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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political ideologies > General
Julius Evola's writing covered a vast range of subjects, from a distinctive and categorical ideological outlook and has been extremely influential on a significant number of extreme right thinkers, activists and organisations. This book is the first full length study in English to present his political thought to a wider audience, beyond that of his followers and sympathisers, and to bring into the open the study of a neglected strand of contemporary Western thought, that of traditionalism. Evola deserves more attention because he is an influential writer. His following comes from an important if largely ignored political movement: activists and commentators whose political positions are, like his, avowedly traditionalist, authoritarian, anti-modern, anti-democratic and anti-liberal. With honourable exceptions, contemporary academic study tends to treat these groups as a minority within a minority, a sub-species of Fascism, from whom they are held to derive their ideas and their support. This work seeks to bring out more clearly the complexity of Evola's post-war strategy, so as to explain how he can be adopted both by the neo-fascist groups committed to violence, and by groups such as the European New Right whose approach is more aimed at influence from within liberal democracies. Furlong also recognises the relevance of Evola's ideas to anti-globalisation arguments, including a re-examination of his arguments for detachment and spontaneism (apolitia).
This book is designed to provide specialists, spectators, and students with a brief and engaging exploration of media usage by radical groups and the laws regulating these grey areas of Jihadi propaganda activities. The authors investigate the use of religion to advance political agendas and the legal challenges involved with balancing regulation with free speech rights. The project also examines the reasons behind the limited success of leading initiatives to curb the surge of online extreme speech, such as Google's "Redirect Method" or the U.S. State Department's campaign called "Think Again." The volume concludes by outlining a number of promising technical approaches that can potently empower tech companies to reduce religious extremist groups' presence and impact on social media.
The expression of an Islamic political radicalism in Britain has been one of the most dramatic developments in recent decades. Islamic Radicalism and Multicultural Politics explores the nature of this phenomenon by analysing the origins of Islam and its historical contact with Western Europe and Britain, and the emergence of Islamic political radicalism in the Muslim world and in the West. Tahir Abbas draws on historical analysis and contemporary case studies to explore the post-war immigration and integration of Muslim groups, the complex relations that exist between a secular liberal Britain and a diverse but multifaceted Islam, and the extent of social and economic inequalities that affect Muslims as individual citizens and in local area communities. He shows how violent extremism among British Muslims is in reality influenced by a range of issues, including the factors of globalisation and contemporary politics, media and culture. Analysing and dissecting public policy, Abbas offers suggestions for tackling the major social, political and economic questions facing British Muslims in the post-7/7 era. An important contribution to the study of religion, race and ethnicity in modern Britain, this accessible work will be of interest to anyone working in the field of Islamic studies, sociology and political radicalism. Cover design by Mahtab Hussain, www.mahtabhussain.com
The expression of an Islamic political radicalism in Britain has been one of the most dramatic developments in recent decades. Islamic Radicalism and Multicultural Politics explores the nature of this phenomenon by analysing the origins of Islam and its historical contact with Western Europe and Britain, and the emergence of Islamic political radicalism in the Muslim world and in the West. Tahir Abbas draws on historical analysis and contemporary case studies to explore the post-war immigration and integration of Muslim groups, the complex relations that exist between a secular liberal Britain and a diverse but multifaceted Islam, and the extent of social and economic inequalities that affect Muslims as individual citizens and in local area communities. He shows how violent extremism among British Muslims is in reality influenced by a range of issues, including the factors of globalisation and contemporary politics, media and culture. Analysing and dissecting public policy, Abbas offers suggestions for tackling the major social, political and economic questions facing British Muslims in the post-7/7 era. An important contribution to the study of religion, ?race? and ethnicity in modern Britain, this accessible work will be of interest to anyone working in the field of Islamic studies, sociology and political radicalism. Cover design by Mahtab Hussain, www.mahtabhussain.com
The Routledge Handbook of IIliberalism is the first authoritative reference work dedicated to illiberalism as a complex social, political, cultural, legal, and mental phenomenon. Although illiberalism is most often discussed in political and constitutional terms, its study cannot be limited to such narrow frames. This Handbook comprises sixty individual chapters authored by an internationally recognized group of experts who present perspectives and viewpoints from a wide range of academic disciplines. Chapters are devoted to different facets of illiberalism, including the history of the idea and its competitors, its implications for the economy, society, government and the international order, and its contemporary iterations in representative countries and regions. The Routledge Handbook of IIliberalism will form an important component of any library's holding; it will be of benefit as an academic reference, as well as being an indispensable resource for practitioners, among them journalists, policy makers and analysts, who wish to gain an informed understanding of this complex phenomenon.
