements and the potential for grassroots resistance to spark larger changes.

Throughout the talk, the speaker emphasizes the unpredictability of political mobilization, advocating for a resilient approach that embraces uncertainty as a source of hope and inspiration for future social action in the face of global challenges like climate change and technological advancements.

Language:

Export as PDF

Export as PDF
Here are five key points from the video:

1. **Convideo of Change (2014-2015)**: The speaker discusses a significant period in political history following the Arab Spring, particularly highlighting the rise of the left-wing radical party SYRIZA in Greece after the financial crisis. This moment was marked by a surge in global interest in social and activist movements, reflecting hopes for a new wave of democratization.

2. **Diffusion of Ideas**: The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding how ideas, norms, and practices diffuse across different political convideos. This concept is essential for recognizing how small movements or ideas can spark broader social changes, drawing upon historical examples and the constructivist school of thought in international relations.

3. **Bridging Theory and Practice**: There is a call to bridge the gap between political theory and practical applications of ideas, particularly in how practitioners and intellectuals can work together to implement those ideas effectively. The role of media and networks in this diffusion process is highlighted, showing that they are key in converting individual ideas into collective action.

4. **Solidarity as a Principle**: The video moves towards the idea of solidarity as a critical political principle that can unite individuals and drive action. The speaker is researching how solidarity can serve not just as a moral concept but as a guiding principle for organizing and mobilizing collective efforts to address societal challenges.

5. **Embracing the Unknown**: The speaker reflects on the importance of embracing uncertainty in political action. There's a suggestion that even in the face of global challenges like climate change and technological advancements, small-scale movements can contribute to significant change, and the unknown future should not be seen as a source of despair but rather as a potential for inspiration and hope.

Export as PDF
Here are some key quotes extracted from the video:

1. **Convideo of Research:**
- "It's interesting because this is sort of an old paper... early on in my academic career."
- "We go back to 2014, 2015, a few years after the Arab Spring."

2. **Social Movements and Democratization:**
- "There's a lot of talk about social movements... some people are even talking of a new wave of democratization."
- "How can we learn from other discipline about how changes evolve, how diffusion happens in politics?"

3. **Lessons from Example:**
- "Is it, are we doomed in that way? Is it like always gonna be like a failure?"
- "SIRA in Greece was not able to bring a global change as some people maybe interpreted it could."

4. **Diffusion of Ideas:**
- "Diffusion is something big into what we call the constructivist school of international relations."
- "Ideas are being adopted and now being copied from a country to another... sometimes as part of cultural zones."

5. **Practitioners vs. Intellectuals:**
- "The practitioners are really the entrepreneurs of ideas."
- "They bridge the divide between idea and practice."

6. **Importance of Networks:**
- "Sometimes ideas are developed in a certain convideo, and it's the network that diffuse it on the international level."
- "They're not secret societies. They're not operating in shadows."

7. **Resistance and Hope:**
- "There is a feeling that hope is no longer something that is global."
- "I think our hope is that they can bring a bigger change, but that we don't know."

8. **Embracing the Unknown:**
- "Embracing the unknown should maybe be something that we should be more comfortable with."
- "We’re not necessarily doomed because we don’t know if we are—maybe there’s hope."

These quotes capture critical themes such as the evolution of social movements, the diffusion of ideas, the roles of intellectuals and practitioners, the significance of networks, and the notion of hope in uncertain times.

Export as PDF
Here are some articles that discuss themes similar to those in the video, focusing on political movements, the diffusion of ideas, solidarity, and the complexities of political action:

1. **“The Rise of New Political Movements in Southern Europe: Lessons from the Radical Left”**
- This article examines recent political changes in Southern Europe, with particular emphasis on the emergence of radical left parties in response to economic and social crises. It discusses their impact on broader political landscapes and global movements.

2. **“Transnational Solidarity: A New Paradigm for Activism in the 21st Century”**
- This piece explores the evolving concept of solidarity among social movements worldwide, especially in the convideo of global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights how solidarity can transcend local struggles and foster international cooperation.

3. **“The Role of Networks in Political Revolutions: Lessons from the Arab Spring”**
- This article analyzes the importance of both formal and informal networks in the spread of revolutionary ideas during the Arab Spring. It discusses how these networks facilitate communication and mobilization, shaping the outcomes of political movements.

4. **“Local Actions, Global Impact: Grassroots Movements and Their Role in Democratization”**
- Focusing on grassroots movements, this article argues that local initiatives can lead to significant changes at national and international levels. It discusses case studies that illustrate how grassroots resistance can empower communities and influence broader political dynamics.

