THE SOCIOLOGICAL LAZARUS EFFECT AND THE SUSTAINABILITY DILEMMA: A THEORETICAL ANALYSIS ON MECHANISMS OF STRUCTURAL DESPAIR

Hilmi Ataliç

Abstract


The study uses theoretical and conceptual analysis to turn the medical Lazarus Effect into a sociological metaphor: the Sociological Lazarus Effect (SLE). This metaphor helps build a new theoretical framework by integrating social theories such as Durkheim’s anomie, Gramsci’s hegemony, and Snyder’s hope theory. The theory suggests societal despair is a layered structural obstacle, halting collective action. Instead of producing empirical data, the study creates a model to show why a sustained SLE is unfeasible. Three key structural mechanisms—cognitive closure, erosion of social capital, and structural nihilism—undermine collective agency and prolong hopelessness. Findings indicate that while spontaneous SLE is theoretically possible in complex social systems, sustainable transformation through collective reaction is largely impossible due to structural paralysis. Instead of expecting a macro-miracle, attention should turn to building Counter-Hegemonic Hope from the grassroots, aiming to restore collective will and trust.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter


Keywords


sociological Lazarus effect, counter-hegemonic hope, structural despair, collective agency paralysis, cognitive closure, social capital erosion

Full Text:

PDF

References


a. Journals

Adhiyaman, V., Adhiyaman, S., & Sundaram, R. (2007). The Lazarus phenomenon. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 100(12), 552–557. https://doi.org/10.1177/0141076807100012013

Adhiyaman, V., & Sundaram, R. (2002). The Lazarus phenomenon. J R Coll Physicians Edinb, 32, 9–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1478271520023201009

Brashers, D. E., Neidig, J. L., Cardillo, L. W., Dobbs, L. K., Russell, J. A., & Haas, S. M. (1999). 'In an important way, I did die': Uncertainty and revival in persons living with HIV or AIDS. AIDS Care, 11, 201–219. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540129948090

Çelikkaya, S., & Atila, M. (2020). Göç ve kalkınma ilişkisine yönelik bir inceleme: Web of Science veri tabanına dayalı bibliyometrik ağ analizi. Karadeniz Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 12(23), 350–367. https://doi.org/10.38155/ksbd.797055

Çevikbaş, S. (2011). Nietzsche ve Nihilizm-Avrupa Nihilizmin Tarihi: Tarihsel Bir Yazgı Olarak Nihilizm. Atatürk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 15, 69-82. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/32259

Drury, J., & Reicher, S. (2000). Collective action and psychological change: The emergence of new social identities. Political Psychology, 21(3), 569-588. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466600164642

Ellemers, N. (1993). The influence of socio-structural variables on identity management strategies. European Review of Social Psychology, 4(1), 27–57. https://doi.org/10.1080/14792779343000013

Gushue, G. V., & Brazaitis, S. J. (2003). The group counseling experience of persons living with HIV/AIDS and focusing on issues of vocational identity. Group Psychology.

Hornby, K., Hornby, L., & Shemie, S. D. (2010). A systematic review of autoresuscitation after cardiac arrest. Critical Care Medicine, 38(5), 1246–1253. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1097/ccm.0b013e3181d8caaa

Keyder, N. (2022). Türkiye'nin kriz deneyimleri: 1994, 2000-2001, 2008-2009 ve 2018-2022 krizleri. İktisat ve Toplum Dergisi, (141).

Kruglanski, A. W. (1996). Motivated social cognition: The need for closure. Psychological Inquiry, 7(3), 263-300. https://doi.org/10.1006/jesp.1996.0012

Mahoney, J. (2000). Path dependence in historical sociology. Theory and Society, 29, 507–548. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/3108585

Pecchenino, R. A. (2015). Have we cause for despair? Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 58, 56–62. Retrieved from https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/8505/1/1-s2.0-S2214804315000932-main.pdf

Rasmussen, L. M., & Richey, L. A. (2012). The Lazarus Effect of AIDS treatment: Lessons learned and lives saved. World Health & Population, 13(3), 187-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/10428232.2012.717249

Rosenau, J. N. (2004). The turbulence of world politics: An assessment. Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations, 10(4), 405–423. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/turbulenceinworl0000rose

Schneiberg, M. (2007). Institutional change and the legacy of the paths not taken. American Sociological Review, 72(4), 539–564.

