Politics Recovered

Realist Thought in Theory and Practice
Erscheinungsjahr 2018
ISBN: 978-0-231-17528-9
Verlag: Columbia University Press

Buch, Englisch, 408 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 235 mm x 163 mm, Gewicht: 708 g

Is political theory political enough? Or does a tendency toward abstraction, idealization, moralism, and utopianism leave contemporary political theory out of touch with real politics as it actually takes place, and hence unable to speak meaningfully to or about our world? In recent years, political theory has seen a revival of interest in realism as an approach to thinking about politics. Realism seeks to avoid such pitfalls by remaining focused on politics itself, giving greater emphasis to the realities and distinctiveness of politics and the ways they ought to shape how we think and act in the political realm.

Politics Recovered brings together prominent scholars to develop the idea of what it might mean to theorize politics “realistically.” The volume contributes to philosophical debates such as the relationship between politics and morality and the role that facts and emotions should play in the theorization of political values. It addresses how a realist approach aids our understanding of pressing issues such as global justice, inequality, poverty, political corruption, the value of democracy, governmental secrecy, and demands for transparency. And several chapters open up fruitful dialogues with other varieties of realist approaches, from feminist theory, democratic theory, and international relations.By exploring the nature, distinctiveness, and prospects of realist thought, Politics Recovered shows how political theory can affirm reality in order to provide meaningful and compelling answers to the fundamental questions of political life.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Sleat, Matt

Weitere Mitwirkende

Bell, Duncan

Bellamy, Richard

Frazer, Elizabeth

Freeden, Michael

Galston, William A.

Larmore, Charles

McQueen, Alison

Medearis, John

Newey, Glen

Owen, David

Philp, Mark

Sagar, Paul

Sagar, Rahul

Scheuerman, William

Sleat, Matt

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Sozialphilosophie, Politische Philosophie
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Theorie, Politische Philosophie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Politics Recovered—on the Revival of Realism in Contemporary Political Theory
Matt Sleat
1. The Truth in Political Realism
Charles Larmore
2. Realism and Surrealism in Political Philosophy
Glen Newey
3. Realism in Ethics and Politics: Bernard Williams, Political Theory, and the Critique of Morality
David Owen
4. Anger, Humiliation, and Political Theory: Bringing the Darker Passions Back In
William A. Galston
5. Legitimacy and Domination
Paul Sagar
6. Disenchantment Versus Reconstruction: Walter Lippmann, John Dewey, and Varieties of Democratic Realism
John Medearis
7. The Paradox of the Democratic Prince: Machiavelli and the Neo-Machiavellians on Ideal Theory, Realism, and Democratic Leadership
Richard Bellamy
8. Politics and the “Pure of Heart”: Realism and Corruption
Mark Philp
9. Democracy’s Limit: A Realist Response to the Quest for Transparency
Rahul Sagar
10. The Case for Kinship: Classical Realism and Political Realism
Alison McQueen
11. Getting Past Schmitt? Realism and the Autonomy of Politics
William E. Scheuerman
12. Security and Poverty: On Realism and Global Justice
Duncan Bell
13. Feminism and Realism
Elizabeth Frazer
14. Political Realism: A Reality Check
Michael Freeden
List of Contributors
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Matt Sleat is reader in political theory at the University of Sheffield. He is the author of Liberal Realism: A Realist Theory of Liberal Politics (2013).