5. **“Embracing Uncertainty: Political Mobilization in an Age of Global Challenges”**
- This article addresses the unpredictability of political action and mobilization in response to contemporary global challenges. It advocates for an adaptive approach to activism that recognizes the complexities of political landscapes while drawing on uncertainty as a source of strength.

6. **“Political Theory Meets International Relations: Bridging Disciplines for a Better Understanding of Global Movements”**
- This article argues for the integration of political theory with international relations to better comprehend the flow of ideas across borders and their implications for social movements and global politics.

7. **“Resilience in Activism: Learning from Past Movements”**
- This article discusses how past social movements have navigated challenges and uncertainties, providing insights into cultivating resilience among activists today, especially in the face of issues like climate change.

These articles encompass the key themes of political mobilization, the role of networks and solidarity, and the interplay between local and global dynamics in shaping contemporary political movements.

X-TIMESTAMP-MAP:LOCAL=00:00:00.000,MPEGTS=900000

00:00.115 --> 00:00.615
In the context.

00:00.845 --> 00:02.135
It's, it's quite interesting

00:02.135 --> 00:04.695
because this is sort of an old paper.

00:04.695 --> 00:07.575
It's one of the first work that was published,

00:07.585 --> 00:09.095
early on in my academic career.

00:09.635 --> 00:13.055
And it was at a very interesting point in,

00:13.175 --> 00:14.215
politics back then.

00:14.395 --> 00:18.815
Uh, we go back to 20 14, 20 15, a few years

00:18.945 --> 00:20.695
after the Arab Spring.

00:21.245 --> 00:26.175
There's a lot of talk about, social movements,

00:27.045 --> 00:28.935
some activist movements, some,

00:29.125 --> 00:32.455
some people are even talking of a new wave of Democrat,

00:32.555 --> 00:33.775
of democratization.

00:34.675 --> 00:38.815
And there's that very specific situation

00:38.815 --> 00:40.975
that arises from Greece where

00:41.185 --> 00:45.575
after, the financial crisis, there's a small,

00:46.005 --> 00:49.895
very left wing radical party that, gains power

00:50.125 --> 00:52.455
that is in this, the driver's seat.

00:52.835 --> 00:56.735
And the, what I found interesting is that over that period

00:56.825 --> 01:01.255
where they were their first mandate, about the time,

01:01.255 --> 01:04.495
where they gained power and took a little bit

01:04.495 --> 01:08.895
after the referendum, that they've organized a lot of people

01:08.915 --> 01:11.255
around the world took their example

01:11.435 --> 01:14.855
and put all their oaks into that small little party.

01:15.515 --> 01:19.175
And my, interest at the time was like

01:20.235 --> 01:24.305
to see how we could, see it

01:24.305 --> 01:25.865
as an example for something else.

01:26.045 --> 01:29.305
Is it, is it, are we doomed in that way?

01:29.305 --> 01:31.225
Is it like always gonna be like a failure?

01:31.225 --> 01:34.225
Because in, at the end of the day,

01:34.695 --> 01:39.105
obviously like SIRA in Greece was not able to bring a global

01:39.805 --> 01:43.545
change as some people maybe interpreted it could.

01:44.245 --> 01:47.665
But I was seeing how can we learn from other

01:48.355 --> 01:51.625
discipline about how changes evolve,

01:51.845 --> 01:53.985
how diffusion happens in politics,

01:54.525 --> 01:58.505
and is it possible for small spark

01:59.435 --> 02:03.585
event to light up a fire to go, to go on

02:03.605 --> 02:05.025
and become something bigger?

02:05.365 --> 02:08.185
So that was really the context I was really interested in

02:08.245 --> 02:11.905
all the hopes that were put in that very specific situation

02:12.365 --> 02:14.465
and how it could evolve into something else.

02:15.325 --> 02:18.025
And what, where should we go from it,

02:18.025 --> 02:20.225
from them on an academic perspective?

02:20.375 --> 02:23.065
Like how should we learn from that event?

02:23.445 --> 02:27.465
And also, maybe on a more practice level, is there a way

02:27.465 --> 02:29.985
to organize learning from that?

02:30.295 --> 02:33.665
It's, it's interesting because the key of the paper was

02:33.665 --> 02:37.625
to put something that has been described more into the field

02:37.625 --> 02:41.785
of international relations and put it into political theory.

02:42.365 --> 02:45.625
So diffusion is, is, is something big into

02:45.625 --> 02:48.465
what we call the constructivist, school

02:48.585 --> 02:49.905
of international relations.

02:49.935 --> 02:51.505
They talked about how norms

02:51.605 --> 02:54.905
and how practices are be, are being adopted

02:55.045 --> 02:58.305
and now being copied from a country to another,

02:58.575 --> 03:02.245
Sometimes as part of alliance, military Alliance,

03:02.385 --> 03:05.725
or as part of cultural alliance or cultural zones.

