Ignas Kalpokas | Vytautas Magnus University (original) (raw)

Papers by Ignas Kalpokas

This book analyses the changes to the regulation of everyday life that have taken place as a resu... more This book analyses the changes to the regulation of everyday life that have taken place as a result of datafication, the ever-growing analytical, predictive, and structuring role of algorithms, and the prominence of the platform economy. This new form of regulation – algorithmic governance – ranges from nudging individuals towards predefined outcomes to outright structuration of behaviour through digital architecture. The author reveals the strength and pervasiveness of algorithmic politics through a comparison with the main traditional form of regulation: law. These changes are subsequently demonstrated to reflect a broader shift away from anthropocentric accounts of the world. In doing so, the book adopts a posthumanist framework which focuses on deep embeddedness and interactions between humans, the natural environment, technology, and code.

This book combines political theory with media and communications studies in order to formulate a... more This book combines political theory with media and communications studies in order to formulate a theory of post-truth, concentrating on the latter’s preconditions, context, and functions in today’s societies. Contrary to the prevalent view of post-truth as primarily manipulative, it is argued that post-truth is, instead, a collusion in which audiences willingly engage with aspirational narratives co-created with the communicators. Meanwhile, the broader meta-framework for post-truth is provided by mediatisation—increasing subjection of a variety of social spheres to media logic and the primacy of media in everyday human activities. Ultimately, post-truth is governed by collective efforts to maximise the pleasure of encountering the world and attempts to set hegemonic benchmarks for such pleasure.

SAGE Research Methods Cases in Political Science and International Relations, 2019

This methods case reflects on a twin challenge that I faced while carrying out research for my bo... more This methods case reflects on a twin challenge that I faced while carrying out research for my book on a political theory of post-truth. The first challenge involved a lack of reliable academic sources that would be readily available to use. Instead, as is characteristic of any new and developing phenomenon, I had to rely significantly on journalistic reports, commentaries and opinion pieces, and similar sources, the argumentative structure of which does not sit well with the customary evidence-based academic discourse. Hence, the case outlines my strategy for differentiating between such sources and contextually validating their claims. Meanwhile, the second challenge involved putting all those disparate pieces in a puzzle-like fashion to give the phenomenon under scrutiny—in this case, post-truth—a recognizable shape. To that effect, a narrative approach to theory building is outlined, providing a guideline to arranging one’s arguments in a compelling and disciplined fashion.

N. O’Shaughnessy, N. Snow and P. Baines (eds.) The SAGE Handbook of Propaganda. Los Angeles and London: SAGE, 2020

Social Media + Society, 2019

This article goes beyond the current discourse on post-truth, fake news, and related developments... more This article goes beyond the current discourse on post-truth, fake news, and related developments by tracing the emergence of a broader and more fundamental change—a posthuman turn in politics. The article begins with examining the background of post-truth and the causes of its prominence. Those causes are found to primarily lie in the natural human predilection for pleasure and satisfaction as well as capacity for affective agglomeration. Such agglomeration is particularly manifest in the digital and, even more specifically, new media environment where the abundance of information and alignment opportunities has led to incessant competition of media and political actors for audience attention. The main weapon in this competitive struggle is maximization of consumer satisfaction, that is, pleasure (and not, e.g. veracity). However, the main transformative factor that both enable the maximization of satisfaction and lead to the posthuman turn is the abundance of data and the potential for its algorithmic analysis as well as interpretation of the results of such analysis. In this context, data-rich algorithm-wielding political actors are capable of knowing in advance the utterances and other affective triggers necessary to alter their audiences’ choice environments in such a way that it will have no other option but to choose the preferred outcome, receiving pleasure in return. However, the same political actors are simultaneously reduced to mouthpieces for algorithmically selected utterances instead of themselves being active shapers of political strategy. Consequently, humans must share agency with algorithms and other pieces of code, if not cede it altogether.