Justice as Equality makes a unique contribution to the philosophical and intellectual tradition of the English-speaking Caribbean by exploring the theory of justice underpinning the life, work, and writings of former Prime Minister of Jamaica and renowned Third World Statesman the late Michael Manley (1924-1997). Manley's singular Caribbean vision of justice was forged in a post-colonial context that he described as being too radically disfigured by inequalities to be improved by "mere tinkering". This book posits that equality has become unfashionable in social analysis and contemporary politics, in part due to the increased significance of values such as identity, diversity, and difference, in tandem with a misunderstanding of the concept of equality. It argues for a reclaiming of a multi-faceted and complex way of understanding equality in light of Manley's thought. Through an engagement with the norms of justice developed within the Catholic social teaching tradition, this book examines, clarifies, and deepens Manley's Caribbean account of "justice as equality". Manley's theory is a deeply relational theory one of justice and equality that roots fundamental human equality in the relationship to divine transcendence. It calls for the dismantling of all relationships of oppression and domination that result when the fundamental equality of all human beings is disregarded. It takes account of the multiple dimensions of the human person, and calls a society 'just' when it allows for the flourishing of every member, specifically through full participation in the life of the society.
Karl Barth never paid particular attention to the religions of the world. In fact he has often been stereotyped as the prime exponent of an exclusivist attitude toward other religions because of his belief that salvation comes through Christ alone. However a close analysis of his work suggests that it defies the rigid typology of exclusivism, inclusivism and pluralism so often used in inter-religious debate and instead allows for the possibility of discerning God's presence in the other Abrahamic faiths. This book asserts that a case can be made on the basis of Barth's theology for promoting a democratic society which respects freedom and difference. It shows how this argument can be extended to accommodate religious pluralism. Other faith groups can contribute to a just society and interact in ways which are theologically fruitful for the Church's own life. In particular, this book demonstrates how Barth's theology can help Christians relate to Muslims by showing that God's grace is at work in places it is not expected - beyond the boundaries of the Church. The Church can be addressed through the presence and voice of the other. In today's context this includes address through the presence and voice of Islam.
This volume is devoted to a critical discussion and re-appraisal of the work of Anglo-American Idealists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Idealism was the dominant philosophy in Britain and the entire English-speaking world during the last decades of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth. The British Idealists made important contributions to logic, metaphysics, aesthetics, ethics, social and political philosophy, philosophy of history, philosophy of religion and philosophy of mind. Their legacy awaits further exploration and reassessment, and this book is a contribution to this task. The essays in this collection display many aspects of contemporary concern with idealistic philosophy: they range from treatments of logic to consideration of the Absolute, personal idealism, the philosophy of religion, philosophy of art, philosophy of action, and moral and political philosophy. During the first decade of the twenty-first century, the work of the Anglo-American Idealists has once again been widely discussed and re-considered, and new pathways of research and investigation have been opened.
Assessing the limits of pluralism, this book examines different types of political inclusion and exclusion and their distinctive dimensions and dynamics. Why are particular social groups excluded from equal participation in political processes? How do these groups become more fully included as equal participants? Often, the critical issue is not whether a group is included but how it is included. Collectively, these essays elucidate a wide range of inclusion or exclusion: voting participation, representation in legislative assemblies, representation of group interests in processes of policy formation and implementation, and participation in discursive processes of policy framing. Covering broad territory--from African Americans to Asian Americans, the transgendered to the disabled, and Latinos to Native Americans--this volume examines in depth the give and take between how policies shape political configuration and how politics shape policy. At a more fundamental level, Ericson and his contributors raise some traditional and some not-so-traditional issues about the nature of democratic politics in settings with a multitude of group identities.
