''Rationality and Power: Democracy in Practice'' is a 1998 book by
Bent Flyvbjerg
Bent Flyvbjerg is a Danish economic geographer. He was the First BT Professor and Inaugural Chair of Major Programme Management at Oxford University's Saïd Business School (retiring from the post in 2021) and is the Villum Kann Rasmussen Profess ...
, published by the
University of Chicago Press
The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', ...
. The book focuses on "the application of critical theory to urban and community development". Flyvbjerg here deploys the methodology for doing social science, which he developed in ''
Making Social Science Matter'' (2001). Upon publication, the ''
International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
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* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
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'' called ''Rationality and Power'', "a notable addition to the literature," the reviewer adding, "I cannot think of a better account of how power relations are embodied in local governance."
Synopsis
Flyvbjerg focuses on the study of how
power
Power most often refers to:
* Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work"
** Engine power, the power put out by an engine
** Electric power
* Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events
** Abusive power
Power may a ...
influences
rationality
Rationality is the quality of being guided by or based on reasons. In this regard, a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for what they do or a belief is rational if it is based on strong evidence. This quality can apply to an abil ...
and
democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
. Theoretically and methodologically, he stands on the shoulders of thinkers like
Thucydides
Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...
,
Machiavelli,
Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, Prose poetry, prose poet, cultural critic, Philology, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philo ...
, and
Max Weber
Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of modern Western society. His ideas profo ...
. He specifically highlights Machiavelli's power studies in Florence as a source of influence for the choice of in-depth case studies to understand the dynamics of power and how power enables and constrains rationality and rational government. Flyvbjerg also develops and identifies "ten propositions about rationality and power" that can be used as grounded theory when researching rationality, power, and democracy.
Reception
''
The Times Literary Supplement
''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp.
History
The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication i ...
'', ''TLS'', wrote: "the monumental tedium of its narrative, its picayune Legoland quality, is the book's great strength. This serves Flyvbjerg's argumentative purposes admirably ... Flyvbjerg's genius lies in his unfailing eye for banality, and for discerning the none too invisible hand of power behind it ... Town planning is the continuation of war by other means. For Flyvbjerg, what is real is not rational, but rationalization ... a world without power is a world without politics. We don't live there. The importance of Flyvbjerg's book is that it acknowledges this fact."
''
The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'' called the book "the sharpest advance in our understanding of how power actually works since Machiavelli's ''
The Prince
''The Prince'' ( it, Il Principe ; la, De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of ''The ...
'' was published in 1532."
Little Rock's
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
The ''Arkansas Democrat-Gazette'' is the newspaper of record in the U.S. state of Arkansas, printed in Little Rock with a northwest edition published in Lowell. It is distributed for sale in all 75 of Arkansas' counties.
By virtue of one of i ...
wrote: "In ''Rationality and Power: Democracy in Practice'', Bent Flyvbjerg employs a wide-ranging intellect, an enthusiastic and persuasive voice, academic rigor and great discipline to distill years of research into an outstanding and accessible 250-page civics lesson. It begs for a readership outside academic and professional circles ... Flyvbjerg punctuates his narrative with a wonderfully dry sense of the ironic and the absurd. He can be quietly devastating – even subtly prosecutorial – in exposing ... self-interest and hypocrisy ... ''Rationality and Power''
's value is undeniable as a handbook and forensic tool for anyone seeking a better understanding of and access to the democratic process."
Stewart Clegg
Stewart Clegg (born 1947, Bradford) is a British-born Australian sociologist and organizational theorist, and a professor at thSchool of Project Management University of Sydney. Prior to joining the University of Sydney he was Distinguished Pro ...
commented that the book "exemplifies in many ways what is distinctive about Flyvbjerg’s work, as densely textured, ethnographically detailed, and theoretically acute".
Readership
''Rationality and Power: Democracy in Practice'' is widely read and cited, with more than 3,500 citations o
Google Scholar making it one of the most cited books in urban planning and management, and winning Bent Flyvbjerg the title of
Key Thinker on Cities
See also
*
Power (social and political)
In social science and politics, power is the social production of an effect that determines the capacities, actions, beliefs, or conduct of actors. Power does not exclusively refer to the threat or use of force ( coercion) by one actor agains ...
*
Rule according to higher law
*
Making Social Science Matter
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rationality And Power
1998 non-fiction books
Political science books
Sociology books
University of Chicago Press books