Potentializing physical violenceHistorical Sociology of Polizei and Sozialstaat from a system theoretical perspective

Abstract Violence as a means of threatening the life and health of others is the foundation of power structures. According to a system theoretical understanding, however, physical violence becomes the basis for the power medium only when it is potentialized as a possibility for the political system. This potential threat contributes to the exodus of the political system through the formation of political organizations. This paper examines this hypothesis about violence and the political system from a historical, sociological perspective. I analyzed semantically the significance of Polizei, whose scope is said to have been limited from various governance practices, including welfare to the maintenance of security since the 19th century, in the development of labor protection policy, which was a precondition for the formation of the modern German welfare state. On the one hand, the work of the police in social policy was clearly distinguished from welfare on the level of political semantics; on the other hand, the appearance of other professionals made it possible for the police to continue to be involved in a wide range of social policy. These empirical findings show that the semantic differentiation of the political system with the potentialization of violence does not mean irrelevance and indifference to the environment; rather, it expands the scope of interest and makes it possible to relate to a more diverse range of subjects.