03:06.385 --> 03:08.805
And I was saying in international relations,

03:08.815 --> 03:13.445
maybe we don't really get to, the

03:14.115 --> 03:15.125
base of the idea.

03:15.265 --> 03:17.005
We, we, we are still in the surface,

03:17.225 --> 03:19.725
and we don't necessarily go really deep

03:20.395 --> 03:21.805
into the understanding.

03:21.905 --> 03:24.165
So I said maybe a political theory

03:24.685 --> 03:27.005
approach would help us getting to that.

03:27.425 --> 03:30.365
So I've tried to bridge those two things.

03:30.435 --> 03:33.565
I've tried to bridge international relations concept

03:33.705 --> 03:34.885
and some of the authors

03:34.885 --> 03:37.605
that have defined the fusion in some way that,

03:37.905 --> 03:41.925
are talking about, revolutionary waves historically

03:42.075 --> 03:45.445
that have been talking about how practices, norms,

03:45.445 --> 03:49.085
and ideas go from international institutions to others,

03:49.275 --> 03:52.205
from local institutions to national institutions.

03:52.825 --> 03:57.125
And I've also talked about a little bit more about ideas

03:57.305 --> 04:01.605
and how they're being framed by a certain apparatus

04:01.625 --> 04:04.645
and then are being adopted by society

04:04.705 --> 04:07.445
and then can go on on a, a more global level.

04:07.945 --> 04:11.205
But what really,

04:11.225 --> 04:13.605
gained my interest in is something that I've,

04:13.745 --> 04:16.645
I'm still interested today is how can I,

04:16.715 --> 04:18.205
like someone can have an idea,

04:18.685 --> 04:19.725
somebody else can have an idea,

04:19.825 --> 04:22.525
but when is the moment that they are put together,

04:23.545 --> 04:25.685
how can we like come up

04:25.685 --> 04:27.565
and at some point reach a critical mass,

04:27.645 --> 04:31.045
a tipping point when it becomes something else, then

04:31.715 --> 04:33.045
individuals having an idea,

04:33.065 --> 04:36.005
and then it becomes a, a mass, a collective,

04:36.475 --> 04:37.925
like something social.

04:38.665 --> 04:42.245
And that's really what I was trying to get at, with

04:42.245 --> 04:45.485
that paper and how I was trying to, to do that.

04:45.625 --> 04:47.365
In other research that I've done.

04:47.945 --> 04:51.445
Uh, after that I've talked, the opposite way.

04:51.515 --> 04:54.565
I've talked about the diffusion of far right ideas.

04:55.315 --> 04:59.085
I've, I've talked about how, with my colleague Philip,

05:00.635 --> 05:02.885
I've talked about how,

05:03.655 --> 05:07.165
ideas were I imported from France to Quebec

05:07.165 --> 05:10.965
and Canada, about some debates that were

05:11.855 --> 05:14.685
quite frankly more specific to France itself,

05:14.745 --> 05:17.045
but they were still being discussed in the media

05:17.145 --> 05:19.965
and in political sphere in Quebec.

05:20.345 --> 05:22.805
So the diffusion is not something

05:22.805 --> 05:24.765
that is necessarily only for revolution.

05:24.765 --> 05:28.685
It goes from politics, it goes from norms, ideas, practices,

05:28.685 --> 05:31.125
institutions, and is, I wanted to,

05:31.345 --> 05:35.365
to let it go a little bit out of what was ordinary about it,

05:35.365 --> 05:37.765
which was to talk it more into like institution,

05:38.265 --> 05:40.725
un et cetera, and have it more in the fields of ideas

05:41.355 --> 05:42.885
from a political theory perspective.

05:43.265 --> 05:46.525
Yes. And, practitioners, it's, it's, it's quite funny

05:46.525 --> 05:49.525
because they're the one that are doing,

05:49.705 --> 05:51.565
the big work when you think about it,

05:51.755 --> 05:55.525
because as I said, the the ideas everybody,

05:55.525 --> 05:56.605
like, it's quite,

05:56.605 --> 06:00.325
There's, there's a, there's a role for intellectual.

06:00.325 --> 06:03.165
There's a, there's a role in, academia,

06:03.165 --> 06:04.405
there's a role in society,

06:04.745 --> 06:08.565
but the practitioners are really, entrepreneurs,

06:08.665 --> 06:10.805
the entrepreneurs of ideas.

06:10.805 --> 06:15.045
They're the one that can really bridge the,

06:15.345 --> 06:18.685
divide the gap between idea and practice.

06:19.465 --> 06:22.205
So when we talk about that, a lot

06:22.205 --> 06:24.245
of people associate it with media.

