Ruling Oneself Out: A Theory of Collective Abdications
- Book
- 2008
What induces groups to commit political suicide? This book explores the decisions to surrender power and to legitimate this surrender: collective abdications. Commonsensical explana...
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Number of Pages: 440
ISBN: 0822341646
ISBN-13: 9780822341642
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Jason Scott Montoya @JasonSMontoya
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Aug 4, 2023
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Jason Scott Montoya @JasonSMontoya
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Sep 9, 2023
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“Abdication is different from surrender. It is surrender that legitimizes one's surrender. It implies a statement of irrelevance. When the act is collective, the statement is about the group that makes the decision. The group dismisses itself. It surrenders its fate and agrees to do so, thereby justifying its subservience. This broad characterization sets the problem. Why would a group legitimize its own subservience and, in doing so, abdicate its capacity for self-preservation?”