Oliver Nachtwey
Biographic Data
| ID | 296527 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Oliver Nachtwey |
| GIVEN NAMES | Oliver |
| FAMILY NAME | Nachtwey |
| SIGNATURE | NACHTWEY O |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Basel |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6246-1692 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 28 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 24 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Varieties of Destructiveness: A Frommian Perspective on Anti-Democratic Affects
Contemporary liberal democracies are seeing a surge of nihilistic violent extremism, a form of hostility that existing theories of political violence struggle to explain. This article argues that Erich Fromm's neglected social-psychological theory of destructiveness offers crucial resources for understanding this phenomenon. We revisit and systematically update Fromm's distinction between reactive and malignant destructiveness, situating it withi…
Alienation in the Algorithmic Labour of Search Engine Optimisation Specialists
The study examines alienation in the labouring activity of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) specialists and probes the role of Google's algorithm in these experiences. Drawing on qualitative interviews, it identifies two forms of alienation. The first form involves powerlessness and insecurity due to managerial control by objectives, making employees responsible for influencing an algorithm beyond their control. The second form, occupational stat…
Building the Future? Software Workers’ Imaginaries of Technology
This article investigates an actor’s perspective on digital capitalism. We study software workers’ orientations towards their work by focusing on the social use value they attribute to it. The concept of use value allows us to examine the contradictions software workers might experience in digital capitalism. Drawing on the literature on the control of software workers and the New Spirit of Digital Capitalism, we identify hindrances to the worker…
The valorization of interactions. Gift exchange, power and value creation on digital platforms
Technology companies are often worth billions, but they still must make their money through advertising. The research literature on the value creation of data-driven platform companies often refers to the expropriation of data or the exploitation of users. This article proposes a relational approach to the understanding of value creation on digital platforms such as social media channels or free internet services. To this end, it combines Marxian…
The Formation and Consolidation of a Motley Crew: A Mixed-Method Overview of Swiss and German Corona Protests
The state response to the covid-19 crisis triggered fierce protests in German-speaking countries. Our study aims to provide an overview of the German and Swiss protest movement by examining the socio-structural make-up and worldviews of members of Corona-skeptical Telegram chats, the public appearance of protests, and the movement's collective identities. Using a mixed-methods approach, we analyzed survey (n = 1089), interview (n = 45), and ethno…
The Solutionist Ethic and the Spirit of Digital Capitalism
Digital technologies are rapidly transforming economies and societies. Scholars have approached this rise of digital capitalism from various angles. However, relatively little attention has been paid to digital capitalism's cultural underpinnings and the beliefs of those who develop most digital technologies. In this paper, we argue that a solutionist order of worth - in which value derives from solving social problems through technology - has be…
RPC-Lex: A dictionary to measure German right-wing populist conspiracy discourse online
We describe a novel computational dictionary for the study of right-wing populist conspiracy discourse ( RPC) on the internet, specifically in the context of contemporary German politics. After first presenting our definition of conspiracy discourse and grounding it in antecedent research on mediated rhetoric at the intersection of right-wing populism and conspiracy theory, we proceed by outlining our approach to dictionary construction, relying …
Ungleicher Gabentausch – User-Interaktionen und Wertschöpfung auf digitalen Plattformen
In diesem Artikel schlagen wir einen relationalen Ansatz zum Verständnis der Wertschöpfung auf digitalen Plattformen wie Social-Media-Kanälen oder kostenlosen Internetdienstleistungen vor. Dabei kombinieren wir Ansätze der Marx’schen und anthropologischen Werttheorie in innovativer Weise und machen sie für ein Verständnis der digitalen Ökonomie fruchtbar. Demnach handelt es sich bei den Interaktionen der Plattform-User nicht, wie verschiedentlich…
Die Proteste gegen die Corona-Maßnahmen: Eine soziologische Annäherung
In den deutschsprachigen Gesellschaften sind bezüglich der Deutung einer pandemischen Lage und des richtigen Umgangs mit der Pandemie politische Konflikte entstanden. Das empirische Forschungsprojekt „Politische Soziologie der Corona-Proteste“ zeigt auf, dass es trotz motivationaler, inhaltlicher und weltanschaulicher Heterogenität dieser Protestbewegung eine zentrale verbindende Gemeinsamkeit gibt: Die Teilnehmer*innen und Sympathisant*innen der…
