Politics Recovered: Realist Thought in Theory and Practice - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0231175280 ISBN 13: 9780231175289

Publisher: Columbia University Press, 2018

Synopsis

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? Realist political thought, which has enjoyed a significant revival of interest in recent years, seeks to avoid such pitfalls by remaining attentive to the distinctiveness of politics and the ways its realities ought to shape how we think and act in the political realm.

Politics Recovered brings together prominent scholars to develop what it might mean to theorize politics “realistically.” Intervening in 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, the volume 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. Contributors open up fruitful dialogues with a variety of other realist approaches, such as feminist theory, democratic theory, and international relations. By exploring the nature 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.

About this title

About the Author:

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).

Review:

An outstanding collection, brimming with intelligence and insight. Politics Recovered brings scholars of the new realist political thought into dialogue with fellow travelers, outright skeptics, and interestingly dubious allies who salute 'realism' while redefining or subverting what it means. This will be a perfect resource for students and researchers, a better guide to realism (and its discontents) than any single article or monograph. (Andrew Sabl, Yale University)

Politics Recovered is an impressive collection of original essays that constitutes a major contribution to the growing literature on political realism; an important and increasingly influential development in contemporary political theory. (John Horton, Keele University)

A good primer on basic issues in realism, and also on its diversity. As an introduction to the topic, it is an excellent overview and needed addition to undergraduate or research libraries. (Choice)

About this edition

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0231175280
• ISBN 13: 9780231175289
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 408
• Editor: Sleat Matt