Contesting Democracy: Political Ideas in Twentieth-century Europe - Hardcover

Muller, Jan–werner

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300113218 ISBN 13: 9780300113211

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2011

Synopsis

This book is the first major account of political thought in twentieth-century Europe - both West and East - to appear since the end of the Cold War. Skillfully blending intellectual, political, and cultural history, Jan-Werner Muller elucidates the ideas that shaped the period of ideological extremes before 1945 and the liberalization of West European politics after the Second World War. He also offers vivid portraits of famous as well as unjustly forgotten political thinkers and the movements and institutions they inspired. Muller pays particular attention to ideas advanced to justify fascism and how they relate to the special kind of liberal democracy that was created in postwar Western Europe. He also explains the impact of the 1960s and neoliberalism, ending with a critical assessment of today's self-consciously post-ideological age.

About this title

Review:

"A pathbreaking study...Analysing ideas that had political impact Mülller illuminates a never-ending debate about true and false democracy." --Timothy Garton Ash

"[An] admirably thorough and comprehensive book." --Jürgen Habermas

"...[A] fine study of the impact of mass democracy on European political cultures." --David Marquand, The New Statesman

"...[An] impressive survey of 20th-century European political thought." --Tony Barber, Financial Times

"...[An] excellent book...Müller provides an insightful and comprehensive overview of the development of political ideas in 20th-century Europe."
--Jeremy Jennings, Standpoint

About the Author:

Jan-Werner Muller teaches politics at Princeton University. His previous books include A Dangerous Mind: Carl Schmitt in Post-War European Thought and Another Country: German Intellectuals, Unification and National Identity, both published by Yale University Press.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0300113218
• ISBN 13: 9780300113211
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304