Ivan Krastev

Stephen Holmes

FINANCIAL TIMES, ECONOMIST, PROSPECT and EVENING STANDARD BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2019 A landmark book that completely transforms our understanding of the crisis of liberalism, from two pre-eminent intellectuals Why did the West, after winning the Cold War, lose its political balance? In the early 1990s, hopes for the eastward spread of liberal democracy were high. And yet the transformation of Eastern European countries gave rise to a bitter repudiation of liberalism itself, not only there but also back in the heartland of the West. In this brilliant work of political psychology, Ivan Krastev and Stephen Holmes argue that the supposed end of history turned out to be only the beginning of an Age of Imitation. Reckoning with the history of the last thirty years, they show that the most powerful force behind the wave of populist xenophobia that began in Eastern Europe stems from resentment at the post-1989 imperative to become Westernized. Through this prism, the Trump revolution represents an ironic fulfillment of the promise that the nations exiting from communist rule would come to resemble the United States. In a strange twist, Trump has elevated Putin's Russia and Orbán's Hungary into models for the United States. Written by two pre-eminent intellectuals bridging the East/West divide, The Light that Failed is a landmark book that sheds light on the extraordinary history of our Age of Imitation.

A Reckoning

The Light that Failed

Nach dem Ende des Kalten Krieges wurde das liberal-demokratische Modell westlicher Prägung alternativlos. Heute zerbrechen weltweit Demokratien vor unseren Augen, zersetzt von Populismus, Nationalismus und der Abkehr von freiheitlichen Werten - gerade auch in Osteuropa. Warum hat der Westen seine Strahlkraft verloren? In ihrer brillanten Analyse zeigen Ivan Krastev und Stephen Holmes, dass das seinerzeit ausgerufene "Ende der Geschichte" in Wahrheit ein Zeitalter der Nachahmung einläutete. Drei Jahrzehnte lang sah sich der Osten gezwungen, den Westen zu imitieren, und versank in Gefühlen der Unzulänglichkeit, Abhängigkeit und des Identitätsverlusts. Inzwischen hat das Vorbild seine moralische Glaubwürdigkeit verloren - und ein gefährliches Wertevakuum geschaffen. "Ein bahnbrechendes Werk über die Politik seit dem Ende des Kalten Kriegs, das uns zwingt, bisherige Überzeugungen infrage zu stellen und die komplexe Dialektik aus Liberalismus und Antiliberalismus neu zu bewerten." George Soros "Es ist ein Buch, das einen dazu verführt, fast auf jeder Seite etwas zu unterstreichen und sich Anmerkungen zu machen. Mit dem Nachahmungsparadigma haben die Autoren ein anregendes Instrumentarium gefunden, um die massenpsychologischen Prozesse unserer Gegenwart offenzulegen. Die Fülle an überraschenden Einsichten und Beobachtungen ist beträchtlich, der detaillierte Blick auf Mentalitätsverschiebungen nicht durch die immer gleichen antifaschistischen Großbegriffe und Ismen verstellt." Die Zeit, Adam Soboczynski "Ivan Krastev ist einer dieser Philosophen, die auch Geschichtenerzähler sind; seine Pointen, Witze, Anekdoten sind Wegweiser, während er von einem Gedanken zum nächsten wandert...Zusammen mit dem New Yorker Rechtsphilosophen Stephen Holmes hat er gerade ein Buch veröffentlicht mit dem Titel "Das Licht, das erlosch. Eine Abrechnung". Und was für eine." Der Spiegel, Lothar Gorris "Ivan Krastev ist einer der großen europäischen Denker unserer Zeit." Timothy Snyder "Krastev zu lesen ist ein Genuss, denn in seiner stilistischen Kunst finden die Liebe zur Literatur, die politische Illusionslosigkeit und die Schönheit des Gedankens zusammen." Die Zeit, Elisabeth von Thadden "Stephen Holmes ist einer der brillantesten politischen Philosophen Amerikas." Tzvetan Todorov

