Politiessuch

Politiessuch is a coined term used in political theory to describe a family of political arrangements that emphasizes distributed, multi-actor governance over centralized sovereignty. The word combines polity with the demonstrative such to signal a generic class of polities characterized by shared features rather than a single institutional form.

Usage and scope: In scholarly discussions, politiessuch is invoked as a heuristic for examining polities that combine bounded territoriality with high degrees of local autonomy and significant influence from non-state actors, supranational bodies, or informal networks. Examples cited in some essays include loosely integrated confederations, city-regional networks, or federations with flexible competencies. The term is not tied to any one model; rather, it marks a research focus on how authority is distributed and exercised across multiple centers.

Origin and reception: The term has appeared in limited, mainly theoretical contexts since the 2010s and remains relatively obscure. It is treated by proponents as a descriptive convenience rather than a formal typology and is often contrasted with traditional, centralized polities.

Criticism: Critics argue that politiessuch risks vague boundaries and conceptual overlap with existing terms such as polycentric governance, federation, or network polity. Proponents respond that the term helps foreground multi-actor power dynamics and policy diffusion in complex political landscapes.

See also: polity, polycentric governance, federation, city-state.