Social configurations in the moment of post-foundationalism

Abstract

Modern social sciences arose during a period of classical modernity in which discovering universal rules between distinct phenomena was the most prominent criterion of scientific knowledge. Social phenomena were considered in the form of isolated, determined, standardized, and regulated objects whose knowledge, like that of the natural sciences, depended on the understanding of universal laws. The accidental and the contingent were eliminated in favor of universal laws. With the intensifying of modernity and the transition to late and liquid modernity, and by suspending many dominant cognitive categories, this kind of essentialist foundationalism was attacked by a variety of anti/non-foundationalist criticism that subscribed to either plural grounds or groundlessness, a bottomless ground in which scientific knowledge at a high level lost its significance. This predicament has given rise to several biases and antinomies in modern social theory. By addressing some of these predicaments and antinomies, including foundationalism/non(anti-)foundationalism, agency/structure, the individual/society, essentialism/relativism, and universalism/singularism, the present article strives to propose the idea of social configurations as a solution to overcome them, and through this endeavor, it is indicated that considering these configurations can effectively explain emerging and interrelated global phenomena. By prioritizing the conditions of possibility for social phenomena, and taking into account their contingency, as well as the incompleteness and partiality of their foundations, social configurations are considered as units at the level of the particular whose relationality, indeterminacy, interdependence, and fluidity constitute their central features.

Political Islam as an Incomplete and Contested Category: A Post-Foundationalist Revision

“…It suggests that knowledge and understanding of these phenomena necessitate an understanding of this established foundation. In contrast, anti-foundationalism seeks to critique and reject foundations, while non-foundationalism denies the existence of any foundation (Herzog 1985;Marchart 2007;Jong 2023). Many definitions encompass multiple aspects and elements, with each part potentially falling into two or three categories.…”

“…This mode of defining political Islam, in which the quiddity of political Islam is either referenced, reduced, or attributed to something external to it-a third entity or category-and the knowledge of political Islam becomes contingent on this entity or category, result in what can be considered foundationalist definitions of political Islam (Herzog 1985;Marchart 2007). Within these definitions and explanations, a presumed fixed and complete foundation is posited outside of political Islam or Islamism (Jong 2023). Numerous influential definitions of political Islam fall into this category.…”

“…Upon reviewing the definitions in the three aforementioned categories, it becomes evident that the essence of "political Islam", from an epistemological standpoint, is either reduced to an external and predetermined foundation, or attributed to a groundless rep-resentation of external conditions and contexts, or approached through a deconstructive and anti-foundationalist lens. Epistemologically, the prevailing definitions of political Islam and its associated concepts can be reconsidered and situated within the antinomy of foundationalism/anti-/non-foundationalism (Jong 2023;Marchart 2007). Foundationalism posits that given, a priori, determined, and completed categories serve as the basis for recognizing and defining phenomena.…”

“…Consequently, this paper emphasizes the necessity of employing a specific conceptual framework to comprehend and conceptualize the realities associated with political Islam. Drawing upon the post-foundationalist approach (Jong 2023;Marchart 2007), it can be asserted that any conceptualization of phenomena categorized under political Islam merely represents momentary determinations of the ever-evolving phenomena. Consequently, undertaking an epistemological examination necessitates suspending the notions of universality, stability, and definitive categorization inherent in these conceptualizations and categories.…”

“…Subsequently, it should be clarified how phenomena classified under different determinations or configurations of Islamicity embody or represent distinct determinations of the concept of political Islam. Within this context, the feasibility of juxtaposing the ideas of discursive tradition (Asad 2009(Asad , 2015Hurd 2008) and social configurations (Jong 2022(Jong , 2023 will be assessed to facilitate a more precise conceptualization of political Islam.…”