La société du déclassement: La contestation à l'ère de la modernité régressive
La possibilité d’une mobilité sociale ascendante était l’une des promesses phares de l’Allemagne d’après-guerre – une promesse tenue pendant un temps : la Coccinelle a laissé place à l’Audi, les enfants d’artisans sont devenus ingénieurs, de nombreux citoyens ont pu accéder au rêve d’une maison avec jardin. Mais aujourd’hui, l’ascenseur social semble enrayé : un diplôme universitaire n’est plus une garantie de statut ni de sécurité, les contrats …
Politische Soziologie der Corona-Proteste
In the research project "Political Sociology of the Corona Protests", researchers from the Department of Sociology at the University of Basel are empirically investigating the current Corona protests in Switzerland and Germany. The aim of the research is to analyse the motivation, values and beliefs of the participants in rallies, actions and demonstrations directed against the corona-related measures.In order to be able to comprehensively invest…
The transformation of Industrial Citizenship in the course of European integration
The question of the social dimension of European integration has so far remained unsettled. While on the European level, the civil and political dimension of citizenship has been strengthened, the evolution of economic and social rights are unclear, contradictory—and still under‐investigated. Our contribution applies citizenship as a central category of modernization theory to inquire into European integration. In particular, our focus is set on …
Form, function, comparison
Der Wandel von Economic Citizenship im Zuge der europäischen Integration
Die Frage nach dem sozialen Gehalt der europäischen Integration ist nach wie vor ungeklärt. Während auf europäischer Ebene die zivilen und politischen Dimensionen von „Citizenship“ gestärkt wurden, sind gerade hinsichtlich der ökonomischen und sozialen Rechte die Entwicklungen uneindeutig, widersprüchlich – und noch wenig erforscht. Der vorliegende Text überträgt Citizenship als zentrale Kategorie der Modernisierungstheorie auf die Erforschung de…
Germany's Hidden Crisis: Social Decline in the Heart of Europe
An excellent study of how neoliberalism is causing a crisis in Germany One of the German-speaking world's leading young sociologists lays out modern Germany's social and political crisis and its implications for the future of the European hegemon. Upward social mobility represented a core promise of life under the "old" West German welfare state, in which millions of skilled workers upgraded their VWs to Audis, bought their first homes, and sent …
Das Volk gegen die (liberale) Demokratie: Leviathan Sonderband 32 | 2017
Pegida, politische Gelegenheitsstrukturen und der neue Autoritarismus
PEGIDA wird in diesem Beitrag nicht
Market and Labour Control in Digital Capitalism
Theorists of post capitalism have recently argued for a more or less inevitable end to capitalism. They assume that private accumulation is systematically blocked by the inability of capitalist corporations to create revenues by setting prices as they lose control over the reproduction of their commodities and that in this process, capitalist labour will eventually disappear. Drawing on a case study of Amazon and thoughts on the policies of other…
Marx Für SozialwissenschaftlerInnen: Eine Einführung
Industrial Relations, Trade Unions and Social Conflict in German Capitalism
Ten years ago the German economy was regarded as the “sick man of Europe”. It was during the current financial crises that this view has changed dramatically, since Germany has seemingly performed better than most other European countries since 2008; this is why the German economy is nowadays presented as a role model for reforms. The article analyses the transformations in the system of Industrial Relations in German capitalism since the reunifi…
Temporary Employment
Market Social Democracy: The Transformation of the SPD up to 2007
The article analyses the changes within German social democracy up to the passing of the SPD's new party programme in 2007. It argues that social democracy has transformed itself from Keynesian into market social democracy'. The comparison takes place by means of a policy analysis in the fields of labour and social, as well as financial, policies. Furthermore, the policy comparison facilitates an analysis of the rationality of the political econo…
Marktsozialdemokratie: Die Transformation Von SPD und Labour Party
SPD und Labour Party haben sich in der letzten Dekade grundlegend gewandelt. Die klassische Sozialdemokratie erkannte die Märkte an, wollte aber das Soziale vor den MÃ1⁄4hlen des Marktes auf Distanz halten. Sie zweifelte an den Fähigkeiten des Marktes, soziale Gerechtigkeit und gesellschaftlichen Ausgleich zu garantieren. Deshalb wollte man seine Macht begrenzen, seine Auswirkungen korrigieren und seine Entwicklung steuern. Die Marktsozialdemokra…
Lost in Transition: The German World-Market Debate in the 1970s
