On Politicking

Politics as Practice: From Coercion to Preemption

Ralph Pettman

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English

Springer Nature Switzerland AG
04 May 2025

Entrepreneurship; International business; Personnel & human resources management; Non-profitmaking organisations

This book is unusual in that, although it asks a familiar question, it provides an unfamiliar answer. What's more, it's the most coherent and comprehensive answer possible. Most people say politics is about how societies organise their affairs, or about different kinds of government, or about who rules and why. The problem is that though they aren't wrong, they're only partly right. Social order, government and rule are all important, but they're part of a bigger picture. Politics is about much, much more. In short, it's about politicking, which is a fundamental form of behavior that involves a number of very specific practices. These include coercion, persuasion, reconciliation, exploitation, indoctrination, ratiocination, marginalization, and preemption. This is how people try to get their own way, either as individuals or in groups. It goes on all the time, too, within and between individuals, and at all other social levels, like families, bands, tribes, gangs, clubs, clans, offices, institutions, professions, companies, cities, provinces, countries, and religions. Most of this story never gets told, which is why this book was written. It has considerable theoretical significance, and a wide range of practical examples are provided throughout to illustrate the case it makes.

By: Ralph Pettman
Imprint: Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Country of Publication: Switzerland
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 155mm,
ISBN: 9789819653331
ISBN 10: 9819653339
Pages: 164
Publication Date: 04 May 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Ralph Pettman holds an honors degree in politics and history from the University of Adelaide and a PhD in world politics from the University of London (LSE). He has taught at Oxford, Princeton, Sydney, Tokyo and Melbourne among other places. He has also done research at Cambridge, the ANU, the New School, SOAS, the LSE and Sciences Po (Paris). He spent a number of years as a senior bureaucrat in the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Broadcasting Commission (Moscow), as well as at the United Nations (Geneva). His books include Here comes everyone: Anthropology and world affairs (2017); Psychopathology and world politics (2012); World affairs: An analytical overview (2010); Intending the world: A phenomenology of international affairs (2008); Reason, culture, religion: The metaphysics of world politics (2004); World politics: Rationalism and beyond (2001); Commonsense constructivism, or the making of world affairs (2000); Understanding international political economy, with readings for the fatigued (1996); State and class: A sociology of international affairs (1979); and Human behavior and world politics: A transdisciplinary introduction (1975).