Sociological Theory 31(3)

Sociological Theory, September 2013: Volume 31, Issue 3

Power: Relational, Discursive, and Performative Dimensions
Isaac Ariail Reed

This article draws on the conceptual link between power and causality to develop an account of the relational, discursive, and performative dimensions of power. Each proposed dimension of power is grounded in a different understanding of social causes: relational-realist, discursive-hermeneutic, and performative-pragmatic. For the purposes of empirical analysis, this dimensional schema crosscuts the classic sources of power typology developed by Michael Mann and others, thus rendering the conceptual apparatus for pursuing sociological research on power more complex and explanatorily effective. The schema is illustrated by an example from comparative-historical sociology: explaining the storming of the Bastille and its effects. A series of research questions for investigating the relative autonomy of performative power is proposed. Finally, the current schema is situated vis-à-vis classic sociological theories of power, including the arguments of Steven Lukes, Michel Foucault, and Pierre Bourdieu, among others.

Formalist and Relationalist Theory in Social Network Analysis
Emily Erikson

Social network research is widely considered atheoretical. In contrast, in this article I argue that network analysis often mixes two distinct theoretical frameworks, creating a logically inconsistent foundation. Relationalism rejects essentialism and a priori categories and insists upon the intersubjectivity of experience and meaning as well as the importance of the content of interactions and their historical setting. Formalism is based on a structuralist interpretation of the theoretical works of Georg Simmel. Simmel laid out a neo-Kantian program of identifying a priori categories of relational types and patterns that operate independently of cultural content or historical setting. Formalism and relationalism are internally consistent theoretical perspectives, but there are tensions between them. To pave the way for stronger middle-range theoretical development, I disaggregate the two approaches and highlight the contradictions that must be addressed or resolved for the construction of any general and inclusive theory.

From Vigilance to Busyness: A Neo-Weberian Approach to Clock Time
Benjamin H. Snyder

For many social scientists, clock time is seen as either a mechanism of economic power relations that reinforces social domination or a resource that facilitates individual market-oriented action. In this article I develop a neo-Weberian perspective that presents clock time as a moral institution that shapes social action in modernity through two “time disciplines”: regularity and density. Where regularity supports a methodical life, density maintains a life of constant activity. The article traces the history of regularity and density between the fourth and twentieth centuries: from a “culture of vigilance,” which originated in Benedictine monastic culture, to a “culture of busyness,” which arose within Protestant and Renaissance culture. It shows that although we often think of busyness, time pressure, and burnout as contemporary problems, they have long been at the root of clock time culture. By extending Weber’s approach, the paper provides deeper insight into the fraught moral life of clock time in modernity.

Reasons and the Acceptance of Authoritative Speech: An Empirically Grounded Synthesis of Habermas and Bourdieu
Sebastián G. Guzmán

This article proposes an empirically grounded theory of the acceptance of authoritative speech beyond contexts of deliberation. I synthesize Habermas’s and Bourdieu’s influential theories on the topic by specifying factors that lead to either a prereflexive acceptance or a critical evaluation of the claims made by people in positions of authority. To do so, I assess each author’s theses in four types of contexts covered by three empirical studies that analyze reactions to authoritative speech. I find that people can autonomously reject authoritative speech if they have the necessary cultural resources, such as relevant personal experience or contradictory background norms, or if they are strongly motivated—for example, by disappointed expectations. Otherwise, individuals are likely to accept what authorities say without regard for reasons. The synthetic theory proposed better grasps the potentials and limitations of people’s critical capacities—a crucial task for democratic and critical sociological theory.