The persistence of economic and geopolitical conflicts beyond the 1990s has revived interest in explanations that analyse international conflicts in relation to capitalism. In this debate, many contributors have accepted one or another version of a strong globalisation theory, which reflects the hopes for an age of peace and prosperity as a largely co-operative process. This paper attempts to question this thesis by introducing an almost forgotte…
Political Opportunity Structures and the Success of the German Left Party in 2005
The “Linkspartei”, an electoral alliance of the former communist PDS and the social democratic splinter WASG, scored 8.7% of the vote and managed to gain parliamentary representation at the German Federal Election of 2005. As this is the most significant electoral appearance of a party of the non-social democratic left in Germany since Weimar times, our article addresses the question of the underlying social and political conditions. To analyse t…
The Solutionist Ethic and the Spirit of Digital Capitalism
Digital technologies are rapidly transforming economies and societies. Scholars have approached this rise of digital capitalism from various angles. However, relatively little attention has been paid to digital capitalism's cultural underpinnings and the beliefs of those who develop most digital technologies. In this paper, we argue that a solutionist order of worth - in which value derives from solving social problems through technology - has be…
Market Social Democracy: The Transformation of the SPD up to 2007
The article analyses the changes within German social democracy up to the passing of the SPD's new party programme in 2007. It argues that social democracy has transformed itself from Keynesian into market social democracy'. The comparison takes place by means of a policy analysis in the fields of labour and social, as well as financial, policies. Furthermore, the policy comparison facilitates an analysis of the rationality of the political econo…
Alienation in the Algorithmic Labour of Search Engine Optimisation Specialists
The study examines alienation in the labouring activity of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) specialists and probes the role of Google's algorithm in these experiences. Drawing on qualitative interviews, it identifies two forms of alienation. The first form involves powerlessness and insecurity due to managerial control by objectives, making employees responsible for influencing an algorithm beyond their control. The second form, occupational stat…
The transformation of Industrial Citizenship in the course of European integration
The question of the social dimension of European integration has so far remained unsettled. While on the European level, the civil and political dimension of citizenship has been strengthened, the evolution of economic and social rights are unclear, contradictory—and still under‐investigated. Our contribution applies citizenship as a central category of modernization theory to inquire into European integration. In particular, our focus is set on …
Der Wandel von Economic Citizenship im Zuge der europäischen Integration
Die Frage nach dem sozialen Gehalt der europäischen Integration ist nach wie vor ungeklärt. Während auf europäischer Ebene die zivilen und politischen Dimensionen von „Citizenship“ gestärkt wurden, sind gerade hinsichtlich der ökonomischen und sozialen Rechte die Entwicklungen uneindeutig, widersprüchlich – und noch wenig erforscht. Der vorliegende Text überträgt Citizenship als zentrale Kategorie der Modernisierungstheorie auf die Erforschung de…
Lost in Transition: The German World-Market Debate in the 1970s
The persistence of economic and geopolitical conflicts beyond the 1990s has revived interest in explanations that analyse international conflicts in relation to capitalism. In this debate, many contributors have accepted one or another version of a strong globalisation theory, which reflects the hopes for an age of peace and prosperity as a largely co-operative process. This paper attempts to question this thesis by introducing an almost forgotte…
Political Opportunity Structures and the Success of the German Left Party in 2005
The “Linkspartei”, an electoral alliance of the former communist PDS and the social democratic splinter WASG, scored 8.7% of the vote and managed to gain parliamentary representation at the German Federal Election of 2005. As this is the most significant electoral appearance of a party of the non-social democratic left in Germany since Weimar times, our article addresses the question of the underlying social and political conditions. To analyse t…
Political Opportunity Structures and the Success of the German Left Party in 2005
The “Linkspartei”, an electoral alliance of the former communist PDS and the social democratic splinter WASG, scored 8.7% of the vote and managed to gain parliamentary representation at the German Federal Election of 2005. As this is the most significant electoral appearance of a party of the non-social democratic left in Germany since Weimar times, our article addresses the question of the underlying social and political conditions. To analyse t…
Lost in Transition: The German World-Market Debate in the 1970s
