Violence and Democracy

by John Keane

Overview

John Keane offers an original account of the origins of violence, its consequences, its uses and remedies, and the relationship between violence and democracy. Rejecting the view that "human nature" is violent, Keane demonstrates why democracies do not wage war upon each other, and are unusually sensitive to violence. He emphasizes ethical questions, such as the circumstances in which violence can be justified, and argues that violence can and should be "democratized" and made publicly accountable.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521545440
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/24/2004
Series:	Contemporary Political Theory
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	228
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.47(d)

About the Author

John Keane is Professor of Politics at the Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster. He is currently writing a full-scale history of democracy - the first for over a century.

Table of Contents

1. Surplus violence; 2. Muskets, terrorists; 3. Thinking violence; 4. Civilisation; 5. Barbarism?; 6. Why violence?; 7. Uncivil wars; 8. Ethics; 9. Ten rules for democratizing violence.

Editorial Reviews

'Keane's is a learned, at times almost magisterial, book. He writes easily and with grace about a variety of relevant topics from liberal political theory to contemporary apocalyptic terrorism, from Sorel to Muslim fundamentalism. At every turn the reader is taken on a gambit into a relevant literature and comes away braced by the journey. It is descriptively ambitious yet energized by a normative argument. It is as current as today's politics yet in touch with classic traditions in political theory and sociology. As a result, Violence and Democracy is impressive indeed.' Austin D. Sarat, Amherst College, Massachusetts

From the Publisher