Political Realism in Apocalyptic Times PDF
Preview Political Realism in Apocalyptic Times
PoliticalRealisminApocalypticTimes Fromclimatechangetonuclearwartotheriseofdemagogicpopulists, our world is shaped by doomsday expectations. In this pathbreaking book, Alison McQueen shows why three of history’s greatest politi- calrealistsfearedapocalypticpolitics.Niccolo` Machiavelliinthemidst of Italy’s vicious power struggles, Thomas Hobbes during England’s bloodycivilwar,andHansMorgenthauatthedawnofthethermonu- clear age all saw the temptation to prophesy the end of days. Each engaged in subtle and surprising strategies to oppose apocalypticism, fromusingitsownrhetorictoneutralizeitsworsteffectstoinsistingon a clear-eyed, tragic acceptance of the human condition. Scholarly yet accessible,thisbookisatonceanambitiouscontributiontothehistory ofpoliticalthoughtandaworkthatspeakstoourtimes. Alison McQueen is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Stanford University. She writes on the history of political thought,religion in early modern political thought,and political real- ism. Her work has been published in Journal of Politics, Perspectives onPolitics,EuropeanJournalofPoliticalTheory,PoliticalTheory,and CriticalReviewofSocialandPoliticalPhilosophy.Sheistherecipient of the American Political Science Association’s Leo Strauss Award for the best dissertation in political philosophy (2012). She has held fel- lowships at Princeton’s University Center for Human Values and the StanfordHumanitiesCenter. Political Realism in Apocalyptic Times ALISON MCQUEEN StanfordUniversity UniversityPrintingHouse,Cambridgecb28bs,UnitedKingdom OneLibertyPlaza,20thFloor,NewYork,ny10006,USA 477WilliamstownRoad,PortMelbourne,vic3207,Australia 314–321,3rdFloor,Plot3,SplendorForum,JasolaDistrictCentre, NewDelhi-110025,India 79AnsonRoad,#06-04/06,Singapore079906 CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge. ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof education,learning,andresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence. www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107152397 doi:10.1017/9781316588307 (cid:2)C AlisonMcQueen2018 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished2018 PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabySheridanBooks,Inc. AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary isbn978-1-107-15239-7Hardback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracy ofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain, accurateorappropriate. This book is dedicated to the memory of David McQueen and Jennifer McQueen Contents ListofFigures pageix Acknowledgments xi 1 Introduction 1 2 UnderstandingtheApocalypse 22 3 Machiavelli’sSavonarolanMoment 63 4 Hobbes“AttheEdgeofPromisesandProphecies” 105 5 MorgenthauandthePostwarApocalypse 147 6 Conclusion 192 References 206 Index 228 vii Figures 2.1 NeroconqueringArmenia,SebasteionatAphrodisias, firstcenturyAD. page35 2.2 ClaudiusconqueringBrittania,SebasteionatAphrodisias, firstcenturyAD. 36 3.1 SandroBotticelli,MysticCrucifixion,c.1500. 77 3.2 LucaSignorelli,ApocalypseSequence,1499–1502. 78 3.3 LucaSignorelli,ApocalypseSequence,1499–1502. 79 4.1 FrontispieceofLeviathan,“Head”edition,1651. 140 ix
Description:The list of books you might like
