Journals & Books Search… Register Sign in

Political Domination Related terms:

Recognitional justice refers to different forms of cultural and political domination, including insulting,
disparaging, and devaluing certain population segments, places, and identities in comparison to others. Morality, Marxism, Colonialism,
From: Energy Research & Social Science, 2022 Hegemony, Justice, Mass Culture,
Jews, Clergy, Communist Party,
One-Party State

View all Topics

Add to Mendeley Set alert About this page

Political Violence Ecological Imperialism

Avram Bornstein, in Encyclopedia of Social Measurement, 2005 K.S. Zimmerer, in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences,
2001
Symbolic Violence
Political domination not only strikes at the material integrity of a society, it Ecological imperialism refers to the environmental aspects of the political

also attacks the dignity of victims. Emotional well-being and a sense of self- domination of territorial areas and peoples. Ecological imperialism has been
worth can be hurt by armed and structural violence, as well as by witnessing consequential to the geographical expansion and historical rule of empires.
degrading representations of one's self or being forced to perform The geographic spread of nonnative organisms was a concomitant of the
humiliating acts. Such symbolic violence is meant to injure or destroy the European empires. Disease organisms resulted in massive epidemics and
recognition of mutual personhood. The Nazi Holocaust began with acts of mortality among non-Europeans. Invasive weeds, introduced livestock, and
humiliation like forcing Jews to wear yellow stars in public, which meant to animal vermin actively undermined the living habits, resource use, and
indicate that they were inferior. European colonial violence and governance production systems and social organization of the subjects of European

were also accompanied by white supremacist images of the colonized. imperialism. Ecological imperialism has involved the power of imperial
Africans were represented as stupid, ugly savages. So-called “Orientals,” a institutions and ruling social groups that range from conservation
term that refers to all “eastern” peoples from Moroccan Arabs to the institutions to business interests and modern science. Imperial scientists'
Japanese, have been portrayed as sadistic, despotic, and misogynist concerns over resource scarcity helped lead to modern environmentalism.
barbarians. These forms of symbolic or representational violence define the Ecological imperialism is applied also to the environmental dimension of
victim as something not quite human. Dehumanization places the victim resistance and opposition toward rulers and to the economic and political
outside the community, beyond the circle of moral behavior, and allows the domination of poorer countries by global superpowers and institutions.
withdrawal of empathy. By helping ordinary people to distance themselves
from the pain of those suffering, symbolic violence allows them to commit or View chapter Explore book
condone horrible acts of armed and structural violence.

