POLITICAL MYTH, RITUAL AND UTOPIA. CONCEPTUAL LIMITS AND GREY ZONES

Abstract

Much of contemporary political science can approach only partially political phenomena because of the denying of the relevance heuristics that categories such as political myth, ritual and utopia can bring. Imaginary constraints important to understand the legitimacy to a particular government, the ability to articulate identity and the possibility to give a meaning to political experience. In this paper we introduce the study of three categories: political myth, utopia and political rite, from a historical reading of the development of these concepts, defining its borders analytical endeavor, the source of the confusion, and those areas where each blend.