The persistence of economic and geopolitical conflicts beyond the 1990s has revived interest in explanations that analyse international conflicts in relation to capitalism. In this debate, many contributors have accepted one or another version of a strong globalisation theory, which reflects the hopes for an age of peace and prosperity as a largely co-operative process. This paper attempts to question this thesis by introducing an almost forgotte…
Marktsozialdemokratie: Die Transformation Von SPD und Labour Party
SPD und Labour Party haben sich in der letzten Dekade grundlegend gewandelt. Die klassische Sozialdemokratie erkannte die Märkte an, wollte aber das Soziale vor den MÃ1⁄4hlen des Marktes auf Distanz halten. Sie zweifelte an den Fähigkeiten des Marktes, soziale Gerechtigkeit und gesellschaftlichen Ausgleich zu garantieren. Deshalb wollte man seine Macht begrenzen, seine Auswirkungen korrigieren und seine Entwicklung steuern. Die Marktsozialdemokra…
Industrial Relations, Trade Unions and Social Conflict in German Capitalism
Ten years ago the German economy was regarded as the “sick man of Europe”. It was during the current financial crises that this view has changed dramatically, since Germany has seemingly performed better than most other European countries since 2008; this is why the German economy is nowadays presented as a role model for reforms. The article analyses the transformations in the system of Industrial Relations in German capitalism since the reunifi…
Temporary Employment
Market Social Democracy: The Transformation of the SPD up to 2007
The article analyses the changes within German social democracy up to the passing of the SPD's new party programme in 2007. It argues that social democracy has transformed itself from Keynesian into market social democracy'. The comparison takes place by means of a policy analysis in the fields of labour and social, as well as financial, policies. Furthermore, the policy comparison facilitates an analysis of the rationality of the political econo…
Marx Für SozialwissenschaftlerInnen: Eine Einführung
Pegida, politische Gelegenheitsstrukturen und der neue Autoritarismus
PEGIDA wird in diesem Beitrag nicht
Market and Labour Control in Digital Capitalism
Theorists of post capitalism have recently argued for a more or less inevitable end to capitalism. They assume that private accumulation is systematically blocked by the inability of capitalist corporations to create revenues by setting prices as they lose control over the reproduction of their commodities and that in this process, capitalist labour will eventually disappear. Drawing on a case study of Amazon and thoughts on the policies of other…
Das Volk gegen die (liberale) Demokratie: Leviathan Sonderband 32 | 2017
Germany's Hidden Crisis: Social Decline in the Heart of Europe
An excellent study of how neoliberalism is causing a crisis in Germany One of the German-speaking world's leading young sociologists lays out modern Germany's social and political crisis and its implications for the future of the European hegemon. Upward social mobility represented a core promise of life under the "old" West German welfare state, in which millions of skilled workers upgraded their VWs to Audis, bought their first homes, and sent …
Der Wandel von Economic Citizenship im Zuge der europäischen Integration
Die Frage nach dem sozialen Gehalt der europäischen Integration ist nach wie vor ungeklärt. Während auf europäischer Ebene die zivilen und politischen Dimensionen von „Citizenship“ gestärkt wurden, sind gerade hinsichtlich der ökonomischen und sozialen Rechte die Entwicklungen uneindeutig, widersprüchlich – und noch wenig erforscht. Der vorliegende Text überträgt Citizenship als zentrale Kategorie der Modernisierungstheorie auf die Erforschung de…
La société du déclassement: La contestation à l'ère de la modernité régressive
La possibilité d’une mobilité sociale ascendante était l’une des promesses phares de l’Allemagne d’après-guerre – une promesse tenue pendant un temps : la Coccinelle a laissé place à l’Audi, les enfants d’artisans sont devenus ingénieurs, de nombreux citoyens ont pu accéder au rêve d’une maison avec jardin. Mais aujourd’hui, l’ascenseur social semble enrayé : un diplôme universitaire n’est plus une garantie de statut ni de sécurité, les contrats …
Politische Soziologie der Corona-Proteste
In the research project "Political Sociology of the Corona Protests", researchers from the Department of Sociology at the University of Basel are empirically investigating the current Corona protests in Switzerland and Germany. The aim of the research is to analyse the motivation, values and beliefs of the participants in rallies, actions and demonstrations directed against the corona-related measures.In order to be able to comprehensively invest…
The transformation of Industrial Citizenship in the course of European integration
The question of the social dimension of European integration has so far remained unsettled. While on the European level, the civil and political dimension of citizenship has been strengthened, the evolution of economic and social rights are unclear, contradictory—and still under‐investigated. Our contribution applies citizenship as a central category of modernization theory to inquire into European integration. In particular, our focus is set on …
