Politics is a peculiar subject for theoretical study for one key reason: in it, our intuitive conception of the world is often reversed. Our basic understanding of reality tells us that there is an objectively existing outside world, which we try to grasp the best we can. Yet, more often than not, the situation is exactly the opposite in politics. Political reality is largely constituted by our collective perceptions. It is our understanding that creates reality, not the other way around.
The existence of nations can serve as a good example here. Nations are undoubtedly one of the key features of the present political world. Yet, there are no objective criteria distinguishing one nation from the other. The only reason why, for example, the Germans and the Austrians constitute two different nations, despite enormous cultural similarity, is that they see themselves as such, for historically contingent reasons. Some philosophers, notably Benedict Anderson, thus talk of nations as “imagined communities”. Perception goes first and reality follows. “Objective facts” play no role here.
This basic insight is true especially in the context of political legitimacy. If a government is widely seen as illegitimate by the population, then its claim to power necessarily weakens. Imposing a rule on an unwilling population creates a volatile situation where peaceful execution of political power might become impossible. It is, again, the perception of illegitimacy that creates its own reality.
This is the perspective from which we should analyse the recent storming of the US Capitol. In the minds of the protesters, their actions were fully justified, as they were fighting against stolen elections that unseated a legitimate government. The “objective facts” of course tell a different story. However, political perceptions create their own reality. If most supporters of Donald Trump now believe that the current administration came to power by a fraud, then the legitimacy of the government is deeply shaken, no matter how free and fair the elections were.
What the long-term consequences of this troubling fact will be is impossible to tell. Yet, it is certainly true that Donald Trump understands this peculiar nature of politics better than most.
Matej Cíbik