Soft Despotism Democracy S Drift

Author : Paul Anthony Rahe
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 399 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2009-01-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780300144925

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Soft Despotism, Democracy's Drift by Paul Anthony Rahe Pdf

In 1989, the Cold War abruptly ended and it seemed as if the world was at last safe for democracy. But a spirit of uneasiness, discontent, and world-weariness soon arose and has persisted in Europe, in America, and elsewhere for two decades. To discern the meaning of this malaise we must investigate the nature of liberal democracy, says the author of this provocative book, and he undertakes to do so through a detailed investigation of the thinking of Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Tocqueville. Paul A. Rahe argues that these political thinkers anticipated the modern liberal republic's propensity to drift in the direction of “soft despotism”—a condition that arises within a democracy when paternalistic state power expands and gradually undermines the spirit of self-government. Such an eventuality, feared by Tocqueville in the nineteenth century, has now become a reality throughout the European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. So Rahe asserts, and he explains what must be done to reverse this unfortunate trend.

Author : Paul Anthony Rahe
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 374 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2009
Category : Democracy
ISBN : 0300156103

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Soft Despotism, Democracy's Drift by Paul Anthony Rahe Pdf

"In 1989, the Cold War abruptly ended and it seemed as if the world was at last safe for democracy. But a spirit of uneasiness, discontent, and world-weariness soon arose and has persisted in Europe, in America, and elsewhere for two decades. To discern the meaning of this malaise we must investigate the nature of liberal democracy, says the author of this provocative book, and he undertakes to do so through a detailed investigation of the thinking of Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Tocqueville. Paul A. Rahe argues that these political thinkers anticipated the modern liberal republic's propensity to drift in the direction of 'soft despotism' -- a condition that arises within a democracy when paternalistic state power expands and gradually undermines the spirit of self-government. Such an eventuality, feared by Tocqueville in the nineteenth century, has now become a reality throughout the European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. So Rahe asserts, and he explains what must be done to reverse this unfortunate trend."--Publisher description.

Author : Alan S. Kahan
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 257 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2015
Category : History
ISBN : 9780199681150

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Tocqueville, Democracy, and Religion by Alan S. Kahan Pdf

A ground-breaking study of the views of the greatest theorist of democracy writing about one of our most pressing issues. Alan S. Kahan, a leading Tocqueville scholar, shows how Tocqueville's analysis of religion is simultaneously deeply rooted in his thoughts on nineteenth-century France and America and pertinent to us today--

Author : Jon Elster
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 213 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2009-04-27
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780521518444

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Alexis de Tocqueville, the First Social Scientist by Jon Elster Pdf

Arguing that Tocqueville was fundamentally a social scientist rather than a political theorist, Elster emphasises Tocqueville's substantive and methodological insights.

Author : Paul Anthony Rahe
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2009
Category : History
ISBN : 0300141254

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Montesquieu and the Logic of Liberty by Paul Anthony Rahe Pdf

This fresh examination of the world of Montesquieu seeks to understand the short-comings of modern democracy in light of the French philosopher's insightful critique of commercial republicanism.

Author : Alexis de Tocqueville
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 364 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 1856
Category : History
ISBN : STANFORD:36105010213986

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The Old Regime and the Revolution by Alexis de Tocqueville Pdf

Author : Paul Edward Gottfried
Publisher : University of Missouri Press
Page : 176 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2005-09-08
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780826264930

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The Strange Death of Marxism by Paul Edward Gottfried Pdf

The Strange Death of Marxism seeks to refute certain misconceptions about the current European Left and its relation to Marxist and Marxist-Leninist parties that existed in the recent past. Among the misconceptions that the book treats critically and in detail is that the Post-Marxist Left (a term the book uses to describe this phenomenon) springs from a distinctly Marxist tradition of thought and that it represents an unqualified rejection of American capitalist values and practices. Three distinctive features of the book are the attempts to dissociate the present European Left from Marxism, the presentation of this Left as something that developed independently of the fall of the Soviet empire, and the emphasis on the specifically American roots of the European Left. Gottfried examines the multicultural orientation of this Left and concludes that it has little or nothing to do with Marxism as an economic-historical theory. It does, however, owe a great deal to American social engineering and pluralist ideology and to the spread of American thought and political culture to Europe. American culture and American political reform have foreshadowed related developments in Europe by years or even whole decades. Contrary to the impression that the United States has taken antibourgeois attitudes from Europeans, the author argues exactly the opposite. Since the end of World War II, Europe has lived in the shadow of an American empire that has affected the Old World, including its self-described anti-Americans. Gottfried believes that this influence goes back to who reads or watches whom more than to economic and military disparities. It is the awareness of American cultural as well as material dominance that fuels the anti-Americanism that is particularly strong on the European Left. That part of the European spectrum has, however, reproduced in a more extreme form what began as an American leap into multiculturalism. Hostility toward America, however, can be transformed quickly into extreme affection for the United States, which occurred during the Clinton administration and during the international efforts to bring a multicultural society to the Balkans. Clearly written and well conceived, The Strange Death of Marxism will be of special interest to political scientists, historians of contemporary Europe, and those critical of multicultural trends, particularly among Euro-American conservatives.

Author : Soner Cagaptay
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 324 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2017-04-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9781786722362

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The New Sultan by Soner Cagaptay Pdf

In a world of rising tensions between Russia and the United States, the Middle East and Europe, Sunnis and Shiites, Islamism and liberalism, Turkey is at the epicentre. And at the heart of Turkey is its right-wing populist president, Recep Tayyip Erdo?an. Since 2002, Erdo?an has consolidated his hold on domestic politics while using military and diplomatic means to solidify Turkey as a regional power. His crackdown has been brutal and consistent - scores of journalists arrested, academics officially banned from leaving the country, university deans fired and many of the highest-ranking military officers arrested. In some senses, the nefarious and failed 2016 coup has given Erdo?an the licence to make good on his repeated promise to bring order and stability under a 'strongman'. Here, leading Turkish expert Soner Cagaptay will look at Erdo?an's roots in Turkish history, what he believes in and how he has cemented his rule, as well as what this means for the world. The book will also unpick the 'threats' Erdogan has worked to combat - from the liberal Turks to the Gulen movement, from coup plotters to Kurdish nationalists - all of which have culminated in the crisis of modern Turkey.

