Kautilya's Arthashastra: An Intellectual Portrait - The Classical Roots of Modern Politics in India (Modern South Asian Studies: Society, Politics, Economy)

Subrata K. Mitra; Michael Liebig

ISBN 10: 3848727641 / ISBN 13: 9783848727643

Published by Nomos, 2016

About this Item

Paperback, 468 pages, NOT ex-library. Gentle handling wear, bent tip of the upper corner of rear cover and last pages. Else book is clean and bright with unmarked text, free of inscriptions and stamps, firmly bound. Straight unbroken spine. -- This work offers a detailed analysis of the Arthashastra, an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy, and military strategy. Attributed to the scholar Kautilya, who is often identified with Chanakya - advisor to the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta - the text is believed to date to the period between the 4th and 2nd centuries BCE. The authors position this work not merely as a historical artifact but as a foundational text of political realism with enduring relevance for modern politics. They provide an "intellectual portrait," systematically exploring its core concepts of power, sovereignty, and foreign policy. A central argument is that the Arthashastra's pragmatic principles form a "classical root" that continues to subtly inform India's strategic culture. It serves as a bridge between Indology and political science, presenting Kautilya's thought as a non-Western tradition of realpolitik comparable to that of Machiavelli or Thucydides.

Seller Inventory # 011223

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Kautilya's Arthashastra: An Intellectual Portrait - The Classical Roots of Modern Politics in India (Modern South Asian Studies: Society, Politics, Economy)
• Publisher: Nomos
• Publication Date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3848727641
• ISBN 13: 9783848727643
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

India is a rising power in the multipolar world. This book showcases India's endogenous political ideas and strategic thinking, both of which are the key resources that underpin and drive this rise. Kautilya's Arthashastra is a major source of these ideas. It is a premodern treatise on statecraft and a foundational text of political science. So far, political science and international relations theory have largely ignored Kautilya, or, at best, labelled him merely as the 'Indian Machiavelli'. Such a characterisation vastly undervalues the riches and depth of the contributions of Kautilya - a contemporary of Aristotle - whose contributions can be compared more appropriately to those of Artistotle's politics. Kautilya's contributions are recognised by such masters of western political theory as Max Weber and Hans J. Morgenthau. But in South Asia, Kautilya has remained adrift of the academic mainstream and has been given little prominence in public life, both intellectually and politically. Despite such scholarly negligence, everyday life in India - in terms of the institutions and process that constitute it - has remained deeply grounded in the political heritage of pre-modern India, succinctly codified in Kautilya's Arthashastra. These themes are explored in this book through such bridge concepts as the 'modernity of tradition' and the 're-use of the past' in tackling contemporary political problems. These concepts are the key factors that explain the resilience and stability of India's hybrid political institutions and democratic system. 'Kautilya's Arthashastra: an Intellectual portrait - Classical Roots of Modern Politics in India' is an indispensable key to understanding contemporary India and a major contribution to South Asian area studies, comparative politics and global political theory.