Political thought
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Book in the spotlight: The Old Regime and the Revolution by Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis de Tocqueville is primarily known for Democracy in America, his penetrating analysis of democracy (and not only of the one in America). While the work is an indisputable masterpiece, it has the effect of eclipsing his other texts. I am thinking here of The…
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Book in the spotlight: Political Theology by Carl Schmitt It is rarely a good sign when the foreword and introduction preceding a text are longer than the text itself. Carl Schmitt’s Political Theology is an exception, which is quite apposite for a work whose very first sentence tackles the exceptional. Schmitt was one of the towering figures of German…
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Book in the spotlight: War and Peace and War by Peter Turchin Peter Turchin is best known for championing cliodynamics. For those unfamiliar with this concept, it’s a fancy way to describe the use of math in the study of history. Proponents of cliodynamics hold that history is “shaped by great impersonal forces,” as Turchin…