Philosophy & Social Criticism, 2018

This article provides a framework for understanding post-truth politics by employing the ideas of... more This article provides a framework for understanding post-truth politics by employing the ideas of Nietzsche and Schmitt. It posits pre-moral and pre-economic guilt and debt, relating human non-self-sufficiency, at the heart of social and political existence and alleges that guilt and debt are the hey bonds that hold human groupings together. Following Schmitt, romantic attitudes to politics are seen as negating this underlying reality, opting instead for escapist fantasy of self-mastery and unlimited creative potential. The author claims that these promises in particular are picked up by post-truth politics, placing the human person and their preconceptions at the heart of the world and handing over to them prime creative power at least as a matter of fantasy. Nevertheless, this escapism merely hides the persistence of guilt and debt. However, despite being an inadequate way of perceiving the world, the post-truth fantasy still constitutes a severe challenge to political bonds.

Employing a perspective informed by brand management, this article aims at understanding informat... more Employing a perspective informed by brand management, this article aims at understanding information warfare operations in social media. The state, seen as brand, must project an image of itself to both internal and foreign audiences to unite the domestic audience and/or attract global support. However, in constructing a brand, states are vulnerable to ‘sofa warriors’ – ordinary individuals who have been unwittingly recruited by hostile actors to disseminate (over social media or other platforms) a counter-brand, harmful to the state concerned. These new threats are investigated in light of recent tendencies in online branding, elucidating their status as a national security threat, with the potential to significantly disrupt life in political communities.

Weaponisation of social media and online information is a real and emerging threat. Hence, this a... more Weaponisation of social media and online information is a real and emerging threat. Hence, this article aims to broaden our understanding of this phenomenon by introducing the concept of mimetic warfare. Borrowing from mimesis, or a particular representation of reality, this article delves into information conflicts as the ones involving a struggle between well-prepared comprehensive narratives that are intended to affect a target population's cognition and behaviour. Mimesis as a concept is seen as particularly useful in explaining the multiplicity, proliferation and appeal of such representations and interpretations of facts, events or phenomena. The article then presents a case for the Western states' proactive involvement in mimetic operations at the home front in order to maintain cohesion and not to cede ground to hostile foreign powers.

Despite often being lauded as a crucial tool for democratisation, social media can just as easily... more Despite often being lauded as a crucial tool for democratisation, social media can just as easily harbour more negative intentions, including stigmatisation and exclusion of certain groups. Part of the explanation lies in the nature of social media and the way information circulates there. However, this leaves the crucial question of motivation unanswered: why do individuals engage in negative deeds online and why are the narratives of otherness-qua-menace particularly attractive? For this reason, the article employs Lacanian psychoanalysis to delve into the drives that make the Other a crucial benchmark. It is, therefore, claimed that there are crucial synergies to be teased out from simultaneous use of social media analysis and psychoanalysis.

Social media has traditionally been unequivocally seen as facilitating democratic transitions and... more Social media has traditionally been unequivocally seen as facilitating democratic transitions and challenging the power of autocratic regimes. Some most recent research, however, contradicts this established narrative, and as a result, this article first aims to show that social media does not have intrinsic political qualities of its own. Rather, they are contingent upon the offline conditions and the actors who use social media. Then, building on the contingent nature of this media, the author aims to show how social cyberspace enables a new kind of influence operations that can be carried out instantly, globally, and with the help of the victims themselves (referred to as 'sofa warriors'). Finally, the conflict in Ukraine is presented as an example of how social media influence campaigns can be employed in hybrid warfare.

Since the concept itself has become increasingly debatable in today's world, the endeavour is to ... more Since the concept itself has become increasingly debatable in today's world, the endeavour is to produce a new interpretation which combines stability with perpetual change. The article first considers a Spinozist-Lacanian interpretation of human nature, seen as relational and desire-driven, centred around an absence that operates as a driving force of human action. However, this drive is individual, not communal, hence political association is needed which, in turn, necessitates some equality in substance. Here the nature of sovereignty as the ability and duty to determine the essence of that sameness kicks in. Sovereign decision functions as if there was a primordial criterion but, in doing so, masks both the lack at the heart of existence and the equally groundless nature of competing options. As such, it is permanently open for contestation.