Eine Abrechnung

Das Licht, das erlosch

FINANCIAL TIMES, ECONOMIST, PROSPECT and EVENING STANDARD BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2019 *Winner of the 2020 Lionel Gelber Prize* A landmark book that completely transforms our understanding of the crisis of liberalism, from two pre-eminent intellectuals Why did the West, after winning the Cold War, lose its political balance? In the early 1990s, hopes for the eastward spread of liberal democracy were high. And yet the transformation of Eastern European countries gave rise to a bitter repudiation of liberalism itself, not only there but also back in the heartland of the West. In this brilliant work of political psychology, Ivan Krastev and Stephen Holmes argue that the supposed end of history turned out to be only the beginning of an Age of Imitation. Reckoning with the history of the last thirty years, they show that the most powerful force behind the wave of populist xenophobia that began in Eastern Europe stems from resentment at the post-1989 imperative to become Westernized. Through this prism, the Trump revolution represents an ironic fulfillment of the promise that the nations exiting from communist rule would come to resemble the United States. In a strange twist, Trump has elevated Putin's Russia and Orbán's Hungary into models for the United States. Written by two pre-eminent intellectuals bridging the East/West divide, The Light that Failed is a landmark book that sheds light on the extraordinary history of our Age of Imitation.

The Light That Failed

András Sajó

Renáta Uitz

The Routledge Handbook of IIliberalism is the first authoritative reference work dedicated to illiberalism as a complex social, political, cultural, legal, and mental phenomenon. Although illiberalism is most often discussed in political and constitutional terms, its study cannot be limited to such narrow frames. This Handbook comprises sixty individual chapters authored by an internationally recognized group of experts who present perspectives and viewpoints from a wide range of academic disciplines. Chapters are devoted to different facets of illiberalism, including the history of the idea and its competitors, its implications for the economy, society, government and the international order, and its contemporary iterations in representative countries and regions. The Routledge Handbook of IIliberalism will form an important component of any library's holding; it will be of benefit as an academic reference, as well as being an indispensable resource for practitioners, among them journalists, policy makers and analysts, who wish to gain an informed understanding of this complex phenomenon.

Routledge Handbook of Illiberalism

Designed for young children aged 2-5, these handy little floor puzzle packs contain a 16-page board book and a giant jigsaw puzzle perfect for little hands. Children will love singing the nursery rhyme or listening to/reading the story, and they'll have loads of fun doing the extra-large jigsaw.

Hickory Dickory Dock

The Matador's Cape delves into the causes of the catastrophic turn in American policy at home and abroad since 9/11. In a collection of searing essays, the author explores Washington's inability to bring 'the enemy' into focus, detailing the ideological, bureaucratic, electoral and (not least) emotional forces that severely distorted the American understanding of, and response to, the terrorist threat. He also shows how the gratuitous and disastrous shift of attention from al Qaeda to Iraq was shaped by a series of misleading theoretical perspectives on the end of deterrence, the clash of civilizations, humanitarian intervention, unilateralism, democratization, torture, intelligence gathering and wartime expansions of presidential power. The author's breadth of knowledge about the War on Terror leads to conclusions about present-day America that are at once sobering in their depth of reference and inspiring in their global perspective.

America's Reckless Response to Terror

The Matador's Cape

Holmes challenges the philosophical arguments of the high communitarians...and their intellectual forebears. By the time he is finished, the opposing camp has no survivors, ancient or modern. Anybody who feels drawn to the high communitarian cause owes it to himself (though not to society) to read Mr. Holmes's book; everybody else should read it for pleasure.

The Anatomy of Antiliberalism

Ivan Krʺstev

Jak Zachód zawiódł swoich wyznawców

Światło, które zgasło

Moshe Halbertal

How the book of Samuel offers a timeless meditation on the dilemmas of statecraft The book of Samuel is universally acknowledged as one of the supreme achievements of biblical literature. Yet the book’s anonymous author was more than an inspired storyteller. The author was also an uncannily astute observer of political life and the moral compromises and contradictions that the struggle for power inevitably entails. The Beginning of Politics mines the story of Israel’s first two kings to unearth a natural history of power, providing a forceful new reading of what is arguably the first and greatest work of Western political thought. Through stories such as Saul’s madness, David’s murder of Uriah, the rape of Tamar, and the rebellion of Absalom, the author of Samuel deepens our understanding not only of the necessity of sovereign rule but also of its costs—to the people it is intended to protect and to those who wield it. Moshe Halbertal and Stephen Holmes show how these beautifully crafted narratives cut to the core of politics, offering a timely meditation on the dark side of sovereign power and the enduring dilemmas of statecraft.

Stephen Holmes

About

Books

Join the club