Il concetto di potere nel pensiero di Ju. M. Lotman

The present paper aims at reconstructing Jurij Lotman's notion of power within his theory of the 'semiosphere'. Lotman, founder of modern culturology, is most widely known for his contribution to literary theory; in the last decade, though, he is often quoted in works on political and social science. In an attempt to justify the presence of Lotman in those disciplines, we will try to isolate the most political aspects of his theory, which according to his critics is completely lacking in this regard. The task will be pursued through the reconstruction of the notion of 'power', a pragmatic and political concept, as it emerges from strictly semiotic categories as 'dominant', 'self-description' and 'dialogue'.