Description
Book SynopsisThe questions and issues raised by Tocqueville in his monumental studies of France and America are just as crucial for understanding the evolution of democracy in the West and the development of democracy in the non-western world. They clearly show the breadth of Tocqueville''s contributions to the development of modern social sciences. Among the questions addressed by Tocqueville were: How does the weight of the past affect the evolution of political institutions and political behavior? What impact do differences in physical environment have on the organization of society? What are the relationships between social equality, freedom, and democracy? To what extent does centralization destroy the capacity for local initiative and self-governance? What conditions are needed to nurture the flourishing of self-governing communities? What safeguards are needed to preserve freedom and to prevent incipient democracies from becoming dictatorships? Why has democracy had such a problem taking hol
Trade ReviewConversations with Tocqueville is a stimulating book, full of powerful and provocative ideas. Aurelian Craiutu and Sheldon Gellar have produced a first-rate collection that significantly enhances our understanding of Tocqueville as a social scientist and shows how his mode of analysis, faithfully recast in the form of Tocquevillian analytics, can be used to uncover and assess the rich diversity of contemporary efforts to achieve democracy in different regions of the world. A masterful blend of political theory and comparative analysis. -- Filippo Sabetti, McGill University
In the introduction to Democracy in America, Tocqueville famously observed that a great 'democratic revolution' was in the process of radically transforming the entire civilized world. That 'revolution' might bring with it liberty or new and unprecedented forms of despotism, but it would surely bring an end—sooner in some cases, later in others—to all the 'old regimes' in the world. This splendid collection deepens our understanding of Tocqueville’s thought and allows us to better understand the 'democratic revolution' as it has unfolded over the last century and a half from Paris and Moscow to Tokyo and beyond. It will be of interest to students of political theory and comparative politics and to thoughtful citizens as such. -- Daniel J. Mahoney, Assumption College
Compellingly coherent...an audacious engagement with Tocqueville's notion of democracy and its semantic frontiers. * Journal of Democracy *
The variety of methodological and ideological perspectives mirrors Tocqueville's own multifaceted approach.Such a reactualization of Tocqueville's analytics, especially in light of today's global economic and financial crisis, can both prompt a broad audience to reconsider its perspectives on the challenges currently facing democracy, and challenge any scholars still hanging on to the pernicious ideal of a value-free social science. -- Alin Fumurescu * Perspectives on Political Science, Summer 2009 *
Conversations with Tocqueville is a masterly demonstration that Tocqueville's analysis of democracy remains not only relevant in the twenty-first century, but essential. Tocqueville wrote of democracy in America to instruct democracies everywhere, and fittingly the essays of this volume ably adapt Tocqueville's central themes and questions to a variety of nations and circumstances. It is a rich and thoughtful collection informed by Tocqueville's capacious hopes for, and fears about, democracy, and will be of benefit to anyone interested in our diverse democratic future. -- Patrick Deneen, Georgetown University
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Chapter 1. Tocqueville and Us Chapter 3 Chapter 2. Citizen Sovereigns: The Implications of Hamilton's Query and Tocqueville's Conjecture about the Democratic Revolution Part 4 Part I. Tocquevillian Analytics Chapter 5 Chapter 3. Tocquevillian Analytics and the Global Democratic Revolution Chapter 6 Chapter 4. What Kind of Social Scientist Was Tocqueville? Part 7 Part II. Tocquevillian Analytics and the Contemporary World Chapter 8 Chapter 5. Racial Equality and Social Equality: Understanding Tocqueville’s Democratic Revolution and the American Civil Rights Movement, 1954–1970 Chapter 9 Chapter 6. Democracy? In Guatemala? Chapter 10 Chapter 7. Grafting the Head of Liberty? Latin America’s Move to the Left Chapter 11 Chapter 8. Th e Peril of Democratic Despotism in West European Egalitarian Democracy Chapter 12 Chapter 9. Democracy in Russia: A Tocquevillian Perspective Chapter 13 Chapter 10. Tocqueville in Africa: Analyzing African Local Governance Chapter 14 Chapter 11. Roots of Democracy in Burma Chapter 15 Chapter 12. The Road to Democracy in China: A Tocquevillian Analysis Chapter 16 Chapter 13. Tocqueville and Japan
