Democratic statecraft : political realism and popular power

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Title:

Author:

Maloy, J. S. (Jason Stuart), 1974-

ISBN:

9780521192200

9780521145589

Personal Author:

Maloy, J. S. (Jason Stuart), 1974-

Publication Information:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Physical Description:

ix, 236 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

General Note:

Formerly CIP.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction: realism and democracy; 2. Reason of state and two dimensions of realism; 3. From the Sophists to Aristotle: institutions lie; 4. From Aristotle to Machiavelli: democracy bites; 5. From Machiavelli to the Puritans: fire fights fire; 6. From the Puritans to the Populists: money never sleeps; 7. Conclusion: power and paradoxes.

Abstract:

"Shows that the Western tradition of statecraft, long considered the method of tyrants and oligarchs, can steer our thinking about democracy in bold new directions"--

Subject Term:

POLITICAL SCIENCE / History & Theory.

Comparative government.

Democracy -- Philosophy.

Political science -- Decision making.

Electronic Access:

Cover image http://assets.cambridge.org/97805211/92200/cover/9780521192200.jpg

Copies:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Copy	Status
Searching... 1:IIEMSA	1:GEN-BOOK	33168025594835	321.8 M258D 2013	1	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

The theory of statecraft explores practical politics through the strategies and manoeuvres of privileged agents, whereas the theory of democracy dwells among abstract and lofty ideals. Can these two ways of thinking somehow be reconciled and combined? Or is statecraft destined to remain the preserve of powerful elites, leaving democracy to ineffectual idealists? J. S. Maloy demonstrates that the Western tradition of statecraft, usually considered the tool of tyrants and oligarchs, has in fact been integral to the development of democratic thought. Five case studies of political debate, ranging from ancient Greece to the late nineteenth-century United States, illustrate how democratic ideas can be relevant to the real world of politics instead of reinforcing the idealistic delusions of conventional wisdom and academic theory alike. The tradition highlighted by these cases still offers resources for reconstructing our idea of popular government in a realistic spirit - skeptical, pragmatic, and relentlessly focused on power.