06:24.515 --> 06:28.765
They say the medias are the one that will put the,

06:28.765 --> 06:31.565
that will bridge that gap that will reach to the,

06:31.785 --> 06:35.445
the numbers that will go from individual to collective.

06:36.265 --> 06:37.725
But as we saw,

06:37.745 --> 06:39.845
and this is a little bit what I discussed in the paper,

06:40.035 --> 06:41.205
it's not just media

06:41.355 --> 06:45.125
because there are sometimes other factors

06:45.195 --> 06:48.565
that make it not something that,

06:48.915 --> 06:51.765
popular media will necessarily pay attention to.

06:52.265 --> 06:55.885
And sometimes they are networks of,

06:56.635 --> 07:00.365
political networks, sometimes even media networks

07:00.365 --> 07:04.085
that are created that bridge those gaps between countries

07:04.425 --> 07:07.965
and the ideas from somewhere are gonna be diffused

07:07.985 --> 07:09.205
and developed somewhere else.

07:10.105 --> 07:12.365
So that's why sometimes, the,

07:12.385 --> 07:15.445
the classic example in the literature is that,

07:16.365 --> 07:18.125
I am not sure about the, the quote itself,

07:18.145 --> 07:19.965
but like Karl Marx never thought

07:19.965 --> 07:22.005
that Russia would be the place

07:22.145 --> 07:24.005
for the emergence of socialism.

07:24.345 --> 07:26.405
Uh, it was an agrarian society.

07:26.465 --> 07:30.685
And China even worse, like, he thought that we needed,

07:31.065 --> 07:34.125
some sort of developments, stage in order to bring,

07:34.385 --> 07:35.965
a socialist revolution.

07:36.105 --> 07:39.125
So sometimes ideas are developed in a certain context,

07:39.345 --> 07:43.125
and it's the network that diffuse it on,

07:43.185 --> 07:44.285
on the international level,

07:44.305 --> 07:47.765
and then it is developed by practitioners somewhere else

07:47.915 --> 07:49.445
that adopt the ideas,

07:49.905 --> 07:52.045
but have the means to put it in practice.

07:52.745 --> 07:55.805
And that's what is, is, is really interesting

07:56.115 --> 08:00.165
because sometimes they evolved from a place to the other.

08:00.705 --> 08:03.285
The other bit about that is that,

08:03.515 --> 08:06.125
because those networks exist

08:06.225 --> 08:09.125
and they're known, they're, they're not secret societies.

08:09.125 --> 08:10.925
They're not operating in shadows.

08:11.465 --> 08:14.205
It also creates, a potential for backlash

08:14.235 --> 08:18.885
because people are sometimes afraid of what it could bring.

08:19.305 --> 08:22.885
So in the case of, left wing movements in 20th century,

08:23.355 --> 08:26.525
there's a lot of people that were afraid of a potential,

08:26.825 --> 08:29.205
war, communism nexus.

08:29.395 --> 08:31.925
That war would,

08:32.585 --> 08:35.645
put in contact some networks together, some people together,

08:36.025 --> 08:38.765
and that would bring communism to other countries.

08:39.065 --> 08:41.325
So it also affects the way

08:41.355 --> 08:43.805
that people are seeing their opponent.

08:44.585 --> 08:47.805
And that's like, the networks are so important

08:48.395 --> 08:52.085
that they not only affect the people that are on their side,

08:52.105 --> 08:53.525
but also on the other side.

08:53.955 --> 08:58.105
Because between countries, we often see countries,

08:58.295 --> 09:01.225
like if we were looking at a map, we see them

09:01.295 --> 09:03.865
with the borders traced from one another,

09:04.045 --> 09:05.945
but the, it's never really the case.

09:06.565 --> 09:08.305
Not that borders are that important

09:08.365 --> 09:10.505
and not that necessarily gonna go into that debate,

09:11.005 --> 09:14.345
but the, the, they are networks

09:14.345 --> 09:17.505
and institutions that go from one country to the other,

09:17.505 --> 09:18.985
from one society to the other.

09:19.485 --> 09:20.785
We often talk, think,

09:20.785 --> 09:23.865
when we think institution in political science,

09:23.965 --> 09:27.825
we always think of un nato, big,

09:27.895 --> 09:31.025
supernational organization, eu, name it.

09:31.485 --> 09:34.665
But sometimes it's way more on a local level.

09:35.765 --> 09:38.405
I, I will give you a a very specific example.

09:39.065 --> 09:40.885
Uh, there's a lot of people here

09:40.885 --> 09:43.125
that have family in the United States,

09:43.985 --> 09:46.885
and, they discuss with them on a regular basis,

09:47.305 --> 09:50.365
and it affects some of their views of the world.

