People die in six ways and each is politics: Infrastructure and the possible

Abstract

Critical infrastructure services determine where people can survive and what they can do with their survival. This fact conditions political possibilities at a fundamental level but remains underexplored in the literature. Those who wish to extend the boundaries of political action, or to win protections and the possibility of a new political community for themselves and others, should focus a substantial part of their energies and attention on developing alternative infrastructure systems for supporting human life. Without such systems, political action -no matter how revolutionary or ingenious -will ultimately find itself constrained by its position within the zones of survivability established by existing forms of infrastructure and by the hierarchies and configurations of power linked with those forms of infrastructure. As a result, those who wish to change current political and economic conditions should think of the capacity to take care of everyone as a condition for such change rather than its result.

Paranirvar mānis (dependent people)? Rethinking humanitarian dependency syndrome: a Bourdieusian perspective

“…To be human is to be vulnerable (Butler, 2015, p. 65), socially embedded, and dependent (Elias, 2001, p. 20). We all must rely upon various social and physical infrastructures to survive (Mohorčich, 2022).…”

Has Political Theory Become More Political? Evidence and Stakes for Future Theory

“…However, the familiar claim of mutual constitution, although not wrong, also is probably too easy. As I suggest in another context, “[i]t is one thing to claim mutual constitution in the familiar parlance of theory and another to say how specifically such terms are constituted mutually” (Mohorčich 2021). It seems increasingly apparent to me, having read 385 papers from three generations of theory, that certain intellectual conventions make possible the examination of certain “real events” as they once made possible the discussions of previous generations of theorists.…”

Towards a Holistic Perspective on Future Transportation Systems: A Swedish Case and a Conceptual Framework

“…Research has regularly emphasised a need for appropriate governance that accounts for the complexity of critical infrastructure and its impact on societal systems [16,43,44]. Likewise, Coaffee and Clarke [45] requested 'new modes of equitable governance across multiple systems, networks and scales'.…”

“…However, a number of new industrial establishments are currently under construction in northern Sweden that call for appropriate infrastructure developments [11,14]. Acknowledging infrastructure as critical for the survival, well-being and progression of society and thus recognising it as a policy problem is crucial to agenda setting and public decision making [15,16]. An analysis of the Swedish case is therefore of interest not only for policymakers, but also for the wider public, as it can be used to facilitate debate about the means and actions for future improvements.…”