View chapter Explore book

Sign Language: History

B. Woll, in Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics (Second Edition), 2006

Judges Educational Systems

Another very strong influence on sign languages has come not from political
José J. Toharia, in
domination but from educational systems being shared between nations.
International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition), 2015
Frequently, educators from one country have had a religious or missionary
Traditional or Predemocratic Judge agenda when bringing education and their own sign language to other
A predominantly arbitrating, conciliatory type of judge who applies norms countries.
embodying a traditional legacy, contained in religious, moral or ethical codes, The language that has had the most profound influence on other sign
or in local customs, mores, or folkways. This type of judge would correspond languages, especially in Europe and North America, has been LSF. The
to the Weberian category of ‘traditional’ political domination. Several powerful influence of LSF over the world's sign languages should not be
classical types of judicial roles can be included within this category: the underestimated. Influence from LSF can be seen clearly in ISL (Burns, 1998),
historical Islamic Qadi Judge (who attempts conciliation – if and when the ASL (Lane, 1984), Russian Sign Language (Mathur et al., 1998), and on some
compromise does not permit what is forbidden or does not forbid what is dialects of BSL (particularly where BSL has been influenced by ISL). In each
permitted by the religious law – and who adjudicates on a case-by-case basis case, educators were influenced by the French deaf education system and
according to equity); the traditional Far Eastern Judge (Chinese or Japanese), brought LSF back to their own countries. Other sign languages have also had
more concerned with mending and preserving social harmony and this sort of influential role. For example, Swedish Sign Language has
equilibrium than with legal arguments or questions of individual rights; and influenced Portuguese Sign Language through its use of the manual alphabet,
the African or Native American type of customary judge. after a Swedish educator helped to found a deaf school in Portugal.
ISL, originally heavily influenced by LSF, has also had considerable impact on
sign languages throughout the world. Irish nuns and Christian Brothers have
View chapter Explore book
taught in Catholic schools for deaf children in countries including India,
South Africa, and Australia, and the influence of ISL is noticeable in the sign
languages in these countries (Aarons and Akach, 1998).
ASL, also heavily influenced by LSF in the past, now has a major impact on
sign languages throughout the world. Gallaudet University offers
Aristocracy/Nobility/Gentry, History of scholarships to foreign deaf students who take ASL back to their own
 countries. The United States has been especially generous in providing
A. Mączak, in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001
teacher training for teachers in many Third World countries. Andrew Foster, a
2 Ancient-world Origins deaf African American, led a movement for the establishment of schools in
The word ‘aristocracy’ is of ancient Greek origin and signifies the ‘rule of the African countries where ASL was introduced as the language of tuition (Lane
best.’ In Homeric times ‘the best’ signified chiefs of the noble families who et al., 1996). In Nigeria, ASL taught in schools is mixing with the indigenous
pretended to share with the king a descent from the gods, and were also sign languages (Schmaling, 2000). Even when ASL is not deliberately taught
prominent by their wealth and personal prowess. They formed a class of in schools in other countries, the presence of fluent signers of ASL can exert
‘horsemen’ or ‘knights’ (hippeis) connected by blood and by various an influence. The U.S. presence in Nicaragua has led to influence of ASL on
community institutions. They governed the state by means of the council of Nicaraguan Sign Language. Scandinavian sign languages have also influenced
the gerontes (the elder). In the eighth and early seventh century BC, social African and Asian sign languages as aid programs use foreign nationals to
position of the aristocrats was based on their land ownership but also upon help set up schools in developing countries.
commerce, robbery, and piracy. They dominated the communities (poleis) Anderson (1979) is one of the few linguists to have attempted to create
and organized colonization. Many factors contributed to destruction of family trees for sign languages (Figure 1).
aristocratic rule, like change of military tactics (riders in single combat were
replaced by phalanx of heavily armed foot soldiers) and ascent of nonagrarian
social groups striving for power.
The fate of the aristocracy in ancient Greece had shown the track that many
other ruling groups would follow: from undisputed moral and political
domination to the rise of rival groups, to loss of oligopoly of power. However,
prestige related to ancient roots (real or fictitious) survived and would
become a constituent of all aristocracies. Aristocracy as the ‘rule of the best’
was a moral ideal; if birth was replaced by wealth as the decisive
qualification it became oligarchy.
In republican Rome several groups consecutively enjoyed oligopoly of
prestige and power. The earliest hereditary estate was the patricians (the
Sign in to download full-size image
patriciate) who in the late fifth century BC reached almost complete
oligopoly of offices. In the later fourth century, their competitors, the Figure 1. Proposed relationship of ‘North-West European’ sign languages. After Anderson (1979), cited

plebeians (plebs), also got access to power. The outcome was a sort of in Sutton-Spence et al. (2001).

convergence of top strata of both estates through matches and family

alliances. In the late fourth and the third centuries a new aristocracy was In the absence of written or pictorial records, it is unlikely that we will be

emerging, the nobilitas. Its base were great landed estates run by the slaves able to discover earlier data on any of the European sign languages. However,

and by the peasants, more and more dependent as clients. About 30 houses with the recent growth of comparative and cross-linguistic research on sign

had access to power both civil and military. Electoral system and honorary languages from Asia and Africa, and our increased understanding of the

unpaid offices secured their domination. Territorial expansion offered them circumstances in which sign languages develop, it may be possible to expand

benefits (fruits of power in the provinces) and created new dangers. ‘The our understanding of the history of sign languages.

mighty few’ (pauci potentes, so wrote Cicero) were being pressed by the
equites, originally a moneyed group which in stormy times of civil wars View chapter Explore book
strove for power and virtually assimilated to the nobiles.
Augustus and his imperial successors changed the role of nobilitas by the
very introduction of the Imperial Court. Later on, along with spatial
expansion of the Roman Empire emerged provincial aristocracies whose role
increased when the center was losing its grip on more distant provinces Subalternity
invaded by the ‘Barbarians.’ Roman traditions influenced medieval and
modern vocabularies of elites. Srilata Sircar, in International Encyclopedia of Human Geography (Second Edition),
2020