09:50.705 --> 09:52.485
It affects some of their behaviors.

09:52.585 --> 09:56.845
It affects some of, their choices and vice versa.

09:57.385 --> 10:00.005
Not necessarily politically, sometimes politically,

10:00.345 --> 10:03.845
but those family networks, sometimes religious networks

10:04.185 --> 10:06.285
and sometimes academic networks.

10:06.285 --> 10:09.885
There's some professors that go on a research trip, they

10:10.485 --> 10:13.845
exchange it, they're interested in something, they go,

10:14.195 --> 10:16.125
they go have a, like a research grant

10:16.185 --> 10:17.645
and go on in another country.

10:18.275 --> 10:21.085
They read the, the material that was published by,

10:21.105 --> 10:22.125
another author.

10:22.505 --> 10:25.325
So that's really like, those networks are not necessarily

10:26.275 --> 10:29.445
institution, brick and mortar institution,

10:29.625 --> 10:32.365
but they can be, way more flexible.

10:32.705 --> 10:33.725
It, it's interesting

10:33.725 --> 10:38.365
because starting from that idea, from that diffusion idea,

10:39.085 --> 10:42.525
I was always, it never really quit me,

10:42.555 --> 10:45.325
even though I'm not working on,

10:45.415 --> 10:47.085
diffusions per se right now.

10:48.085 --> 10:51.805
I was always intrigued by, mobilization

10:52.185 --> 10:56.685
and what brings people together, what brings people

10:56.865 --> 11:00.125
to act together from, from a,

11:00.385 --> 11:03.405
an ideal perspective into putting it in practice.

11:04.345 --> 11:08.205
And then I stumbled upon the idea of solidarity.

11:08.625 --> 11:12.605
And it's, it is really what I'm working right now, on,

11:12.705 --> 11:14.965
on the, on the number of different research.

11:15.105 --> 11:17.485
I'm working on solidarity,

11:18.475 --> 11:21.205
because it is a political

11:23.175 --> 11:27.595
aspect, a political principle that can unite,

11:28.055 --> 11:30.875
that can guide action.

11:31.695 --> 11:33.795
And this what leads to NRR,

11:33.795 --> 11:37.275
because NRR discusses solidarity just a little bit.

11:37.535 --> 11:40.115
She, it's not a central aspect of her work,

11:40.695 --> 11:45.515
but action is really what is the main team of

11:46.095 --> 11:48.635
an hourand philosophy or ontology.

11:49.415 --> 11:52.835
Uh, action is what is,

11:53.035 --> 11:55.685
Without going too much into the detail, something

11:55.685 --> 11:57.805
that should be,

11:59.285 --> 12:03.125
probably the overarching political,

12:03.195 --> 12:06.005
political mindset and what we should lead

12:06.345 --> 12:08.045
and what should lead politicians

12:08.185 --> 12:10.805
and politics should be principles of action.

12:11.265 --> 12:14.005
And what I'm trying to research right now is to see

12:14.005 --> 12:16.725
how solidarity can be a principle for action.

12:17.305 --> 12:21.805
How c, how it can be a principle rather than just a moral

12:22.475 --> 12:25.485
mindset or just an ethical perspective.

12:25.485 --> 12:29.365
Because we say a lot in the kind of day-to-day,

12:29.505 --> 12:31.205
ba day-to-day conversation.

12:31.675 --> 12:35.445
Like, I, I'm acting in solidarity towards someone,

12:36.235 --> 12:40.005
even though we sometimes, kind of use it as a,

12:40.585 --> 12:44.685
as a replacement for charity or for being paternal

12:44.745 --> 12:46.525
or for being close to someone.

12:46.525 --> 12:50.565
There's a politicians love talking about solidarity,

12:50.665 --> 12:53.085
and sometimes it's it's way, it's, it's something

12:53.085 --> 12:57.645
that is closer to a classical sense of Christian charity.

12:58.265 --> 13:00.925
Uh, not to nag on Christian charity,

13:01.025 --> 13:05.405
but those are a very different, political phenomenon.

13:06.065 --> 13:10.605
So this is what I'm, I'm working on right now trying to,

13:11.185 --> 13:15.525
to, to go, to go on that there was a, a spike

13:15.525 --> 13:17.965
of interest for the concept of solidarity.

13:18.845 --> 13:22.325
I don't think it's a surprise, during,

13:22.665 --> 13:24.205
the COVID-19 pandemic

13:24.205 --> 13:27.325
because there's a lot of people that were kind of trying

13:27.385 --> 13:30.045
to see, a little bit,

13:30.045 --> 13:33.245
because the, that language was very, used,

13:33.265 --> 13:34.445
during that, that time.

