Postmodernism in political science refers
to the use of postmodern ideas in political
science.
Postmodernists believe that many situations
which are considered political in nature can
not be adequately discussed in traditional
realist and liberal approaches to political
science.
Postmodernists cite examples such as the situation
of a Benedictine University “draft-age youth
whose identity is claimed in national narratives
of ‘national security’ and the universalizing
narratives of the ‘rights of man,’”
of “the woman whose very womb is claimed
by the irresolvable contesting narratives
of ‘church,’ ‘paternity,’ ‘economy,’
and ‘liberal polity.’
In these cases, postmodernists argue that
there are no fixed categories, stable sets
of values, or common sense meanings to be
understood in their scholarly exploration.In
these margins, postmodernists believe that
people resist realist concepts of power which
is repressive, in order to maintain a claim
on their own identity.
What makes this resistance significant is
that among the aspects of power resisted is
that which forces individuals to take a single
identity or to be subject to a particular
interpretation.
Meaning and interpretation in these types
of situations is always uncertain; arbitrary
in fact.
The power in effect here is not that of oppression,
but that of the cultural and social implications
around them, which creates the framework within
which they see themselves, which creates the
boundaries of their possible courses of action.Postmodern
political scientists, such as Richard Ashley,
claim that in these marginal sites it is impossible
to construct a coherent narrative, or story,
about what is really taking place without
including contesting and contradicting narratives,
and still have a “true” story from the
perspective of a “sovereign subject,”
who can dictate the values pertinent to the
“meaning” of the situation.
In fact, it is possible here to deconstruct
the idea of meaning.
Ashley attempts to reveal the ambiguity of
texts, especially Western texts, how the texts
themselves can be seen as "sites of conflict"
within a given culture or worldview.
By regarding them in this way, deconstructive
readings attempt to uncover evidence of ancient
cultural biases, conflicts, lies, tyrannies,
and power structures, such as the tensions
and ambiguity between peace and war, lord
and subject, male and female, which serve
as further examples of Derrida's binary oppositions
in which the first element is privileged,
or considered prior to and more authentic,
in relation to the second.
Examples of postmodern political scientists
include post-colonial writers such as Frantz
Fanon, feminist writers such as Cynthia Enloe,
and postpositive theorists such as Ashley
and James Der Derian.
== See also ==
Postmodernism (international relations