Almanac of Political Science, 2013

Although state sovereignty remains a central issue in international relations, the content of thi... more Although state sovereignty remains a central issue in international relations, the content of this concept has become a highly debatable issue. This is especially the case in the modern era of globalisation, increased interdependence and, especially, prevalence of human rights discourse. More often than not, sovereignty is rendered contingent on the states' ability to protect the basic rights of their citizens and to comply with the demands set forth by the international community. The article analyses the genesis and application of Responsibility to Protect -a relatively new framework for the international community to intervene where the aforementioned criteria are not met -without prejudice as to its ethical foundations but with an intention to put forward the challenges relating to the application of this framework. Analysing the current discourse relating to Responsibility to Protect and considering the history of past interventions on humanitarian grounds, the author argues that the idea of protection is left open for possible misuses by the most powerful actors

Cyberspace is a new global space that is yet not fully explored nor effectively regulated. The au... more Cyberspace is a new global space that is yet not fully explored nor effectively regulated. The authors are not sketching a regulatory framework for cyberspace, but instead are inclined to glean valuable experience from the developments in the regulation of other global spaces, especially the sea. First, the peculiarities of cyberspace and cybercrime are briefly outlined. Then, the other global spaces are analysed drawing comparisons between exploration, appropriation and regulations of the sea and the air and cyberspace. The authors suggest that it is vital to learn lessons from the past in order to achieve an effective model of regulation of cyberspace. One of the main focus points of the paper is the position of a pirate and the ways of regulating piracy in different global spaces.

The paper addresses the remembrance of events surrounding the restoration of Lithuanian independe... more The paper addresses the remembrance of events surrounding the restoration of Lithuanian independence, as well as their repercussions on the present, concentrating on the younger generation that does not have first-hand experience of the period and, therefore, has to rely on other people’s accounts, textbooks, and other sources.
If one considers the state and, especially, its social (or communal) dimension as impossible totalities, memory and history acquire significant importance as they both provide ‘a magma of significations’, out of which particular signifying structures are instituted in order to anchor meaning and exhort a unifying claim through dominant narratives that tend to subjugate the otherwise inevitable variety of discourses. The discourse of the Lithuanian history textbooks is analysed by outlining its emphasis on unity and self-sacrifice in 1988-1991, and by portraying the Lithuanian history as an unending struggle against enemies and their malevolent plots. Also, considering the accounts of young people, two tendencies are visible: first, a bias towards images of unity and self-sacrifice depicting the period concerned, second, the predilection to employ the categories of ‘aliens’ and ‘enemies’ is evident, significantly affecting perceptions of the present with widespread images of disintegration and decay in the absence of the Other.

Nors nuo pat 1994-ųjų zapatizmo judėjimui publikacijose tiek ispanų, tiek anglų kalba skirta daug... more Nors nuo pat 1994-ųjų zapatizmo judėjimui publikacijose tiek ispanų, tiek anglų kalba skirta daug dėmesio, reali raida parodė, kad daugeliu atvejų tyrinėtojų prognozės buvo pernelyg optimistinės. Nepaisant pradinio populiarumo bei inovatymumo, po 2006-ųjų pastebimas akivaizdus aktyvumo sumažėjimas ir paramos judėjimui nykimas, kartu -galimybės pasiekti realių pokyčių mažėjimas. Šiame straipsnyje norima, analizuojant zapatistų silpnėjimo priežastis, išsiaiškinti iššūkius, ilguoju laikotarpiu kylančius ne karinėmis priemonėmis radikalių politinių pokyčių siekiantiems judėjimams. Daugiausia dėmesio skiriama pasaulėžiūros nestruktūruotumui, negebėjimui pakankamai greitai sukurti "sėkmės istorijos" savo bendruomenėse bei virtualios komunikacijos ir mobilizacijos problemoms. Kadangi iki šiol Lietuvoje apie zapatizmą rašyta nedaug, kartu pateikiama būtiniausia informacija apie judėjimo veiklą ir kontekstą. Ignas Kalpokas -Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto Politikos mokslų ir diplomatijos fakulteto socialinės ir politinės kritikos magistrantas (el. paštas: ignas_kalpokas@fc.vdu.lt). © Ignas Kalpokas, 2011 Straipsnis įteiktas redakcijai 2011 m. kovo 12 d. Straipsnis pasirašytas spaudai 2011 m. gegužės 18 d.

This book analyses the changes to the regulation of everyday life that have taken place as a resu... more This book analyses the changes to the regulation of everyday life that have taken place as a result of datafication, the ever-growing analytical, predictive, and structuring role of algorithms, and the prominence of the platform economy. This new form of regulation – algorithmic governance – ranges from nudging individuals towards predefined outcomes to outright structuration of behaviour through digital architecture. The author reveals the strength and pervasiveness of algorithmic politics through a comparison with the main traditional form of regulation: law. These changes are subsequently demonstrated to reflect a broader shift away from anthropocentric accounts of the world. In doing so, the book adopts a posthumanist framework which focuses on deep embeddedness and interactions between humans, the natural environment, technology, and code.

