Amor Tellus? For a Material Culture of Care

This article addresses the politics of ecological reconstruction in the Anthropocene by drawing from the thought of Hannah Arendt. The article particularly elaborates a notion of ‘material culture of care’ as a modality of mediating human interactions with non-human nature. Expanding on commentaries on the Arendtian ‘care for the world’, I read Arendt’s two essays on culture from the perspective of human/nature relationship. I suggest her commentary on the Roman notion of colere, cultivating nature, can offer us a notion of care that is embedded in the material interdependencies in the ‘web of life’. The essay also analyzes the modern concept of nature as an impediment for exercising such care, and discusses practices of tending and cultivating nature in the context of the city.This article addresses the politics of ecological reconstruction in the Anthropocene by drawing from the thought of Hannah Arendt. The article particularly elaborates a notion of ‘material culture of care’ as a modality of mediating human interactions with non-human nature. Expanding on commentaries on the Arendtian ‘care for the world’, I read Arendt’s two essays on culture from the perspective of human/nature relationship. I suggest her commentary on the Roman notion of colere, cultivating nature, can offer us a notion of care that is embedded in the material interdependencies in the ‘web of life’. The essay also analyzes the modern concept of nature as an impediment for exercising such care, and discusses practices of tending and cultivating nature in the context of the city

Antto Vihma, Jarno Hartikainen, Hannu-Pekka Ikäheimo ja Olli Seuri, Totuuden jälkeen. Miten media selviää algoritmien ja paskapuheen aikana.

Antto Vihma, Jarno Hartikainen, Hannu-Pekka Ikäheimo ja Olli Seuri, Totuuden jälkeen. Miten media selviää algoritmien ja paskapuheen aikana. Helsinki: Teos, 2018, 294 s

Genealogy of Experiential Frames : Methodological Notes on Arendt

This article seeks to add a new theoretical voice to the tradition of genealogical inquiry in political theory and beyond by offering a re-reading of the thought of Hannah Arendt. Going beyond the letter of her thought, in this article I propose that placing Arendt in the genealogical tradition of inquiry (particularly its Foucauldian strand) helps to make sense of what she was "up to" when she turned to history in her work, especially in the analysis of totalitarianism and the account of modernity presented in The Human Condition. I will specifically highlight the historical emergence of "process-thinking" that Arendt traces across her writings. The article seeks to sketch a unique approach to genealogical inquiry that can be taken up by anyone interested in critical analysis of our present age and its politics. Towards the end of the essay, I elaborate this approach methodologically by making a reference to frame analysis. Thus, I articulate a "genealogical frame analysis", an inquiry into historical emergence of various metaphors and frames that organize our experience of the world. I also highlight the centrality of events for Arendt's genealogy, as well as its role in a broader set of world-building practices.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Kokonaisresilienssi ja turvallisuus: tasot, prosessit ja arviointi

Viime vuosina osaksi kokonaisturvallisuutta on nostettu tarve kehittää yksilön ja yhteiskunnan resilienssiä, eli kykyä sietää häiriö- ja kriisitilanteita sekä mukautua niiden jälkeiseen tilanteeseen. Raportissa tarkennetaan resilienssin merkitystä sekä esitetään keinoja edistää resilienssiä suomalaisessa yhteiskunnassa. Resilienssi määritellään raportissa kolmivaiheisesti vastustuskyvyksi, toimintakyvyn säilyttämiseksi ja oppivaksi mukautumiseksi. Resilienssi ei ole vastaus mihinkään tiettyyn uhkaan, vaan liittyy ensisijaisesti yleiseen kykyyn mukautua häiriö- ja kriisitilanteisiin niiden tarkasta luonteesta riippumatta. Raportti esittelee neljätasoisen kokonaisresilienssin käsitteen, joka viittaa yksilön, yhteisön, valtioinstituutioiden ja kansainvälisen kytkeytyneisyyden resilienssitasojen yhteensovittamiseen. Raportti esittelee myös keinoja edistää, mitata ja arvioida resilienssiä. Erityisen keskeistä kokonaisresilienssin edistämiseksi ovat lapsuuden ja nuoruuden turvaverkot ja laadukas koulutus, tasokkaat ja saavutettavissa olevat sosiaali- ja terveysalan palvelut ja kriisityö, demokraattisten osallistumismahdollisuuksien vahvistaminen sekä yhteiskunnallisen eriarvoisuuden vähentäminen. Lisäksi on keskeistä panostaa jatkossakin materiaalisen huoltovarmuuden selkärankana toimivien kansainvälisten yhteyksien kehittämiseen sekä laajemmin sääntöperustaisen kansainvälisen järjestyksen tukemiseen. Myös ympäristö- ja resurssiturvallisuuden kysymykset on otettava entistä keskeisemmäksi osaksi kokonaisturvallisuusviitekehystä