View chapter Explore book Subalternity and Political Geography

This strategy is actively in action within cultural and political Geography.
Prominent examples include Matthew Sparke's work uncovering the imperial
and territorial underpinnings of seemingly universal narratives such as that
of globalization; Melissa Wright's ethnographic excavation of the devalued
Aristocracy, Nobility, and Gentry, European History work of women in Mexico's maquiladora industries; Sharad Chari's

of ethnography of forms of capital accumulation among agrarian laboring caste-

groups in South India; and Timothy Mitchell's exploration of the nonhuman
Antoni Mączak, in enablers of modernity. More recently the work of David Featherstone has
International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition), 2015 delved into the invisibilized transnational spaces of subaltern political
 activism; Joanne Sharp along with others has advocated for the study of
Ancient-World Origins
“subaltern geopolitics” to represent geopolitical knowledge production
The word ‘aristocracy’ is of ancient Greek origin and signifies the ‘rule of the
mechanisms that fall out of the dominant imagination of political
best.’ In Homeric times ‘the best’ signified chiefs of the noble families who
domination and resistance; Stephen Legg, Colin McFarlane, and Tim Bunnell
pretended to share with the king descent from the gods, and were also
are foremost among urban scholars who have applied Chakrabarty's
prominent because of their wealth and personal prowess. They formed a class
analytical apparatus to study cities of the Global South as subjects of urban
of ‘horsemen’ or ‘knights’ (hippeis) connected by blood and by various
studies in their own right rather than as case studies of a nonrepresentative
community institutions. They governed the state by means of the council of
urban theory; and Tariq Jazeel has studied the relationship between nature
the gerontes (the elders). In the eighth and early seventh centuries BC, the
and environment and the Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist project in Sri Lanka to
social position of the aristocrats was derived from their land ownership but
reveal the inadequacies of existing geographical imaginations in capturing
also could be acquired by commerce, robbery, and piracy. The aristocrats
the particular spatialities produced in this context.
dominated the communities (poleis) and organized colonization. Many
A recent volume titled Subaltern Geographies edited by Tariq Jazeel and
factors contributed to destruction of aristocratic rule, like change of military
Stephen Legg compiles contributions in this field from scholars spanning a
tactics (riders in single combat were replaced by phalanx of heavily armed
vast thematic and geographical breadth. It combines critical commentaries
foot soldiers) and the ascent of nonagrarian social groups striving for power,
on the original Subaltern Studies corpus of scholarship with contextualized
and collected in the courts of emperors or in large urban enclaves.
applications of the paradigm to emplaced geographical questions. In their
The fate of the aristocracy in ancient Greece followed a pattern that was
introductory text, the editors summarize the ways in which subalternity
replicated by many other ruling groups through history: from undisputed
relates to core political-geographical concepts such as territoriality, scale,
moral and political domination to the challenge of rival groups and on to a
representation, and governmentality. The book is the latest among many
near-complete loss of power. Prestige related to ancient roots (real or
attempts on the part of cultural geographers to bring the discipline directly
fictitious) survived, however, and would become a constituent element of all
into conversation with debates precipitated by the Subaltern Studies
aristocracies. Aristocracy as the ‘rule of the best’ was a moral ideal; if birth
school of thought in allied fields such as anthropology and history. It is,
was replaced by wealth as the decisive qualification, as tended to happen, the
however, the first volume that successfully delineates a disciplinary frontier
result was oligarchy.
in this regard. As such, the volume and the notion of subalternity create the
In republican Rome several groups consecutively established an oligarchy of
space for geographers to think alongside scholars from other backgrounds on
prestige and power. The earliest hereditary estate was that of the patricians
questions that animate research interests across disciplinary boundaries.
(the patriciate) who in the late fifth century BC came to dominate almost all
of the offices of state. In the later fourth century, their competitors, the
plebeians (plebs), also began to gain access to power. The outcome was a sort View chapter Explore book
of convergence of the top strata of both estates through matches and family
alliances. In the late fourth and the third centuries a new aristocracy began to
emerge, the nobilitas. Its foundation was the great landed estates run by the
slaves and peasants, who were more and more dependent as clients. About
30 houses had access to power both civil and military. The electoral system Multiculturalism
and honorary unpaid offices secured their domination. Territorial expansion
J. Clayton, in International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, 2009
offered them benefits (the fruits of power in the provinces) but at the same
time created new dangers. ‘The mighty few’ (pauci potentes, as Cicero called
Multiculturalism as Diversity
them) were being pressed by the equites, originally a moneyed group that in
The premise upon which multiculturalism as a political mode of integration
stormy times of civil wars strove for power and was virtually assimilated to
is based is that there exists in modern nation states heterogeneous
the nobiles.
populations who do not share racial or ethnic affiliations, cultural practices,
Augustus and his imperial successors changed the role of nobilitas by the
or geographical attachments. Multiculturalism therefore speaks of a