Assessing the limits of pluralism, this book examines different types of political inclusion and exclusion and their distinctive dimensions and dynamics. Why are particular social groups excluded from equal participation in political processes? How do these groups become more fully included as equal participants? Often, the critical issue is not whether a group is included but how it is included. Collectively, these essays elucidate a wide range of inclusion or exclusion: voting participation, representation in legislative assemblies, representation of group interests in processes of policy formation and implementation, and participation in discursive processes of policy framing. Covering broad territory--from African Americans to Asian Americans, the transgendered to the disabled, and Latinos to Native Americans--this volume examines in depth the give and take between how policies shape political configuration and how politics shape policy. At a more fundamental level, Ericson and his contributors raise some traditional and some not-so-traditional issues about the nature of democratic politics in settings with a multitude of group identities.
James Crossley holds a mirror up to English politics, examining how Christianity is often used to legitimise ideological positions and parties. From the paternalistic Christianity used to justify ever-intensifiying neoliberalism, to the ethnonationalist and economic protectionist Christianity of Theresa May and Brexit, and encompassing the socialist constructions of Christianity by Jeremy Corbyn and a resurgent Left, Crossley guides us through politics' love affair with Christianity. Drawing on interviews with politicians, leave and remain voters, activists, and revolutionaries, Crossley reveals how religion is linked to positions relating to class, capitalism and foreign policy: obfuscating potential causes of unrest, justifying military intervention and challenging dominant class interests.
Religion and security play an important role in traditional societies. In South and Central Asia, traditional and moderate Islamic beliefs and practices with strong indigenous and Sufi content are diametrically opposed to radical Wahabi and Taliban brands of Islam intolerant of other cultures and groups. The emergence of radical extremist and violent Islamist movements poses serious challenges to the secular and democratic polity, inter-religious harmony, security and territorial integrity of states in the region. As such, religious extremism, terrorism, drug trafficking and arms smuggling are viewed by various countries in South and Central Asia and also in the West as the main threats to their security. Against this backdrop, this book provides local perspectives on religion, security, history and geopolitics in South Asia and Central Asia in an integrated manner. Presenting a holistic and updated view of the developments inside and across South and Central Asia, it offers concise analyses by experts on the region. Contributors discuss topics such as the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the politics and practice of Islamist terrorism in India, and the security challenges posed by religious radicalism in Bangladesh. The book makes a significant contribution to South and Central Asian Studies, as well as studies on Regional Security.
The past decade has seen a marked policy focus upon Bangladesh, home to nearly 150 million Muslims; it has attracted the attention of the world due to weak governance and the rising tide of Islamist violence. This book provides a broad-ranging analysis of the growth and impact of "political Islam" in Bangladesh, and reactions to it. Grounded in empirical data, experts on Bangladesh examine the changing character of Bangladeshi politics since 1971, with a particular focus on the convergence of governance, Islamism and militancy. They examine the impacts of Islamist politics on education, popular culture and civil society, and the regional and extraregional connections of the Bangladeshi Islamist groups. Bringing together journalists and academics - all of whom have different professional and methodological backgrounds and field experiences which impact upon these issues from different vantage points - the book assesses Bangladesh's own prospects for internal stability as well as its wider impact upon South Asian security. It argues that the political environment of Bangladesh, the appeal of Islamist ideology to the general masses and the dynamic adaptability of Islamist organizations all demonstrate that Bangladesh will continue to focus the attention of policy makers and analysts alike. This is a timely, incisive and original explanation of the rise of political Islam and Islamic militancy in Bangladesh.
Nature in Modernity: Servant, Citizen, Queen or Comrade explores the origins and implications of the mastery of nature agenda within Western culture and argues that there is a long-standing parallel "shadow" tradition grounded instead in mutuality, respect and reciprocity. This is explored in a series of chapters that focus on our hunter-gatherer heritage, the shift to a more sedentary and agricultural life and the subsequent emergence of mastery of self and nature as the dominant cultural objective. The impact of this mastery agenda on the natural environment is explored and a case made that our current ecological crisis has its origins in this tradition of mastery. A counter tradition is examined, identifying a range of cultural tools grounded in alternative traditions, tools that can be used to create a culture of care, mutuality and reciprocity in which it will be logical to welcome nature in all its complexity as a fellow citizen.
