Urban politics and the social practices of critique and justification

Abstract

Recent times have witnessed a growing belief in urban spaces as 'assemblages' produced through interwoven and spatially differentiated forces that converge in particular places.There is also continuing interest in the nature of neoliberal tendencies and the rise of postpolitics and democracy in urban governance. Nonetheless, these accounts typically lack attention towards the comprehensive conceptualisation of the heterogeneous logics and mechanics of relations and negotiations between actors. This paper seeks to advance these perspectives by exploring the potential contribution of French pragmatism thinking on how social life is produced through practical dialogue between actors through critique, argumentation and justification.

The geopolitics of real estate: assembling soft power via property markets

“…Of course, there are still copious debates with respect to assemblage theory per se, including critiques of its ability to conceptualize the forces that hold assemblages together, account for underpinning motives of actors, as well as for the more persistent and hegemonic tendencies and causalities (Fuller, 2013). However, our take on assemblages is more tactical than ontological.…”

The possibilities and limits of political contestation in times of ‘urban austerity’

“…At the core of post-structural discourse theory is an understanding that meaning is constantly constructed within a discursive field, yet there is scope for further conceptual advancement. This is most notable in terms of developing greater sensitivity towards the moral and ethical judgements that constitute 'regimes of practice', and which are deployed by actors through political logics in relation to such meaning construction (Boltanski, 2011;Fuller, 2013). Further utilising this approach in understanding austerity urbanism does suggest, therefore, a far greater focus on the:…”

Justice As Subject and Object of Planning

“…A potentially useful literature has emerged that addresses these issues by integrating insights from recent French and American (mostly Deweyan) pragmatism. In a recent series of articles, Crispian Fuller (; ) and Meg Holden (Holden, ; Holden et al ., ; Holden and Scerri, ) draw from French pragmatism (Boltanski and Thévenot, ) to show ‘how justifications for particular courses of action, working through particular values, are able to bring about social coordination through temporary hegemonic status' (Fuller, : 8). Their focus is on ‘justificatory regimes', defined as discursive framings and strategies employed by actors seeking to legitimate their claims in a context of agonistic interaction and deliberation in the public sphere.…”