1. Introduction; 2. Understanding the apocalypse; 3. Machiavelli's Savonarolan moment; 4. Hobbes 'At the Edge of Promises and Prophecies'; 5. Morgenthau and the postwar apocalypse; 6. Conclusion.
Apocalyptic rhetoric creates dangerous politics; three great thinkers show how clear-eyed realism is our best hope.
Alison McQueen is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Stanford University, California. She writes on the history of political thought, religion in early modern political thought, and political realism. Her work has been published in the Journal of Politics, Perspectives on Politics, European Journal of Political Theory, Political Theory, and Critical Review of Social and Political Philosophy. She is the recipient of the American Political Science Association's Leo Strauss Award for the best dissertation in political philosophy (2012). She has held fellowships at Princeton's University Center for Human Values and the Stanford Humanities Center.
'This is an excellent addition to the burgeoning literature on
political realism. Straddling political theory and international
relations (IR) in a fresh and creative fashion, McQueen offers us a
strikingly original portrait of realist responses to apocalypse.
Moving seamlessly from Machiavelli to Hobbes to Morgenthau, from
early modern debates about the nature of God to modern fears of
nuclear annihilation and catastrophic climate change, she tells a
fascinating story that raises profound questions about the dangers
and the possibilities of political theology. Combining acute
textual interpretation, felicitous historical contextualisation,
and subtle normative analysis, Political Realism in Apocalyptic
Times makes a major contribution to political theory and
international relations.' Duncan Bell, University of Cambridge
'Richard Hofstadter famously coined the term 'the paranoid style'
to describe a certain histrionic strand within American politics.
In Political Realism in Apocalyptic Times, McQueen audaciously
outdoes Hofstadter by demonstrating the more widely pervasive
'apocalyptic' style characteristic not only of American political
theorizing and practice but also of modern political thought more
generally. McQueen shows how and explains why the rhetoric of
doomsday, visions of tribulation and redemption, and 'end times'
ideologies not only persist but actually pervade the supposedly
secular age. She meticulously and ingeniously traces the
apocalyptic quality of the contexts in which political
authors/actors such as Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Morgenthau wrote,
and how this apocalypticism infiltrated their writings. The book is
certain to make an enormous impact in the fields of political
thought, intellectual history, and American studies, especially
given the now fashionable 'theological' turn in political theory
and the dramatic surge in apocalyptic politics throughout the
world.' John P. McCormick, University of Chicago
'Alison McQueen uses the common, apocalyptic context of their
thinking to give us a novel perspective on the unlikely trio of
Machiavelli, Hobbes and Morgenthau. The perspective unifies and
illuminates, revealing aspects of their writings, and connections
between their concerns, that are unseen in other treatments.'
Philip Pettit, Princeton University, New Jersey and Australian
National University, Canberra
'The most important achievement of Alison McQueen's fascinating new
book is that she launches an overdue conversation between and among
different versions of 'realism', past and present. Shedding fresh
light on Machiavelli, Hobbes, Hans Morgenthau, and other
'realists', McQueen ignores the usual disciplinary boundaries
between and among competing realist brands. Hers is an
indispensable contribution not only to a growing body of realist
scholarship but to political science and philosophy.' William E.
Scheuerman, Indiana University
'The heart of the book is four case studies that attempt to
contextualize the apocalyptic thinking of the Judeo-Christian
tradition and the efforts to contain it by Paul and Augustine,
followed by a case study each on Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas
Hobbes, and Hans Morgenthau. The strength of the book is in the
detailed, well-researched reconstruction of the apocalyptic
historical context that animated the thought of each, including
Augustine.' W. J. Coats, Choice
'McQueen's interpretations are compelling, and it is no mean feat
to offer fresh and original readings of such well-studied thinkers,
in turn asking us to ponder more carefully what it means to be a
'realist', and what the limits of such an outlook are. Furthermore,
her identification of two main 'realist' responses to
apocalypticism - the 'tragic worldview' and fighting apocalypse
with apocalypse - are persuasive, both as matters of historical
record and as analyses of the conceptual issues in play … The
richness of this book stands beyond doubt, and deserves all of the
attention it will surely garner.' Paul Sagar, Political Theory
'At a time when the study of the theological underpinnings of
political thought is gaining ground, Alison McQueen's new book is
good news. As McQueen reminds us, political theorists often pass
over the fact that half of Hobbes' Leviathan is a treatise on
eschatology and ecclesiastical governance, or that Machiavelli
concludes the Prince with a prophetic exhortation for the salvation
of Italy from the 'barbarians' who periodically invaded it. Even a
secularist like Morgenthau could not escape the allure of religious
imagery in his most existentialist moments. McQueen's fascinating
book is due credit both for bringing these associations to the
fore, thus joining the chorus of the 'theological turn' in
political theory, and for forensically excavating the complex
engagement of some of the doyens of realist thought with the
symbolic resources provided by theological ideas and texts.'
Vassilios Paipais, Contemporary Political Theory
'This is a book of many virtues. The central chapters combine the
intellectual historian's deep sensitivity to context with the
political theorist's sharp eye for conceptualizing different
theoretical positions that can then be abstracted from their
particular historical origins. Indeed, it is rare to read a book
that combines these attributes so successfully and which answers
potential objections to such an approach less by abstract
methodological discussion and more by handling the texts with the
care, detail and circumspection they deserve. McQueen has produced
an erudite, thought-provoking and enjoyable study … a deeply
impressive study of how some of the finest thinkers in the realist
tradition struggled with apocalypticism in their own times, which
proves to be a rewarding place to start when thinking through how
we might respond to similar problems today.' Robin Douglass,
Perspectives on Politics
'McQueen does an excellent job at bringing together diverse
thinkers and new interpretations under the aegis of the realist
tradition. For those who see a sharp line between religion and
politics, McQueen has offered a work that uses certain religious
ideas to explain political philosophy. In fact, a fair reading of
McQueen suggests that the line between religion and politics is
actually quite blurry, with ideas traversing back and forth.
With Political Realism in Apocalyptic Times, McQueen has done
a service to the fields of international affairs, political
theology, and all those interested in the use of political
rhetoric.' Steven Lane, Reading Religion
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