Why did the 1989 Chinese student movement end in violent confrontation at Tiananmen Square, despite the fact that both the Chinese government and the students very much wanted to avoid violence? This puzzle, which lies at the heart of the tragic events at Tiananmen, is addressed here from a fresh perspective that sheds new insight into these dramatic events. Throughout Unintended Outcomes in Social Movements, Deng applies the formal methods of game theory to elucidate some of the contingent, strategic decision-making by both sides in a social-movement/state confrontation, and how those decisions can - and did - lead to an unintended outcome. In identifying the necessary cause of the Tiananmen tragedy, namely a newly created social system with four highly specific properties, this book provides the first adequate explanation of the Tiananmen events. Because of this, it stands to make a significant stride toward convincing students of political conflict of the explanatory power of formal game-theoretic models. This book is an excellent source of reference for both undergraduate and postgraduate students in areas including Chinese politics, social movements, game theory economics, and social theory.
As the topic of political Islam gains increased visibility in international politics and current affairs, it has become more difficult to navigate the vast literature that is devoted to explaining this phenomenon. This reader provides the student with an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the study of political Islam. Offering a clear route to the most influential literature in the field, the diverse range of viewpoints presented allows students to obtain a detailed, authoritative and critical perspective on the most pressing questions of the post-9/11 era. With detailed introductory chapters and clear presentation of existing literature, thematically-arranged sections cover:
This overview of political Islam will help students at all levels to appreciate its many manifestations and dimensions. A relevant text to introductory courses on history, international affairs, government and sociology, this reader is an essential tool for students of the Middle East, Muslim politics, religion in politics and Islamism.
What is the best possible society? How would its rulers govern and its citizens behave? Such questions are sometimes dismissed as distractions from genuine political problems, but in an era when political idealism seems a relic of the past, says Jonny Thakkar, they are more urgent than ever. A daring experiment in using ancient philosophy to breathe life into our political present, Plato as Critical Theorist takes seriously one of Plato’s central claims: that philosophers should rule. What many accounts miss is the intimate connection between Plato’s politics and his metaphysics, Thakkar argues. Philosophy is the activity of articulating how parts and wholes best fit together, while ruling is the activity that shapes the parts of society into a coherent whole conducive to the good life. Plato’s ideal society is thus one in which ideal theory itself plays a leading role. Today’s liberal democracies require not philosopher-kings legislating from above but philosopher-citizens willing to work toward a vision of the best society in their daily lives. Against the claim that such idealism is inherently illiberal, Thakkar shows that it is fully compatible with the liberal theories of both Popper and Rawls while nevertheless pushing beyond them in providing a new vantage point for the Marxian critique of capitalism.
Ultras are often compared to punks, Hell's Angels, hooligans or the South American Barras Bravas. But in truth, they are a thoroughly Italian phenomenon... From the author of The Dark Heart of Italy, Blood on the Altar and A Place of Refuge. Italy's ultras are the most organised and violent fans in European football. Many groups have evolved into criminal gangs, involved in ticket-touting, drug-dealing and murder. A cross between the Hell's Angels and hooligans, they're often the foot-soldiers of the Mafia and have been instrumental in the rise of the far-right. But the purist ultras say that they are are insurgents fighting against a police state and modern football. Only amongst the ultras, they say, can you find belonging, community and a sacred concept of sport. They champion not just their teams, they say, but their forgotten suburbs and the dispossessed. Through the prism of the ultras, Jones crafts a compelling investigation into Italian society and its favourite sport. He writes about not just the ultras of some of Italy's biggest clubs - Juventus, Torino, Lazio, Roma and Genoa - but also about its lesser-known ones from Cosenza and Catania. He examines the sinister side of football fandom, with its violence and political extremism, but also admires the passion, wit, solidarity and style of a fascinating and contradictory subculture.
From Revolution to Power in Brazil: How Radical Leftists Embraced Capitalism and Struggled with Leadership examines terrorism from a new angle. Kenneth Serbin portrays a generation of Brazilian resistance fighters and militants struggling to rebuild their lives after suffering torture and military defeat by the harsh dictatorship that took control with the support of the United States in 1964, exiting in 1985. Based on two decades of research and more than three hundred hours of interviews with former members of the revolutionary organization National Liberating Action, Serbin's is the first book to bring the story of Brazil's long night of dictatorship into the present. It explores Brazil's status as an emerging global capitalist giant and its unique contributions and challenges in the social arena. The book concludes with the rise of ex-militants to positions of power in a capitalist democracy-and how they confronted both old and new challenges posed by Brazilian society. Ultimately, Serbin explores the profound human questions of how to oppose dictatorship, revive politics in the wake of brutal repression, nurture democracy as a value, and command a capitalist system. This book will be of keen interest to business people, journalists, policy analysts, and readers with a general interest in Latin America and international affairs.