13:34.545 --> 13:36.285
And there, there was a lot of publication.

13:36.705 --> 13:38.965
Uh, it's slowed down a little bit right now,

13:39.345 --> 13:41.365
but I, I still think that there's a lot

13:41.365 --> 13:43.445
of interesting research to do on that.

13:43.955 --> 13:46.685
Well, it's, it's, it's interesting going back

13:46.945 --> 13:51.005
to a paper I wrote, now almost 10 years ago,

13:51.355 --> 13:55.935
because, there is a feeling that,

13:56.645 --> 13:59.095
hope is no longer something that is global,

13:59.285 --> 14:01.855
that is no longer something on the big scale

14:02.525 --> 14:04.855
that we should maybe focus on

14:05.485 --> 14:07.735
some smaller scale resistance.

14:08.355 --> 14:11.775
Uh, there's a lot of works that are talking about

14:12.485 --> 14:16.255
parcels of resistance, about the lir practice,

14:16.835 --> 14:17.975
that are being done.

14:18.635 --> 14:20.735
Um, I, I,

14:20.895 --> 14:23.855
I don't know if we should give up for good.

14:24.415 --> 14:29.295
I think there, something that has been in multiple

14:29.825 --> 14:33.055
works of history and multiple works of political science is

14:33.055 --> 14:35.855
that, you cannot force a spark.

14:36.075 --> 14:40.615
You cannot force something to happen, if the,

14:40.635 --> 14:42.415
the true meaning of politics

14:42.515 --> 14:46.695
and the true meaning of acting together as some sort of,

14:47.195 --> 14:49.655
and it's a little esoteric to talk about it,

14:49.715 --> 14:50.855
but something a little bit

14:50.975 --> 14:53.925
Magic magical, arriving with it

14:53.925 --> 14:58.165
because it's hard to, put together people.

14:58.345 --> 15:02.565
But sometimes there are events that bring people together,

15:03.145 --> 15:06.645
and then the, the kind of work is already laid out for them.

15:07.435 --> 15:12.085
It's the, the pat seems completely, not easy

15:12.185 --> 15:13.325
to follow, but it seems

15:13.325 --> 15:15.405
that it's the only path that they can follow.

15:16.185 --> 15:20.245
So I think that with the big challenges

15:20.245 --> 15:23.355
that are coming ahead, there's climate change.

15:23.755 --> 15:26.835
A lot of people are talking about technology, ai,

15:27.305 --> 15:30.795
there's a lot of work that can be done,

15:31.615 --> 15:34.155
and there's a lot of organizing that can be done.

15:34.735 --> 15:36.075
But I think that

15:36.775 --> 15:40.115
we should invest those parcels of resistance.

15:41.055 --> 15:45.355
And I think our hope is that they can bring a bigger change,

15:45.855 --> 15:48.795
but that, that we, we don't know.

15:49.065 --> 15:53.275
It's, and I think that's the, the s silver lining is maybe

15:53.305 --> 15:56.435
that the fact that we don't know can be a source

15:56.435 --> 15:57.915
of inspiration for us,

15:57.985 --> 16:00.515
because nothing is really, like, it's not,

16:00.525 --> 16:02.075
we're not necessarily doomed

16:02.075 --> 16:05.635
because we don't know if we are, maybe there's hope.

16:05.815 --> 16:08.835
So the, the unknown embracing the unknown,

16:08.935 --> 16:12.115
and it's something that is also present in Anna Iran's work,

16:12.585 --> 16:15.555
embracing the unknown should maybe be something

16:15.905 --> 16:17.835
that we should be more comfortable with.

16:18.145 --> 16:20.075
Well, I, I kind of agree with you that

16:20.075 --> 16:22.075
that was pretty good at it, is something

16:22.075 --> 16:25.275
that is really in my head, that has been in my head

16:25.295 --> 16:26.355
for a bit like that.

16:26.465 --> 16:30.315
Sort of should we, should we give up for good?

16:30.375 --> 16:32.035
Should, is there something?

16:32.495 --> 16:36.555
And embracing the unknown is, is a, is a team of research

16:36.665 --> 16:39.915
that I, I hope to, to, to go further with.