This book combines political theory with media and communications studies in order to formulate a... more This book combines political theory with media and communications studies in order to formulate a theory of post-truth, concentrating on the latter’s preconditions, context, and functions in today’s societies. Contrary to the prevalent view of post-truth as primarily manipulative, it is argued that post-truth is, instead, a collusion in which audiences willingly engage with aspirational narratives co-created with the communicators. Meanwhile, the broader meta-framework for post-truth is provided by mediatisation—increasing subjection of a variety of social spheres to media logic and the primacy of media in everyday human activities. Ultimately, post-truth is governed by collective efforts to maximise the pleasure of encountering the world and attempts to set hegemonic benchmarks for such pleasure.

SAGE Research Methods Cases in Political Science and International Relations, 2019

This methods case reflects on a twin challenge that I faced while carrying out research for my bo... more This methods case reflects on a twin challenge that I faced while carrying out research for my book on a political theory of post-truth. The first challenge involved a lack of reliable academic sources that would be readily available to use. Instead, as is characteristic of any new and developing phenomenon, I had to rely significantly on journalistic reports, commentaries and opinion pieces, and similar sources, the argumentative structure of which does not sit well with the customary evidence-based academic discourse. Hence, the case outlines my strategy for differentiating between such sources and contextually validating their claims. Meanwhile, the second challenge involved putting all those disparate pieces in a puzzle-like fashion to give the phenomenon under scrutiny—in this case, post-truth—a recognizable shape. To that effect, a narrative approach to theory building is outlined, providing a guideline to arranging one’s arguments in a compelling and disciplined fashion.

N. O’Shaughnessy, N. Snow and P. Baines (eds.) The SAGE Handbook of Propaganda. Los Angeles and London: SAGE, 2020

Social Media + Society, 2019

This article goes beyond the current discourse on post-truth, fake news, and related developments... more This article goes beyond the current discourse on post-truth, fake news, and related developments by tracing the emergence of a broader and more fundamental change—a posthuman turn in politics. The article begins with examining the background of post-truth and the causes of its prominence. Those causes are found to primarily lie in the natural human predilection for pleasure and satisfaction as well as capacity for affective agglomeration. Such agglomeration is particularly manifest in the digital and, even more specifically, new media environment where the abundance of information and alignment opportunities has led to incessant competition of media and political actors for audience attention. The main weapon in this competitive struggle is maximization of consumer satisfaction, that is, pleasure (and not, e.g. veracity). However, the main transformative factor that both enable the maximization of satisfaction and lead to the posthuman turn is the abundance of data and the potential for its algorithmic analysis as well as interpretation of the results of such analysis. In this context, data-rich algorithm-wielding political actors are capable of knowing in advance the utterances and other affective triggers necessary to alter their audiences’ choice environments in such a way that it will have no other option but to choose the preferred outcome, receiving pleasure in return. However, the same political actors are simultaneously reduced to mouthpieces for algorithmically selected utterances instead of themselves being active shapers of political strategy. Consequently, humans must share agency with algorithms and other pieces of code, if not cede it altogether.

Philosophy & Social Criticism, 2018

This article provides a framework for understanding post-truth politics by employing the ideas of... more This article provides a framework for understanding post-truth politics by employing the ideas of Nietzsche and Schmitt. It posits pre-moral and pre-economic guilt and debt, relating human non-self-sufficiency, at the heart of social and political existence and alleges that guilt and debt are the hey bonds that hold human groupings together. Following Schmitt, romantic attitudes to politics are seen as negating this underlying reality, opting instead for escapist fantasy of self-mastery and unlimited creative potential. The author claims that these promises in particular are picked up by post-truth politics, placing the human person and their preconceptions at the heart of the world and handing over to them prime creative power at least as a matter of fantasy. Nevertheless, this escapism merely hides the persistence of guilt and debt. However, despite being an inadequate way of perceiving the world, the post-truth fantasy still constitutes a severe challenge to political bonds.

