О књизи „Политика као уметност илузије” пише др Дејан Јовановић

Часопис за друштвене науке НАУКА И ДРУШТВО

пише: др Дејан Јовановић, Факултет политичких наука, Београд

DRAGAN SIMEUNOVIĆ, „POLITICS AS THE ART OF ILLUSION”

Here is a book discovering the curtain behind which a wizard is hiding, but also more than that. It provides an insight into the man’s rule over man technology. It clarifies the platform that carries the content of the illusionist, explains the ways of communicating that content, as well as the effects of the successful deception and illusion. And to make the subject of the research more complex, we assert that the scientific contribution of this capital work lays, firstly, in the paradigm of realism. The secret of the highest level of mastery of how dreams turn into reality. The work before us is not a normative-ontological debate, but a tangible model of the state-political machinery and its managers, being close to material realism. The book “Politics as the Art of Illusion” is an indicator of the measurement standard of post-Marxist realism in Serbian political science. The name of this absolute measurement of success in perceiving reality in the political sphere is the author of the book – Prof. Dragan Simeunović.
The book is introduced by the Preface authored by Prof. Dragan Stanić (Ivan Negrišorac). We highlight the lessons in the text that make us aware of the importance of the concept of illusion in postmodernity. The lessons instruct not only the readers, but also members of the social elite in Serbia to create an organizational infrastructure that could absorb and apply the political thought of the author of the book. According to Stanić, such an application would be “safeguarding”. We agree with this assessment.
The book consists of four chapters and almost 500 pages. The first part is introductory and explains the concept of politics. The second part relates to the means of politics, and the third, most extensive part to a very fundamental explanation of the entire political sphere. This part offers a basic presentation of the theory of politics as a discipline to the reader. The fourth part is entitled “The Big Scene” and presents an analysis of the Serbian national question in an international context. This analysis focuses on the Yugoslav idea, Serbia’s relations with Russia, the phenomenon of collective guilt, globalization, and territorial borders.
In the first part, the author introduces the concept of politics starting from pre-politics and the origin of politics. Even before man appeared, in the world of nature, hierarchy and leadership existed in the animal world. Following the conscious activity of man on the historical scene, the politics appeared. It was in the form of the first communities of interest such as the polis, urbs or parish. The ability of a community to close within itself gives politics a security dimension. What’s more, this dimension determines politics through the construction of the first rampart of the polis, as the first public property and the first public affair (res publica). The paradigmatic transition from a normative concept of politics to a modern one is illuminated by the accounts of the historical role of such scholars as Aristotle and Machiavelli. Reflections on these topics function as an indispensable theoretical basis to explain the concept of illusion in politics. The state as an institution is the first stage for an illusionist in politics. The state is the first institutional framework for mass communication of political illusion. The foundations of such communication can be found in the oldest civilizations such as ancient Egypt. Political illusion as a manifestation and deception is the main instrument of manipulation to gain power and maintain power. Hence, it might be perceived as a tool with the same level of efficiency as the force. Those two phenomena, being of the same level, have mutual connections. When the illusion starts losing its power, the force takes its place as an instrument of maintaining the power. Although it is the end of the illusion, it is not the end of the fantasy. The deception of illusion returns in the form that Simeunović calls “counter-illusion”.
In the second part of the book, Dragan Simeunović adds respect, dream and lie to the instruments of politics in addition to political illusion and force. Respectfully towards the respect, the author points to the security dimension of this phenomenon, arguing with Alfred Adler’s concepts. Thus, Simeunović asks a research question: “Does the human desire to be respected stem predominantly from narcissism or perhaps from the need to protect ourselves and thus, from the survival instinct? Adler even believes that there is a special drive for respect.”
Answering to the question, he proves the hypothetical position that man’s need to be respected is equally caused by innate narcissism and the need to be safe.
The historical, but also contemporary, need of man to interpret the dream implies human need to see their future. Fearing an uncertain future, man needs to predict upcoming events. By interpreting Adler, Simeunović indicates man’s need to act in daily life as if he knows what the future brings, so that he can be as prepared as possible. Accordingly, the significance of dreams remains important for politics, too, because the irrational always interferes in making the decisions that should be rational.
Further explaining political illusion in this part, Simeunović looks back at Socrates, Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas Aquinas, Jovan Dučić, to clarify man’s innate need for illusion. Explaining the need, he also describes the conditional relation that man has towards the truth, and above all towards the truth about himself. This book shows the reader that illusion is necessary to make one’s live easier and happier. The principle of this necessity exists both at the individual and general level.
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In the third part, the author offers an extensive analysis of the entire political sphere, particularly through the lens of political illusion. The chapter on the state takes us through the dichotomy of legitimizing and non-legitimizing concepts of the state. The state in its normative-ontological and philosophical understanding is a means to achieve the common good. Through the concept of the common good, set in such a principle, one enters the field of political illusions and manipulations. The legal determination of the state is viewed primarily through the paradigm of theories about the social contract and theories about the state of nature.
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The book “Politics as the Art of Illusion” by Prof. Dragan Simeunović is a major scholarly piece, a new crown of the magnificent academic career of the great Serbian political scientist. Our strongest impression is the author’s ability to combine scholarly and social contributions in one book through a study that addresses equally the academic and general public. Therefore, we would rate this book as enlightening because it has the potential to edify every reader, regardless of their education. It has been written in a language clear to everyone, communicating new insights into old knowledge. We would return to the wise message of Ivan Negrišorc that the political elite in Serbia is obliged to create adequate social infrastructures that would enable dissemination of the author’s political ideas to the benefit of the national security and Serbian national identity.

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