Description
Book SynopsisDigeser contends that our rich and varied practices of friendship multiply and moderate connections to politics. Along the way, she sets forth a series of ideals that appreciates friendship’s many forms and its dynamic relationship to individuality, citizenship, political and legal institutions, and international relations.
Trade ReviewThis engaging work impressively brings together discussions about friendship in political philosophy, ethics, and international relations to create a rich and stimulating conversation about the nature, role, and value of friendship in political life. -- Catherine Lu, McGill University Friendship Reconsidered is a long-awaited, comprehensive analysis of the political theory on friendship. Academically sophisticated, it is at the same time highly accessible to a lay reader. P. E. Digeser builds on Michael Oakeshott's concept of social practice to suggest that we look at friendship, not as easily definable but as a 'family of practices.' She argues her view coherently and systematically, subjecting her argument to all the objections that could be raised and carefully refuting them in a clear yet un-dogmatic way. This is an original and important addition to the political theory on friendship. -- Heather Devere, coeditor of AMITY: The Journal of Friendship Studies Can friendship be a high ideal of liberalism? How should it fit into politics? And how can it function between states? This carefully argued and elegant book deftly guides us through these questions with great subtlety, reminding us that practices of friendship vary, even as they share a family resemblance. Digeser's compelling ideal of friendship binds people while fostering their individuality and opens up attractive possibilities for politics within and between states. -- Farid Abdel-Nour, San Diego State University This work is a valuable addition to political science collections in most college and university libraries... Highly recommended. CHOICE
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Part 1 1. Friendship as a Family of Practices 2. Motivations, Actions, and the Value of Friendship 3. Self-Interest, Duty, and Friendship 4. Friendship and Individuality Part 2 5. Civic Friendship 6. Friendship During Dark Times 7. Institutions for and Against Friendship Part 3 8. Friendship and Friend in an International Context 9. International Friendships of Character 10. The Politics of International Friendships Notes Bibliography Index