Employing a perspective informed by brand management, this article aims at understanding informat... more Employing a perspective informed by brand management, this article aims at understanding information warfare operations in social media. The state, seen as brand, must project an image of itself to both internal and foreign audiences to unite the domestic audience and/or attract global support. However, in constructing a brand, states are vulnerable to ‘sofa warriors’ – ordinary individuals who have been unwittingly recruited by hostile actors to disseminate (over social media or other platforms) a counter-brand, harmful to the state concerned. These new threats are investigated in light of recent tendencies in online branding, elucidating their status as a national security threat, with the potential to significantly disrupt life in political communities.

Weaponisation of social media and online information is a real and emerging threat. Hence, this a... more Weaponisation of social media and online information is a real and emerging threat. Hence, this article aims to broaden our understanding of this phenomenon by introducing the concept of mimetic warfare. Borrowing from mimesis, or a particular representation of reality, this article delves into information conflicts as the ones involving a struggle between well-prepared comprehensive narratives that are intended to affect a target population's cognition and behaviour. Mimesis as a concept is seen as particularly useful in explaining the multiplicity, proliferation and appeal of such representations and interpretations of facts, events or phenomena. The article then presents a case for the Western states' proactive involvement in mimetic operations at the home front in order to maintain cohesion and not to cede ground to hostile foreign powers.

Despite often being lauded as a crucial tool for democratisation, social media can just as easily... more Despite often being lauded as a crucial tool for democratisation, social media can just as easily harbour more negative intentions, including stigmatisation and exclusion of certain groups. Part of the explanation lies in the nature of social media and the way information circulates there. However, this leaves the crucial question of motivation unanswered: why do individuals engage in negative deeds online and why are the narratives of otherness-qua-menace particularly attractive? For this reason, the article employs Lacanian psychoanalysis to delve into the drives that make the Other a crucial benchmark. It is, therefore, claimed that there are crucial synergies to be teased out from simultaneous use of social media analysis and psychoanalysis.

Social media has traditionally been unequivocally seen as facilitating democratic transitions and... more Social media has traditionally been unequivocally seen as facilitating democratic transitions and challenging the power of autocratic regimes. Some most recent research, however, contradicts this established narrative, and as a result, this article first aims to show that social media does not have intrinsic political qualities of its own. Rather, they are contingent upon the offline conditions and the actors who use social media. Then, building on the contingent nature of this media, the author aims to show how social cyberspace enables a new kind of influence operations that can be carried out instantly, globally, and with the help of the victims themselves (referred to as 'sofa warriors'). Finally, the conflict in Ukraine is presented as an example of how social media influence campaigns can be employed in hybrid warfare.

Since the concept itself has become increasingly debatable in today's world, the endeavour is to ... more Since the concept itself has become increasingly debatable in today's world, the endeavour is to produce a new interpretation which combines stability with perpetual change. The article first considers a Spinozist-Lacanian interpretation of human nature, seen as relational and desire-driven, centred around an absence that operates as a driving force of human action. However, this drive is individual, not communal, hence political association is needed which, in turn, necessitates some equality in substance. Here the nature of sovereignty as the ability and duty to determine the essence of that sameness kicks in. Sovereign decision functions as if there was a primordial criterion but, in doing so, masks both the lack at the heart of existence and the equally groundless nature of competing options. As such, it is permanently open for contestation.

Almanac of Political Science, 2013

Although state sovereignty remains a central issue in international relations, the content of thi... more Although state sovereignty remains a central issue in international relations, the content of this concept has become a highly debatable issue. This is especially the case in the modern era of globalisation, increased interdependence and, especially, prevalence of human rights discourse. More often than not, sovereignty is rendered contingent on the states' ability to protect the basic rights of their citizens and to comply with the demands set forth by the international community. The article analyses the genesis and application of Responsibility to Protect -a relatively new framework for the international community to intervene where the aforementioned criteria are not met -without prejudice as to its ethical foundations but with an intention to put forward the challenges relating to the application of this framework. Analysing the current discourse relating to Responsibility to Protect and considering the history of past interventions on humanitarian grounds, the author argues that the idea of protection is left open for possible misuses by the most powerful actors

Cyberspace is a new global space that is yet not fully explored nor effectively regulated. The au... more Cyberspace is a new global space that is yet not fully explored nor effectively regulated. The authors are not sketching a regulatory framework for cyberspace, but instead are inclined to glean valuable experience from the developments in the regulation of other global spaces, especially the sea. First, the peculiarities of cyberspace and cybercrime are briefly outlined. Then, the other global spaces are analysed drawing comparisons between exploration, appropriation and regulations of the sea and the air and cyberspace. The authors suggest that it is vital to learn lessons from the past in order to achieve an effective model of regulation of cyberspace. One of the main focus points of the paper is the position of a pirate and the ways of regulating piracy in different global spaces.

