1. Wicked problems and sociology: building a missing bridge through processual relationalism.
- Author
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Selg, Peeter, Klasche, Benjamin, and Nõgisto, Joonatan
- Subjects
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COVID-19 pandemic , *SOCIOLOGY - Abstract
Relationalism presumes conceptual primacy of relations over the elements engaged in those relations. In that sense, relations are not viewed as something external to pre-given elements, but as constitutive of those elements. Processual relationalism presumes that the relations between/among elements are not just static ties, but unfolding, dynamic processes. Currently, processual relationalism is increasingly present in the social sciences. Nevertheless, it is the movement of relational sociology that has been at the forefront of the processual 'relational turn.' In this paper, the authors argue that the methodological potential of processual-relational sociology should be taken decisively further since it is especially relevant for addressing the socio-political reality of our time that is increasingly characterized by what has been referred to as 'wicked problems'. Through introducing the distinction of self-action, interaction and trans-action as it is discussed in relational sociology, the authors argue that the methodological consequences of processual relationalism overlap with constitutive explanation, which is an important addition to causal explanation that is prevalent in the 'variable-centered' social sciences. The authors offer a sketch of a research agenda for explaining a wicked problem that needs a processual-relational methodology to be addressed: the ongoing COVID-19 Crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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