Form, function, comparison
Die Proteste gegen die Corona-Maßnahmen: Eine soziologische Annäherung
In den deutschsprachigen Gesellschaften sind bezüglich der Deutung einer pandemischen Lage und des richtigen Umgangs mit der Pandemie politische Konflikte entstanden. Das empirische Forschungsprojekt „Politische Soziologie der Corona-Proteste“ zeigt auf, dass es trotz motivationaler, inhaltlicher und weltanschaulicher Heterogenität dieser Protestbewegung eine zentrale verbindende Gemeinsamkeit gibt: Die Teilnehmer*innen und Sympathisant*innen der…
RPC-Lex: A dictionary to measure German right-wing populist conspiracy discourse online
We describe a novel computational dictionary for the study of right-wing populist conspiracy discourse ( RPC) on the internet, specifically in the context of contemporary German politics. After first presenting our definition of conspiracy discourse and grounding it in antecedent research on mediated rhetoric at the intersection of right-wing populism and conspiracy theory, we proceed by outlining our approach to dictionary construction, relying …
Ungleicher Gabentausch – User-Interaktionen und Wertschöpfung auf digitalen Plattformen
In diesem Artikel schlagen wir einen relationalen Ansatz zum Verständnis der Wertschöpfung auf digitalen Plattformen wie Social-Media-Kanälen oder kostenlosen Internetdienstleistungen vor. Dabei kombinieren wir Ansätze der Marx’schen und anthropologischen Werttheorie in innovativer Weise und machen sie für ein Verständnis der digitalen Ökonomie fruchtbar. Demnach handelt es sich bei den Interaktionen der Plattform-User nicht, wie verschiedentlich…
Building the Future? Software Workers’ Imaginaries of Technology
This article investigates an actor’s perspective on digital capitalism. We study software workers’ orientations towards their work by focusing on the social use value they attribute to it. The concept of use value allows us to examine the contradictions software workers might experience in digital capitalism. Drawing on the literature on the control of software workers and the New Spirit of Digital Capitalism, we identify hindrances to the worker…
The valorization of interactions. Gift exchange, power and value creation on digital platforms
Technology companies are often worth billions, but they still must make their money through advertising. The research literature on the value creation of data-driven platform companies often refers to the expropriation of data or the exploitation of users. This article proposes a relational approach to the understanding of value creation on digital platforms such as social media channels or free internet services. To this end, it combines Marxian…
The Formation and Consolidation of a Motley Crew: A Mixed-Method Overview of Swiss and German Corona Protests
The state response to the covid-19 crisis triggered fierce protests in German-speaking countries. Our study aims to provide an overview of the German and Swiss protest movement by examining the socio-structural make-up and worldviews of members of Corona-skeptical Telegram chats, the public appearance of protests, and the movement's collective identities. Using a mixed-methods approach, we analyzed survey (n = 1089), interview (n = 45), and ethno…
The Solutionist Ethic and the Spirit of Digital Capitalism
Digital technologies are rapidly transforming economies and societies. Scholars have approached this rise of digital capitalism from various angles. However, relatively little attention has been paid to digital capitalism's cultural underpinnings and the beliefs of those who develop most digital technologies. In this paper, we argue that a solutionist order of worth - in which value derives from solving social problems through technology - has be…
Alienation in the Algorithmic Labour of Search Engine Optimisation Specialists
The study examines alienation in the labouring activity of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) specialists and probes the role of Google's algorithm in these experiences. Drawing on qualitative interviews, it identifies two forms of alienation. The first form involves powerlessness and insecurity due to managerial control by objectives, making employees responsible for influencing an algorithm beyond their control. The second form, occupational stat…
Varieties of Destructiveness: A Frommian Perspective on Anti-Democratic Affects
Contemporary liberal democracies are seeing a surge of nihilistic violent extremism, a form of hostility that existing theories of political violence struggle to explain. This article argues that Erich Fromm's neglected social-psychological theory of destructiveness offers crucial resources for understanding this phenomenon. We revisit and systematically update Fromm's distinction between reactive and malignant destructiveness, situating it withi…
Political science (18 works) · Law (10 works) · Philosophy (10 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Economics (9 works) · Politics (9 works) · Social Policy and Reform Studies (7 works) · Digital Economy and Work Transformation (6 works) · Law (6 works) · Populism, Right-Wing Movements (6 works)