Fictive Politics

No systematic framework exists to analyze the different forms of fictions in politics. We develop the concept of fictive politics to illuminate how actors simulate selective, alternative, or entirely fictional representations of reality while dissimulating incompatible facts. We distinguish three ideal types: deceptions, where audiences are unaware that they are facing a fiction; veiled facts, where audiences suspect a fiction but choose not to probe it; and open fictions, where audiences are fully aware that they are witnessing a fiction. We show that fictions answer critical political needs, including maintaining systems of domination, managing conflicts between competing interests and values, and facilitating cooperation between state and society.