Artists, Civil Servants and Academics as Politicians

Abstract

The panel will address a question that has been, at least since Max Weber’s writings, on the agenda of political science and political sociology: the relationship professionals have with politics. A key issue is their conversion into either professional politicians or political activists and public intellectuals. Examples of these are numerous and include professors of IR becoming presidents of the European Commission (Manuel Barroso), or academics getting engaged in social movements (Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu) or in political debates, like Jürgen Habermas concerning the future of the EU. Artists and civil servants have, in many contexts and at different times, taken an active part in politics as revolutionaries or cabinet ministers. Under what conditions do these conversions take place? What are the links between political culture and political engagement?

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