What is behind the success of America? Does America manifest its destiny by other means? Author Patrick Mendis explores unseen forces that have guided America to global dominance. He details how the creation of Madison's "Universal Empire" through Hamilton's "Federalism" realizes Jefferson's "Empire of Liberty." The author then unveils America's Masonic endgame of universal brotherhood: E Pluribus Unum.
Despite the proliferation of ideational accounts in the last decade or so, the debate over the role of ideas remains caught up in a series of disputes over the ontological foundations, epistemological status and practical pay-off of the (re)turn to ideational explanations. It is thus unsurprising that there is still little clarity about just what sort of an approach an ideational approach is and about what it would take to establish the kind of fully-fledged ideational research programme many seem to assume has already been developed. The contributors in this volume address these dilemmas in diverse but engagingly complementary ways. They argue that what plagues most attempts to accord ideas an explanatory role is the persistence of the perennial dualities in political analysis. In aspiring to eschew the current vogue for dualistic polemic, the present volume reveals elements of dualistic thinking in the ideational turn and assesses the impact of the persistence of these perennial dualisms in the attempt to accord ideas an explanatory role.
Radicalism and the Revolt Against Reason is a work that continues to have a steady and large scale impact on political and social theory fifty years since its first appearance. A study of how radical thought modifies its actions and ideologies in a time of unrealized and frustrated expectations, the focus is on Georges Sorel and the Europe of the fin de siecle, a time when socialist revolution was forcefully set aside by liberal reform. In a technique that presaged contemporary period, radical demands did not simply dissolve or disappear, they profoundly changed emphasis from the impersonal forces of history to highly personal forces of individual will. This edition includes a substantial brand new introduction by the author.
In October 2019, unprecedented mobilizations in Chile took the world by surprise. An outburst of protests plunged a stable democracy into the deepest social and political crisis since its dictatorship in the 1980s. Although the protests involved a myriad of organizations, the organizational capabilities provided by underprivileged urban dwellers proved essential in sustaining collective action in an increasingly repressive environment. Based on a comparative ethnography and over six years of fieldwork, Mobilizing at the Urban Margins uses the case of Chile to study how social mobilization endures in marginalized urban contexts, allowing activists to engage in large-scale democratizing processes. The book investigates why and how some urban communities succumb to exclusion, while others react by resurrecting collective action to challenge unequal regimes of citizenship. Rich and insightful, the book develops the novel analytical framework of 'mobilizational citizenship' to explain this self-produced form of political incorporation in the urban margins.
This book provides both an introduction to utopianism and a general perspective on radical political thought. Vigorously disputing the widespread conviction that utopianism is a fantasy with no relevance to modern political life and thought, the authors argue that it is a concept whose special virtue lies in its capacity to transcend the limitations of present circumstances, to inspire alternative thinking and to open up new directions for political action. This book develops an approach which relates social causes to political theory and practice. The first part discusses utopianism as a form of political theory with unique characteristics and the ability to transcend the present. The second part considers utopianism as an expression of fundamental social impulses and as an ingredient of modern political movements. The third part offers a defence of utopianism as both theory and practice, and argues for its use to counteract the pragmatism and narrow empiricism which often passes for political «realism in modern societies. This reissue of a popular and well-received landmark text contains a new preface.
George Orwell was one of the most significant literary figures on the left in the twentieth century. While titles such as 1984, Animal Farm and Homage to Catalonia are still rightly regarded as modern classics, his own politics are less well understood. Hope Lies in the Proles offers a sympathetic yet critical account of Orwell's political thinking and its continued significance today. John Newsinger explores various aspects of Orwell's politics, detailing Orwell's attempts to change working-class consciousness, considering whether his attitude towards the working class was romantic, realistic or patronising - or all three at different times. He also asks whether Orwell's anti-fascism was eclipsed by his criticism of the Soviet Union, and explores his ambivalent relationship with the Labour Party. Newsinger also breaks important new ground regarding Orwell's shifting views on the USA, and his relationship with the progressive Left and feminism. Focusing on the enduring interest in Orwell and his influence on current political causes, the book is ultimately a unique, nuanced attempt to demonstrate that Orwell remained a committed socialist up until his death. |
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