Political Science Commons^™

The Frailty Of The Strong Executive, Peter D. Ore, Andrew Paul Davis

Fast Capitalism

This essay reflects on the contemporaneous empowerment of the executive branch under the Trump administration with regard to other branches of government, as well as the disempowerment of the nation's bureacracy. We argue that this combination leads to a simultaneously unfettered, yet feeble executive that has little oversight, yet is routinely ineffective. We explore how tensions in organizational and political theory with regard to private and public governance have presaged this administrative move. This essay concludes by discussing why elite actors might support such an unencumbered, yet ineffective executive.

Author Biographies

Peter D. Ore, University of Arizona

Peter Ore is …

The United States Of Trump Corp.: The 'Not Normal/New Normal' Governing Style Of A Personal Brand, Steven Alfonso Panageotou, Joel M. Crombez

Fast Capitalism

Mired in inconsistency, contradiction, and scandal, Donald J. Trump's presidency appears to be anything but normal. This has prompted a great deal of searching among social scientists and journalists to understand what exactly is behind Trump's erratic governing style. These narratives center the new normal of American presidential politics on the extreme form of Trump's narcissistic behavior and his flagrant commitment to ethno-nationalist, authoritarian, and neoliberal practices. However, because these narratives rely on traditional political strategies and theories, they do not fully capture the most novel aspects of the Trump mode of governance. What is "not normal" about President Donald …

Making It Up As He Goes: Trump's Improvisational Rhetoric And The Hyper-Rhetorical Presidency, Richard Holtzman

Fast Capitalism

Trump disregards the norms of presidential communication by regularly speaking or tweeting off-the-cuff with seemingly little forethought or editorial input. As White House administrations institutionalized presidential speechwriting and strategic communications over the past century, meticulously-crafted rhetoric became the norm. Trump's improvisational rhetoric is the antithesis of the highly-professionalized, disciplined approach to political communication we have come to expect from the presidency. This essay takes the position that his reliance on improvisational rhetoric is more than a matter of communication; it is a matter of governance. Trump regularly uses improvised communication to make important policy decisions. In doing so, the president …

Introduction To "This Is Not Normal", David M. Arditi, Timothy W. Luke

Fast Capitalism

Author Biographies

David M. Arditi, University of Texas Arlington

David Arditi is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he serves as Director of the Center for Theory. He researches the impact of digital technology on society. His forthcoming book, Getting Signed: Record Contracts, Musicians and Power in Society, explores the way musicians' dreams become their source of exploitation.

Timothy W. Luke, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Timothy W. Luke is a University Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science. Luke's areas of research specialization include environmental and cultural studies …

The Art Of The Deal, The Arts Of Democracy: Trump, Dewey, And Democracy, Nancy Sue Love

Fast Capitalism

Donald Trump's politics has been variously described as "neoliberal," "nationalist," "authoritarian," "populist," and even "fascist," and all these descriptors are appropriate in some respects. In this article, I explore the linkages between Trump, neoliberalism, and fascism through what may seem an unlikely aspect of his politics, that is, his artistry as a candidate and now the president. In elevating deal-making to an art form, Trump is not unique. Fascist leaders have long fancied themselves as artists and regarded politics as an art form. I argue that Trump's "art of the deal" materializes and normalizes the aesthetics of neoliberal capitalism; it …

Macau Noir: Criminal Brotherhoods, Casino Capitalism, And The Case Of The Post-Socialist Chinese Consumer, Tim Simpson

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

Diseasing The City: Colonial Noir And The Ruins Of Modernity, Robert Peckham

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

"The World Of The Grotesque Is The Darkness Within Us": The Noir Geoaesthetics Of Murakami's Nakata, Rick Dolphijn

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

Noir As Politics: Spanish Language Hardboiled Detective Fiction And The Discontents Of The Left, Patrick Blaine

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

Saviano, Garrone, Gomorrah: Neorealism And Noir In The Land Of The Camorra, Fabrizio Cilento

