Desynchronized Society? Political Challenges At The Interfaces Of The Social

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Henning Laux; Professor Dr. Hartmut Rosa
• Subject Area: Sociological Theory
• Term: from 2013 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 239393737

Our project examines the challenges and mechanisms of the synchronisation and desynchronisation of social fields. We stress the influence of the time factor on political agents and on democratic institutions of contemporary society. We expect corresponding insights by an empirical analysis of the interfaces between politics and social environment. Not only heterogeneous interests, but also conflicting operation speeds are clashing here. In order to capture this, the temporal structures of politics are set in relation to other areas of life (economy, mass media, science and nature). The survey is guided by three central research hypotheses.First, it will be examined if there is a temporal desynchronization of subsystems in modern society. Our presumption is that economy and mass media have a growing influence on social developments, because they increased their operation speed extremely with the help of digital communication technology. Slower areas such as politics are thus pressed for time and subjected to the rhythm of the accelerated fields. Second, the relation between time requirements and time resources of political representatives will be examined. This is based on the justified suspicion that decision-making problems are getting more complex and time-consuming in late modern times, because democratic processes are only able to accelerate in a limited way, whereas the time resources of political decision-makers are shrinking due to exogenous dynamization processes. We assume that there is currently evolving an enormous 'time deficit' in the budget of the political system which must urgently be reduced in order to preserve democracy's capacity to act.Third, it will be analysed how political actors and institutions react to subsystematic differences in rhythm and speed. Our supposition in this case is that political problems of integration and regulation are primarily fought with the development of hybrid organisations and the construction of extra-parliamentary networks.To examine these theses empirically, we will collect data in a central organisation of the political system (Deutscher Bundestag) and in four hybrid organisations that developed at the interface between politics and social surrounding (European Stability Mechanism, Deutscher Ethikrat, Greenpeace, Bundespressekonferenz). At this, four methods are put to use that control and complement each other reciprocally: ego-centered network analyses, expert interviews, document analyses and participatory observations. The project aims to enhance the theory-based analysis of social time structures and to make a constructive contribution to understand the late-modern challenges of western democracies.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants