"Il dibattito intorno all’idea di fraternità. Prospettive di ricerca politologica"

Abstract: Contemporary political sciences present a double aspect: on the one hand, we have a wealth of knowledge and a complexity of methods and languages with, at the same time, a continuous influx of new voices within a globalized debate; and, on the other hand, it is notable that the political sciences are often unable to communicate among themselves; still less do they reach an integrated view. It almost seems as if theoretical reflection has interiorized the fragmentation – of material interests, of constellations of power, of “world visions” – that exists in reality and that tends to impose itself as a paradigm of thought. Faced with such a situation, there is a need to develop a critique of purely functional thought and to be open to a form of research that tends towards recuperating a sense of the social reality as a whole; and to thus accept the challenge of contemporary complexity. An ever more central theme of major interest in this debate that takes up this challenge, and that in recent years has been addressed by an increasing number of scholars, is that of fraternity. This article briefly outlines the characteristics of such scholarship, its methodology and the issues involved, looking at what has been achieved so far, the difficulties faced and the various problematics brought to light by the international and interdisciplinary debate.