Snyder, C. R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13(4), 249-275. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1304_01

Taşçı, Z., & Öztürk, O. (2022). Siyasal kutuplaşmanın toplumsal güven ve sosyal mesafe üzerindeki yıkıcı etkisi: Türkiye örneği. Siyaset Bilimi ve Kamu Yönetimi Dergisi, 5(2), 201-224.

ter Borg, M. B. (1988). The problem of nihilism: A sociological approach. Sociological Analysis, 49(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.2307/3711099

Webster, D. M., & Kruglanski, A. W. (1994). Individual differences in the need for cognitive closure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(6), 1049-1062. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.67.6.1049

Wright, C., Nyberg, D., & De Cock, C. (n.d.). Crises and the resurgence of state intervention. Organization Studies.

b. Books

Bartlett, C. A., & Ghoshal, S. (2002). Managing across borders: The transnational solution. Harvard Business School Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Managing_Across_Borders.html?id=KYjHMVuNOAwC&redir_esc=y

Brehm, J., & Rahn, W. (1997). Individual and collective action: The role of social trust and political efficacy. American Political Science Review, 91(3), 701-717. Retrieved from https://faculty.washington.edu/matsueda/courses/590/Readings/Brehm%20and%20Rahn%20AJPS%201997.pdf

Durkheim, É. (1893). De la division du travail social. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/deladivisiondutr00durkuoft

Foucault, M. (2009). Security, territory, population: Lectures at the Collège de France 1977–1978. Picador. Retrieved from https://mirror.explodie.org/Foucault-Security-Territory-Population.pdf

Gramsci, A. (1997). Selections from the prison notebooks (Q. Hoare & G. Nowell Smith, Eds. & Trans.). International Publishers. (Özgün çalışma 1929–1935 tarihlerinde yayınlandı). Retrieved from https://ia600506.us.archive.org/19/items/AntonioGramsciSelectionsFromThePrisonNotebooks/Antonio-Gramsci-Selections-from-the-Prison-Notebooks.pdf

Hardin, R. (1982). Collective action. RFF Press. Retrieved from https://www.routledge.com/Collective-Action/Hardin/p/book/9780801828195

Jevons, W. S. (1871). The theory of political economy. Macmillan and Co. Retrieved from https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/jevons-the-theory-of-political-economy

Kövecses, Z. (2002). Metaphor: A practical introduction. Oxford University Press. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/book/48390

Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago Press. Retrieved from https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo3637992.html

Lazarus, N. (2014). The postcolonial unconscious. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511902628

Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_215

Linko, K., Honkavaara, P., & Salmenpera, M. (1982). Recovery after discontinued cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Lancet, 1(8263), 106–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(82)90242-2

Musacchio, A., Lazzarini, S. G., & Aguilera, R. V. (2015). New state capitalism: The rise of state-owned enterprises as global players. Harvard University Press.

Olson, M. (1965). The logic of collective action: Public goods and the theory of groups. Harvard University Press. Retrieved from https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674537514

Parkinson, C. N. (1996). Parkinson yasası ve diğer çalışmalar. Formül Yayınları.

Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. Simon & Schuster. https://doi.org/10.1145/358916.361990

Sawyer, R. K. (2005). Social emergence: Societies as complex systems. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://assets.cambridge.org/97805218/44642/excerpt/9780521844642_excerpt.pdf

Scott, W. R. (1992). Organizations: Rational, natural, and open systems. Prentice-Hall. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393090

c. Reports

Lorenz, E. N. (1972). Predictability: Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas? (Paper presented at the 139th meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science). American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, D.C. Retrieved from https://static.gymportalen.dk/sites/lru.dk/files/lru/132_kap6_lorenz_artikel_the_butterfly_effect.pdf

TİHV (Türkiye İnsan Hakları Vakfı). (2015). Ulusal önleme mekanizması değerlendirme raporu (Aralık 2015). TİHV Dokümantasyon Merkezi. https://tihv.org.tr/ozel-raporlar-ve-degerlendirmeler/ulusal-onleme-mekanizmasi-degerlendirme-raporu-aralik-2015/




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejsss.v11i5.2069

Copyright (c) 2025 Hilmi Ataliç

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The research works published in this journal are free to be accessed. They can be shared (copied and redistributed in any medium or format) and\or adapted (remixed, transformed, and built upon the material for any purpose, commercially and\or not commercially) under the following terms: attribution (appropriate credit must be given indicating original authors, research work name and publication name mentioning if changes were made) and without adding additional restrictions (without restricting others from doing anything the actual license permits). Authors retain the full copyright of their published research works and cannot revoke these freedoms as long as the license terms are followed.

Copyright © 2016 - 2026. European Journal Of Social Sciences Studies (ISSN 2501-8590) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library. All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms. All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and standards formulated by Budapest Open Access Initiative (2002), the Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing (2003) and  Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities (2003) and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Copyrights of the published research works are retained by authors.