00:00 - In the context. It's, it's quite interesting because this is sort of an old paper. It's one of the first work that was published, early on in my academic career. And it was at a very interesting point in,

00:13 - politics back then. we go back to 20 14, 20 15, a few years after the Arab Spring. There's a lot of talk about, social movements, some activist movements, some, some people are even talking of a new wave of Democrat, of democratization. And there's that very specific situation that arises from Greece where after, the financial crisis, there's a small,

00:46 - very left wing radical party that, gains power that is in this, the driver's seat. And the, what I found interesting is that over that period where they were their first mandate, about the time, where they gained power and took a little bit after the referendum, that they've organized a lot of people around the world took their example and put all their oaks into that small little party. And my, interest at the time was like to see how we could, see it

01:24 - as an example for something else. Is it, is it, are we doomed in that way? Is it like always gonna be like a failure? Because in, at the end of the day, obviously like SIRA in Greece was not able to bring a global change as some people maybe interpreted it could. But I was seeing how can we learn from other discipline about how changes evolve, how diffusion happens in politics, and is it possible for small spark

01:59 - event to light up a fire to go, to go on and become something bigger? So that was really the context I was really interested in all the hopes that were put in that very specific situation and how it could evolve into something else. And what, where should we go from it, from them on an academic perspective? Like how should we learn from that event? And also, maybe on a more practice level, is there a way to organize learning from that?

02:30 - It's, it's interesting because the key of the paper was to put something that has been described more into the field of international relations and put it into political theory. So diffusion is, is, is something big into what we call the constructivist, school of international relations. They talked about how norms and how practices are be, are being adopted and now being copied from a country to another, Sometimes as part of alliance, military Alliance,

03:02 - or as part of cultural alliance or cultural zones. And I was saying in international relations, maybe we don't really get to, the base of the idea. We, we, we are still in the surface, and we don't necessarily go really deep into the understanding. So I said maybe a political theory approach would help us getting to that. So I've tried to bridge those two things.

03:30 - I've tried to bridge international relations concept and some of the authors that have defined the fusion in some way that, are talking about, revolutionary waves historically that have been talking about how practices, norms, and ideas go from international institutions to others, from local institutions to national institutions. And I've also talked about a little bit more about ideas and how they're being framed by a certain apparatus and then are being adopted by society

04:04 - and then can go on on a, a more global level. But what really, gained my interest in is something that I've, I'm still interested today is how can I, like someone can have an idea, somebody else can have an idea, but when is the moment that they are put together, how can we like come up and at some point reach a critical mass, a tipping point when it becomes something else, then

04:31 - individuals having an idea, and then it becomes a, a mass, a collective, like something social. And that's really what I was trying to get at, with that paper and how I was trying to, to do that. In other research that I've done. after that I've talked, the opposite way. I've talked about the diffusion of far right ideas. I've, I've talked about how, with my colleague Philip, I've talked about how,

05:03 - ideas were I imported from France to Quebec and Canada, about some debates that were quite frankly more specific to France itself, but they were still being discussed in the media and in political sphere in Quebec. So the diffusion is not something that is necessarily only for revolution. It goes from politics, it goes from norms, ideas, practices, institutions, and is, I wanted to, to let it go a little bit out of what was ordinary about it,

05:35 - which was to talk it more into like institution, un et cetera, and have it more in the fields of ideas from a political theory perspective. Yes. And, practitioners, it's, it's, it's quite funny because they're the one that are doing, the big work when you think about it, because as I said, the the ideas everybody, like, it's quite, There's, there's a, there's a role for intellectual. There's a, there's a role in, academia,

06:03 - there's a role in society, but the practitioners are really, entrepreneurs, the entrepreneurs of ideas. They're the one that can really bridge the, divide the gap between idea and practice. So when we talk about that, a lot of people associate it with media. They say the medias are the one that will put the, that will bridge that gap that will reach to the, the numbers that will go from individual to collective.

06:36 - But as we saw, and this is a little bit what I discussed in the paper, it's not just media because there are sometimes other factors that make it not something that, popular media will necessarily pay attention to. And sometimes they are networks of, political networks, sometimes even media networks that are created that bridge those gaps between countries and the ideas from somewhere are gonna be diffused

07:07 - and developed somewhere else. So that's why sometimes, the, the classic example in the literature is that, I am not sure about the, the quote itself, but like Karl Marx never thought that Russia would be the place for the emergence of socialism. it was an agrarian society. And China even worse, like, he thought that we needed, some sort of developments, stage in order to bring,

07:34 - a socialist revolution. So sometimes ideas are developed in a certain context, and it's the network that diffuse it on, on the international level, and then it is developed by practitioners somewhere else that adopt the ideas, but have the means to put it in practice. And that's what is, is, is really interesting because sometimes they evolved from a place to the other. The other bit about that is that,

08:03 - because those networks exist and they're known, they're, they're not secret societies. They're not operating in shadows. It also creates, a potential for backlash because people are sometimes afraid of what it could bring. So in the case of, left wing movements in 20th century, there's a lot of people that were afraid of a potential, war, communism nexus. That war would, put in contact some networks together, some people together,

08:36 - and that would bring communism to other countries. So it also affects the way that people are seeing their opponent. And that's like, the networks are so important that they not only affect the people that are on their side, but also on the other side. Because between countries, we often see countries, like if we were looking at a map, we see them with the borders traced from one another, but the, it's never really the case.