The paper addresses the remembrance of events surrounding the restoration of Lithuanian independe... more The paper addresses the remembrance of events surrounding the restoration of Lithuanian independence, as well as their repercussions on the present, concentrating on the younger generation that does not have first-hand experience of the period and, therefore, has to rely on other people’s accounts, textbooks, and other sources.
If one considers the state and, especially, its social (or communal) dimension as impossible totalities, memory and history acquire significant importance as they both provide ‘a magma of significations’, out of which particular signifying structures are instituted in order to anchor meaning and exhort a unifying claim through dominant narratives that tend to subjugate the otherwise inevitable variety of discourses. The discourse of the Lithuanian history textbooks is analysed by outlining its emphasis on unity and self-sacrifice in 1988-1991, and by portraying the Lithuanian history as an unending struggle against enemies and their malevolent plots. Also, considering the accounts of young people, two tendencies are visible: first, a bias towards images of unity and self-sacrifice depicting the period concerned, second, the predilection to employ the categories of ‘aliens’ and ‘enemies’ is evident, significantly affecting perceptions of the present with widespread images of disintegration and decay in the absence of the Other.

Nors nuo pat 1994-ųjų zapatizmo judėjimui publikacijose tiek ispanų, tiek anglų kalba skirta daug... more Nors nuo pat 1994-ųjų zapatizmo judėjimui publikacijose tiek ispanų, tiek anglų kalba skirta daug dėmesio, reali raida parodė, kad daugeliu atvejų tyrinėtojų prognozės buvo pernelyg optimistinės. Nepaisant pradinio populiarumo bei inovatymumo, po 2006-ųjų pastebimas akivaizdus aktyvumo sumažėjimas ir paramos judėjimui nykimas, kartu -galimybės pasiekti realių pokyčių mažėjimas. Šiame straipsnyje norima, analizuojant zapatistų silpnėjimo priežastis, išsiaiškinti iššūkius, ilguoju laikotarpiu kylančius ne karinėmis priemonėmis radikalių politinių pokyčių siekiantiems judėjimams. Daugiausia dėmesio skiriama pasaulėžiūros nestruktūruotumui, negebėjimui pakankamai greitai sukurti "sėkmės istorijos" savo bendruomenėse bei virtualios komunikacijos ir mobilizacijos problemoms. Kadangi iki šiol Lietuvoje apie zapatizmą rašyta nedaug, kartu pateikiama būtiniausia informacija apie judėjimo veiklą ir kontekstą. Ignas Kalpokas -Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto Politikos mokslų ir diplomatijos fakulteto socialinės ir politinės kritikos magistrantas (el. paštas: ignas_kalpokas@fc.vdu.lt). © Ignas Kalpokas, 2011 Straipsnis įteiktas redakcijai 2011 m. kovo 12 d. Straipsnis pasirašytas spaudai 2011 m. gegužės 18 d.

There is an inherent tension between popular and establishment powers in political communities. W... more There is an inherent tension between popular and establishment powers in political communities. With anti-establishment sentiment on the rise across Western democracies, exploring the underpinnings of this dualism and rethinking theories of political life within states is of paramount importance. By combining the theories of Carl Schmitt and Benedict Spinoza, this book develops a framework of continuous reproduction, whereby the two powers simultaneously hold one another in tension and supersede one another. In the same vein, political communities are shown to be perpetually caught in a cycle of creativity/contestation, derived primarily from Schmitt (the tragic groundlessness of politics) and limitation (derived primarily from Spinoza as a quasi-theological belief in the status quo).

Providing a novel theoretical framework explaining the workings of democratic politics, this book also offers a non-traditional reading of Spinoza and Schmitt. Whereas traditionally both have been treated as almost polar opposites, here they are held in creative tension, providing equally important building blocks for the proposed theory. By furthering their analysis, the author creates a new theory of political action.