Global Politics in a Post-Truth Age

This book brings together ten chapters that reflect upon the state of global, regional and national politics in the twenty-first century within the context of post-truth. The Oxford Dictionary’s definition of post-truth describes it as circumstances in which facts are less influential in shaping public opinion and political action than emotion, belief and distortion. What unites the chapters in this book, other than their focus on the meaning and nature of post-truth, is that they also consider the (supposed) erosion of many of the norms and patterns of political and social behaviour established in the second half of the twentieth century. This is especially pertinent given the rise in social media and the internet, political polarisation, and new patterns of state rivalries that harness post-truth politics. Each chapter is styled to engage with academic themes and leading-edge research, yet also to present complex ideas accessibly where possible

Genealogy of Experiential Frames: Methodological Notes on Arendt

This article seeks to add a new theoretical voice to the tradition of genealogical inquiry in political theory and beyond by offering a re-reading of the thought of Hannah Arendt. Going beyond the letter of her thought, in this article I propose that placing Arendt in the genealogical tradition of inquiry (particularly its Foucauldian strand) helps to make sense of what she was “up to” when she turned to history in her work, especially in the analysis of totalitarianism and the account of modernity presented in The Human Condition. I will specifically highlight the historical emergence of “process-thinking” that Arendt traces across her writings. The article seeks to sketch a unique approach to genealogical inquiry that can be taken up by anyone interested in critical analysis of our present age and its politics. Towards the end of the essay, I elaborate this approach methodologically by making a reference to frame analysis. Thus, I articulate a “genealogical frame analysis”, an inquiry into historical emergence of various metaphors and frames that organize our experience of the world. I also highlight the centrality of events for Arendt’s genealogy, as well as its role in a broader set of world-building practices

Political Action Beyond Resistance: Arendt and "Revolutionary Spirit" in Egypt

The article examines what it calls the "politics-as-resistance" frame in contemporary political theory, originating in the works of Michel Foucault and Judith Butler. This way of organizing political experience is contrasted with Hannah Arendt's political thought, particularly her writings on revolutionary action. Arendt's often overlooked – and partly unpublished – passages on virtù and fortuna are further suggested as important additions to her thinking on action. I argue that Arendt's "world-centric" approach can illuminate certain aspects of political experience that remain dimmed in the more subject-oriented politics-as-resistance frame. Particular focus is paid to the austere notion of freedom in politics-as-resistance, its overly process-oriented presentation of political temporality, underdeveloped approach to institutions, and insuficient exploration of the joyful end of the affective register of action. In the last part of the article, the tragedy of the Egyptian 2011 revolution is discussed as an illustration of the arguments.peerReviewe

Onko sosiaalinen media alusta totuudenjälkeisyydelle?

Sosiaalisesta mediasta on viimeisen vuosikymmenen aikana tullut julkisen keskustelun keskeinen alusta. Sen rakennetta ei kuitenkaan ohjaa huoli demokratiasta, vaan yksityinen voitontavoittelu. Osana muita poliittisia kehityskulkuja tämä ”julkisuuden rakennemuutos” uhkaa demokraattisen politiikan ennakkoehtoja, kuten faktoihin perustuvaa mielipiteenmuodostusta.nonPeerReviewe

Labor as Action : the Human Condition in the Anthropocene

The Anthropocene has become an umbrella term for the disastrous transgression of ecological safety boundaries by human societies. The impact of this new reality is yet to be fully registered by political theorists. In an attempt to recalibrate the categories of political thought, this article brings Hannah Arendt’s framework of The Human Condition (labor, work, action) into the gravitational pull of the Anthropocene and current knowledge about the Earth System. It elaborates the historical emergence of our capacity to “act in the mode of laboring” during fossil-fueled capitalist modernity, a form of agency relating to our collectively organized laboring processes reminiscent of the capacity of modern sciences to “act into nature” discussed by Arendt. I argue that once read from an energy/ecology-centric perspective, The Human Condition can help us make sense of the Anthropocene predicament, and rethink the modes of collectively organizing the activities of labor, work, and action.peerReviewe