very introduction of the Imperial Court. Later on, along with spatial
condition of demographic pluralism, something which clearly defines any
expansion of the Roman Empire, there emerged provincial aristocracies
society in some shape or form, but focuses here upon racial, ethnic, and
whose role increased when the center was losing its grip on more distant
religious differences.
provinces invaded by the ‘Barbarians.’ Roman traditions influenced medieval
Shifting patterns of social and cultural diversity have historically been driven
and modern vocabularies of elites.
by prevailing patterns of internal as well as international migration.
Motivations for population movements vary considerably but in general
View chapter Explore book terms have been driven by opportunity, force, economic inequality, and
survival as a consequence of, among other processes, urbanization,
industrialization, slavery, conflict, and natural disaster. Given histories of
economic and political domination and the relative instability of today's less-
developed countries, it is no surprise that the majority of such movements
Structural Dimensions has taken place either between countries in the global south or from these
countries to the global north. The most common destinations for
Jan Pakulski, in Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, & Conflict (Third Edition), 2022 international migrants in recent years include the United States, Canada,
 Australia, and countries in Western Europe, including Germany, France, and
Classic Theories of Stratification and Conflict
the UK. However, in terms of the destination of refugees, who have a well-
The classic theories differ in the way they explain the sources of social
founded fear of persecution in their home nation, 70% currently live in less-
inequalities, diagnose their major forms, and link these forms with social
developed countries outside of North America or Europe. The complexity of
divisions, antagonisms, conflicts, and social change. While the Marxists and
today's multicultural societies across the world can be understood as a legacy
the elite theorists describe inequalities, antagonisms, and conflicts as
of historical processes which have resulted in population movements, but
polarized, the followers of Max Weber and modern functionalists depict
also as a continuing product of accelerated globalization.
stratification as multidimensional and graded, and they see conflicts as
Despite the history of multiculturalism as a social fact and its spatial
pathological and containable.
pervasiveness, it has only really gained currency and entered into academic
Both Marx's and the elite models of stratification are “polar” in the sense of
and public discourse in the Western world in recent decades. This can be
stressing the opposition between two basic social categories: the capital
seen as a direct consequence of and response to growing racial, ethnic, and
owners versus the labor selling workers in the case of Marxism, and
religious diversity in countries, including the UK, the United States, Canada,
politically circumscribed “elites” versus the “masses” in the case of elite
and Australia, which have been unofficially and more officially marked out as
theorists. In classic Marxism, the main source of this polarity, and therefore
‘white’ national spaces. While what we know today as the British Isles has
of class antagonism and conflict, is private ownership of the means of
always been a place successively settled by groups of various origins, the
production that implies opposition of interests, economic exploitation, and
arrival of migrants from the Caribbean in the 1950s and then from the Indian
political domination between the major classes. Other classes are of lesser
sub-Continent in the decades that followed, signaled the beginning of the UK
importance, and they are likely to wane in the process of capitalist
conceived of as a multicultural nation. In this sense multiculturalism does
development. All important social inequalities and cleavages gradually
not just refer to the coexistence of socially and culturally distinct groups, but
coalesce with major class divisions. As the working class becomes more
also the arrival and presence of those visually marked out as ‘different’, seen
impoverished, it is also likely to develop “class consciousness,” political
to disrupt some imagined monoculturalism. In the case of the UK, this
organization, ideological program, and leadership, thus becoming the major
monoculturalism has been equated with its ‘whiteness’.
force of revolutionary change, inevitable in Marx's view. In this way, Marx
In the case of the UK, there is no denying that these migration patterns have
also sees class conflict as the “engine of historical change.”
had a significant impact on the face of the nation. Of a population now over
The classic elite theories were formulated in opposition to Marxism by
59 million, 7.9%, that is, 4 635 296, identify as belonging to ‘non-white’ ethnic
Vilfredo Pareto, Gaetano Mosca, and Robert Michels (with important
groups, mostly, but by no means entirely composed of individuals with
contributions by Max Weber). They stipulate that social power comes from
heritages traced back to the former colonies in the Caribbean, India, Pakistan,
organization, rather than property ownership; that the central division in
and Bangladesh. In the context of Canada this figure is much higher at 18.9%,
society is between elites (the top power holders) and the masses (the rest),
and in Australia nearly one-quarter of the population (24.6%) now identifies
rather than the major socioeconomic classes; and that elites cannot be
as ‘non-white’. In recent years, the picture in each of these nations has
eliminated, only replaced by other elites. Revolutions are just elite
become even more complex. For instance, restrictions placed on the
replacements, and classless society is a dream.
movement of global economic migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers have
Social organization and bureaucratization inevitably give rise to elites—a fact