09:06 - Not that borders are that important and not that necessarily gonna go into that debate, but the, the, they are networks and institutions that go from one country to the other, from one society to the other. We often talk, think, when we think institution in political science, we always think of un nato, big, supernational organization, eu, name it. But sometimes it's way more on a local level.

09:35 - I, I will give you a a very specific example. there's a lot of people here that have family in the United States, and, they discuss with them on a regular basis, and it affects some of their views of the world. It affects some of their behaviors. It affects some of, their choices and vice versa. Not necessarily politically, sometimes politically, but those family networks, sometimes religious networks and sometimes academic networks.

10:06 - There's some professors that go on a research trip, they exchange it, they're interested in something, they go, they go have a, like a research grant and go on in another country. They read the, the material that was published by, another author. So that's really like, those networks are not necessarily institution, brick and mortar institution, but they can be, way more flexible. It, it's interesting

10:33 - because starting from that idea, from that diffusion idea, I was always, it never really quit me, even though I'm not working on, diffusions per se right now. I was always intrigued by, mobilization and what brings people together, what brings people to act together from, from a, an ideal perspective into putting it in practice. And then I stumbled upon the idea of solidarity. And it's, it is really what I'm working right now, on,

11:12 - on the, on the number of different research. I'm working on solidarity, because it is a political aspect, a political principle that can unite, that can guide action. And this what leads to NRR, because NRR discusses solidarity just a little bit. She, it's not a central aspect of her work, but action is really what is the main team of an hourand philosophy or ontology.

11:49 - action is what is, Without going too much into the detail, something that should be, probably the overarching political, political mindset and what we should lead and what should lead politicians and politics should be principles of action. And what I'm trying to research right now is to see how solidarity can be a principle for action. How c, how it can be a principle rather than just a moral

12:22 - mindset or just an ethical perspective. Because we say a lot in the kind of day-to-day, ba day-to-day conversation. Like, I, I'm acting in solidarity towards someone, even though we sometimes, kind of use it as a, as a replacement for charity or for being paternal or for being close to someone. There's a politicians love talking about solidarity, and sometimes it's it's way, it's, it's something that is closer to a classical sense of Christian charity.

12:58 - not to nag on Christian charity, but those are a very different, political phenomenon. So this is what I'm, I'm working on right now trying to, to, to go, to go on that there was a, a spike of interest for the concept of solidarity. I don't think it's a surprise, during, the COVID-19 pandemic because there's a lot of people that were kind of trying to see, a little bit, because the, that language was very, used,

13:33 - during that, that time. And there, there was a lot of publication. it's slowed down a little bit right now, but I, I still think that there's a lot of interesting research to do on that. Well, it's, it's, it's interesting going back to a paper I wrote, now almost 10 years ago, because, there is a feeling that, hope is no longer something that is global, that is no longer something on the big scale

14:02 - that we should maybe focus on some smaller scale resistance. there's a lot of works that are talking about parcels of resistance, about the lir practice, that are being done. I, I, I don't know if we should give up for good. I think there, something that has been in multiple works of history and multiple works of political science is that, you cannot force a spark.

14:36 - You cannot force something to happen, if the, the true meaning of politics and the true meaning of acting together as some sort of, and it's a little esoteric to talk about it, but something a little bit Magic magical, arriving with it because it's hard to, put together people. But sometimes there are events that bring people together, and then the, the kind of work is already laid out for them. It's the, the pat seems completely, not easy

15:12 - to follow, but it seems that it's the only path that they can follow. So I think that with the big challenges that are coming ahead, there's climate change. A lot of people are talking about technology, ai, there's a lot of work that can be done, and there's a lot of organizing that can be done. But I think that we should invest those parcels of resistance. And I think our hope is that they can bring a bigger change,

15:45 - but that, that we, we don't know. It's, and I think that's the, the s silver lining is maybe that the fact that we don't know can be a source of inspiration for us, because nothing is really, like, it's not, we're not necessarily doomed because we don't know if we are, maybe there's hope. So the, the unknown embracing the unknown, and it's something that is also present in Anna Iran's work, embracing the unknown should maybe be something

16:15 - that we should be more comfortable with. Well, I, I kind of agree with you that that was pretty good at it, is something that is really in my head, that has been in my head for a bit like that. Sort of should we, should we give up for good? Should, is there something? And embracing the unknown is, is a, is a team of research that I, I hope to, to, to go further with.

Faculti AI can make mistakes