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

Facebook Killed The Reunion Star: How Facebook Is Changing Who We Are And What We Do, Sara Ridenour

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

Global Noir: An Introduction, Gray Kochhar-Lindgren

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

A Research Agenda For Social Media Surveillance, Daniel Trottier

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

A Contribution To The Critique Of The Political Economy Of Google, Christian Fuchs

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

A Notion Of Faces Not Laws: Facebook As Ideological Platform, Matthew Levy

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

Slovene Without A Passport: Ljubljana, Theory, Utopia, Ben Agger

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

The Yugoslav Wars As The Primordial Accumulation Of Capital, Mirt Komel

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

Researching Slovenian Media In Transition: Situating Knowledge, Jurij Smrke

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

Intoxicated With Raison D'Etat, Anej Korsika

Fast Capitalism

Advocates of mercantilism, economic doctrine that dominated Western Europe from 16th to late 18th century, argued that positive balance of trade is of quintessential importance for any successful economic policy. Prime responsibility of every state was thus taking care of imports never exceeding exports. From such a perspective trade was not something beneficial (as proponents of laissez-faire economy, namely Adam Smith, would later on argue) but rather a zero-sum game. Instead of cooperation, states had to compete with one another. Because there wasn’t any common denominator that could prove to be of mutual interest, the natural state of affairs between …

There's Chemistry Between Us: European Transition To Transition, Anže Dolinar

Fast Capitalism

Transition state of a chemical reaction is a particular configuration along the reaction coordinate. In chemistry this state is characterized by a specific property of irreversibility and corresponds to the highest energy level along a certain reaction coordinate. One of the qualities of transition state is its indetermination. In other words, we do not know what really goes on in that state, all we have are approximations.

What concerns me here is the transition state of nation states as a specific configuration corresponding to this chemical analogy. If this analogy holds true two equally important consequences will inevitably follow. Firstly, …

Baudrillard (1929-2007) & Mao: A History Of Normal Violence, Charles Lemert

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

Media Spectacle And The "Massacre At Virginia Tech", Douglas Kellner

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

Satire, Guns, And Humans: Lessons From The Nacirema, Steve Kroll-Smith, Gwen Hunnicutt

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

A Hokies' Lament: American Social Psychosis And The Virginia Tech Killings, Stephen Pfohl

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

All The Rage: Digital Bodies And Deadly Play In The Age Of The Suicide Bomber, Carolyn Guertin

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

Mediated Ritual On Academic Ground, Neal King

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

To: Multiple Recipients: "There Is A Gunman On Campus...", Timothy W. Luke

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

Henry David Thoreau: The Beginnings Of Fast Capitalism, Charles Lemert

Fast Capitalism

Author Biography

Charles Lemert, Wesley University Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Wesleyan University

Risk, Return To Industry, And The Future Of Democracy, Lukas Szrot

Fast Capitalism

Reflecting on 2020, I consider the possibility of the collapse of the United States, as well as the ways in which it has fallen short of representative and democratic promise. I argue that the spread of conspiratorial reason is symptomatic of the mistrust that has arisen from these failures. Drawing on naturalist, critical theory, and sociology of knowledge accounts of conspiratorial reason, I argue that such thinking is interest-bound, weaponizing mistrust, and is broadly appealing but ultimately disempowering, serving the ends of failed praxis and reification of power. I examine two possible sources of institutionalized mistrust: the "culture wars" thesis …

The Plague Of White Supremacy In The Age Of Fascist Politics, Henry Giroux

Fast Capitalism

The toxic thrust of white supremacy runs through American culture like an electric current. Without apology,Jim Crow is back suffocating American society in a wave of voter suppression laws, ongoing attempts by rightwing politicians to implement a form of apartheid pedagogy, and the resurgence of a right-wing cultural politics organized around the legacy of white nationalism and white supremacy. The emergence of white supremacy to the centers of power is also evident in the reign of police violence against Black people that came into full view with the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer and the ensuring …