become more stringent, and countries such as the UK have also seen the
stressed by Michels (1915) in his famous “iron law of oligarchy.” These elites
arrival of new migrant groups from an expanded European Union. While
are conscious, cohesive, and capable of defending their own interests. While
political reaction to the growth of minority ethnic groups, particularly ‘non-
the elite–mass gap is constant, the nature of elites changes with the
white’ groups, in these countries has been hostile, particularly where far-
processes of elite circulation that accompanies—and affects—social change.
right political parties have gained ground, there is increasing acceptance that
The central conflict in all societies is between established elites and the
multiculturalism is now a defining feature of these societies.
challengers. Elites replace each other in the cycles of peaceful takeovers and
revolutionary coups; they typically alternate between tough and violent
“lions” and cunning “foxes.” View chapter Explore book
In contrast with these polar visions, the Weberian theory and the
“mainstream” American theories of inequality reflect the “multidimensional”
and “gradational” image of overlapping and crosscutting “social ladders.”
Social inequalities reflect historically variable patterns of property
ownership, marketable skills, social conventions regarding honor, and Social Equality and Inequality
positions in political hierarchies of command, especially in the state and
Jan Pakulski, in Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, & Conflict (Second Edition), 2008
large corporations. Social hierarchies develop independently in the economic
order (classes), social order (status groups), and political-institutional order
Classic Theories of Stratification and Conflict
(parties). Classes, status groups, and parties typically overlap and crosscut
The classic theories differ in the way they explain the sources of social
each other. Different combinations of economic power, social honor, and
inequalities, diagnose their major forms, and link these forms with social
political command may crystallize into distinct “social classes” that are
divisions, antagonisms, conflicts, and social change. While the Marxists and
separated by mobility barriers and social distances. Moreover, the relative
the elite theorists describe inequalities, antagonisms, and conflicts as
importance of inequalities generated by the market (classes), cultural
polarized, the followers of Max Weber and modern functionalists depict
conventions (status groups), and the structures of political command vary
stratification as multidimensional and graded, and they see conflicts as
historically. Weber saw class antagonism and conflict as contingent on
pathological and containable.
proximity and communication between class members, visibility of the
Both Marx’s and the elite models of stratification are ‘polar’ in the sense of
“class enemy,” ideological organization, and the skills of political leaders.
stressing the opposition between two basic social categories: the capital
Finally, the functional theorists see social inequalities as reflecting primarily
owners versus the labor-selling workers in the case of Marxism, and
popular evaluations of social standing. These evaluations, according to Emile
politically circumscribed ‘elites’ versus the ‘masses’ in the case of elite
Durkheim, accompany popular classifications and reflect relationship to and
theorists. In classic Marxism, the main source of this polarity, and therefore
distance from “the sacred,” that is, special realm of objects, symbols, and
of class antagonism and conflict, is private ownership of the means of
formulas representing the collectivity. Social stratification inevitably follows
production that implies opposition of interests, economic exploitation, and
social differentiation, and inequalities of social standing are anchored in
political domination between the major classes. Other classes are of lesser
social values. Conflicts are pathological symptoms of anomie, that is,
importance, and they are likely to wane in the process of capitalist
normlessness or “moral vacuum.” Such a view reflects an image of society in
development. All important social inequalities and cleavages gradually
which social inequalities are often seen as a “functional necessity” for
coalesce with major class divisions. As the working class becomes more
optimal allocation of talent, strengthening motivation, and/or as the means
impoverished, it is also likely to develop ‘class consciousness’, political
for strengthening social integration.
organization, ideological program, and leadership, thus becoming the major
force of revolutionary change, inevitable in Marx’s view. In this way, Marx
View chapter Explore book also sees class conflict as the ‘engine of historical change’.
The classic elite theories were formulated in opposition to Marxism by
Vilfredo Pareto, Gaetano Mosca, and Robert Michels (with important
contributions by Max Weber). They stipulate that social power comes from
organization, rather than property ownership; that the central division in
Recommended publications society is between elites (the top power holders) and the masses (the rest),
rather than the major socioeconomic classes; and that elites cannot be
 eliminated, only replaced by other elites. Revolutions are just elite
Political Geography replacements, and classless society is a dream. Social organization and
Journal bureaucratization inevitably give rise to elites – a fact stressed by Gaetano
Mosca and Robert Michels in his famous ‘iron law of oligarchy’. These elites
are conscious, cohesive, and capable of defending their own interests. While
the elite–mass gap is constant, the nature of elites changes with the
Health & Place
processes of elite circulation that accompanies – and affects – social change.
Journal The central conflict in all societies is between established elites and the
challengers. Elites replace each other in the cycles of peaceful takeovers and
revolutionary coups; they typically alternate between tough and violent

