A pragmatic and sequential analysis. closures and reopenings of public disputes

This paper articulates a pragmatic perspective with an historical analysis. Some concepts of pragmatic sociology (test, capacities, devices) are analyzed from a sequential perspective of a public dispute. This theoretical discussion will be illustrated from the teaching conflict analysis in Argentina between 1987-1999. During that period, the national dispute was expressed more intensely for three lapses: 1987-1989, about a claim for collective bargaining, 1992-1994, about the discussion of an education law and 1997-1999, about a public vindication by an education funding.

Conceptually, this article links the closures of the dispute to its possible reopening. The first link modalities of closures to the situation of disputes. Each situation involves a network of potential closures. In our case, we propose three situations: a) a corporate dispute (1987-1989), b) a parliamentary dispute (1992-1994) and c) a dispute on the street (1997-1999). They point out that closing procedures corresponding to each contention situation. The second analysis is aimed at reopening of disputes, provided that they are linked intimately to the last closure. At one point, the closure of the conflict provides a broad spectrum of competence/incompetence of collectifs and visibility/invisibility of devices. This state of appeasement at the time of reopening, serves as a map of the conflict and can use this distribution of collectifs and devices as the key to analysis of future disputes.