Revisiting the theoretical foundations of depoliticisation: A Gramscian state theory approach for an era of crisis

Abstract

Despite voluminous research on depoliticisation, there is relatively little analysis of the theoretical perspectives underpinning the literature. Recently, depoliticisation has been reconceptualised as a contingent process examined at increasingly granular levels. While this contextualist approach has underscored the political character of depoliticisation, it has often neglected underlying structural and macro-political context. This article offers three contributions to depoliticisation literature. First, it reviews recent approaches, arguing that contextualist understandings of depoliticisation have narrowed the analytical focus of the literature. Second, it provides a comparison of two of the main theoretical frameworks underpinning depoliticisation literature, Open Marxism and Constructivist Institutionalism. It examines how their theories of the state, politics, and crisis have led to highly distinct understandings of depoliticisation and evaluates the insights and limitations of each approach. Third, the article proposes a Gramscian state theory approach to provide a macro-political perspective to understand the instabilities unfolding in capitalist democracies today.