Energy Research & Social Science ‘lions’ and cunning ‘foxes’.

In contrast with these polar visions, the Weberian theory and the
Journal
‘mainstream’ American theories of inequality reflect the ‘multidimensional’
and ‘gradational’ image of overlapping and crosscutting ‘social ladders’.
Social inequalities reflect historically variable patterns of property
Journal of Historical Geography ownership, marketable skills, social conventions regarding honor, and
Journal positions in political hierarchies of command, especially in the state and
large corporations. Social hierarchies develop independently in the economic
order (classes), social order (status groups), and political-institutional order
(parties). Classes, status groups, and parties typically overlap and crosscut
Browse books and journals
each other. Different combinations of economic power, social honor, and
political command may crystallize into distinct ‘social classes’ that are
separated by mobility barriers and social distances. Moreover, the relative
importance of inequalities generated by the market (classes), cultural
conventions (status groups), and the structures of political command vary
historically. Weber saw class antagonism and conflict as contingent on
proximity and communication between class members, visibility of the ‘class
enemy’, ideological organization, and the skills of political leaders.
Finally, the functional theorists see social inequalities as reflecting primarily
popular evaluations of social standing. These evaluations, according to Emile
Durkheim, accompany popular classifications and reflect relationship to and
distance from ‘the sacred’, that is, special realm of objects, symbols, and
formulas representing the collectivity. Social stratification inevitably follows
social differentiation, and inequalities of social standing are anchored in
social values. Conflicts are pathological symptoms of anomie, that is,
normlessness or ‘moral vacuum’. Such a view reflects an image of society in
which social inequalities are often seen as a ‘functional necessity’ for optimal
allocation of talent, strengthening motivation, and/or as the means for
strengthening social integration.

View chapter Explore book

About ScienceDirect Remote access Shopping cart Advertise Contact and support Terms and conditions Privacy policy

Cookies are used by this site. Cookie Settings

All content on this site: Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V., its licensors, and contributors. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies. For all
open access content, the Creative Commons licensing terms apply.