Author : Debasish Roy Chowdhury,John Keane
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 200 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2021-06-24
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780192588272

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To Kill A Democracy by Debasish Roy Chowdhury,John Keane Pdf

India is heralded as the world's largest democracy. Yet, there is now growing alarm about its democratic health. To Kill a Democracy gets to the heart of the matter. Combining poignant life stories with sharp scholarly insight, it rejects the belief that India was once a beacon of democracy but is now being ruined by the destructive forces of Modi-style populism. The book details the much deeper historical roots of the present-day assaults on civil liberties and democratic institutions. Democracy, the authors also argue, is much more than elections and the separation of powers. It is a whole way of life lived in dignity, and that is why they pay special attention to the decaying social foundations of Indian democracy. In compelling fashion, the book describes daily struggles for survival and explains how lived social injustices and unfreedoms rob Indian elections of their meaning, while at the same time feeding the decadence and iron-fisted rule of its governing institutions. Much more than a book about India, To Kill A Democracy argues that what is happening in the country is globally important, and not just because every third person living in a democracy is an Indian. It shows that when democracies rack and ruin their social foundations, they don't just kill off the spirit and substance of democracy. They lay the foundations for despotism.

Author : Eduardo Nolla
Publisher : NYU Press
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 1996-07
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780814757789

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Liberty, Equality, Democracy by Eduardo Nolla Pdf

This volumes explores the whole range of Alexis Tocqueville's ideas, from his political, literary and sociological theories to his concept of history, his religious beliefs, and his philosophical doctrines. Among the topics considered are: Tocqueville's beliefs about foreign policy as applied to American democracy; Tocqueville and Machiavelli on the art of being free; Tocqueville and the historical sociology of state; virtue and politics in Tocqueville; Tocqueville's debt to Rousseau and Pascal; Tocqueville's analysis of the role of religion in preserving American democracy; Tocqueville and American literary critics; and Tocqueville and the postmodern refusal of history. The different approaches to Tocqueville's classical work represented in this book, combined with the frequent use of unpublished sources, present a fresh and renewed vision of his classic Democracy in America, reinforcing after a century and a half its reputation as the most modern, provocative, and profound attempt to explain the nature of democracy. Contributing to the volume are: Pierre Birnbaum (University of Sorbonne), Herbert Dittgen (University of Goettingen), Joseph Alulis (Lake Forest College), Dalmacio Negro (Universidad Complutense, Madrid), Peter A. Lawler (Berry College), Catherine Zuckert (Carleton College), Francesco de Sanctis (Naples University), Hugh Brogan (University of Essex), Cushing Strout (Cornell University), Gisela Schlueter (Universitaet Hannover), Roger Boesche (Occidental College), Edward T. Gargan (University of Wisconsin), and James T. Schleifer (College of New Rochelle).

Author : John Witte
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 362 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2002-05-16
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0521012996

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Law and Protestantism by John Witte Pdf

This book investigates the relationship between the law and religious ideology in Luther's Germany.

Author : Kenneth Minogue
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 162 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2000-02-24
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780191610783

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Politics: A Very Short Introduction by Kenneth Minogue Pdf

In this provocative but balanced essay, Kenneth Minogue discusses the development of politics from the ancient world to the twentieth century. He prompts us to consider why political systems evolve, how politics offers both power and order in our society, whether democracy is always a good thing, and what future politics may have in the twenty-first century. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 1989
Category : Civics
ISBN : OCLC:1136298995

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Habits of the Heart by Anonim Pdf

Bellah led a team of sociologists in interviewing some 200 Americans on love, work, success and values. Blending interviews with historical analysis, they explore what habits of the heart move Americans, and what beliefs and practices shape their character and social order. They examine the traditions Americans use to make sense of themselves and their society and show that while individualism creates self-reliant heroes, it also destroys the fabric of community and the capacity for commitment to one another. Most of the people interviewed--wives and husbands, managers, psychotherapists, local businessmen and civic activists--are split between a public world of competitive striving and a private world supposed to provide the meaning and love that make the competitive jungle bearable. (For sale in India at Rs. 66.00).

Author : Charles de Secondat baron de Montesquieu
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 418 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 1777
Category : French literature
ISBN : NYPL:33433067312748

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Complete Works by Charles de Secondat baron de Montesquieu Pdf

Author : Paul A. Rahe
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 436 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2009-09-07
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 052112395X

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Against Throne and Altar by Paul A. Rahe Pdf

Modern republicanism - distinguished from its classical counterpart by its commercial character and jealous distrust of those in power, by its use of representative institutions, and by its employment of a separation of powers and a system of checks and balances - owes an immense debt to the republican experiment conducted in England between 1649, when Charles I was executed, and 1660, when Charles II was crowned. Though abortive, this experiment left a legacy in the political science articulated both by its champions, John Milton, Marchamont Nehdham, and James Harrington, and by its sometime opponent and ultimate supporter Thomas Hobbes. This volume examines these four thinkers, situates them with regard to the novel species of republicanism first championed more than a century before by Niccolo Machiavelli, and examines the debt that he and they owed the Epicurean tradition in philosophy and the political science crafted by the Arab philosophers Alfarabi, Avicenna, and Averroes.