Power grabs, partisan stand-offs, propaganda, and riots make for tantalizing fiction, but what do we do when that drama becomes a reality all around us? For a country founded as an escape from British tyranny, the United States seems to have devolved into a land where tyrants rise to power, sycophants blindly follow, and the entire nation suffers. As ancient Greek philosophers warned us, chaotic tragedy unfolds in the absence of reason, and the only cure is a return to wisdom and virtue. America’s founding fathers knew this lesson all too well and dreamed of an enlightened citizenry guided by better-than-ideological dictators. Using contemporary events to illuminate universal human weaknesses, Andrew Fiala charts the perennial history of tyrannical takeovers and the masses who support them and ultimately suffer under their rule. Ultimately, Fiala also points to a solution. Knowing the cyclical nature of tyranny, we can build safeguards against our worst inclinations and keep alive the freedoms our founding fathers envisioned for this nation.

Donald Trump in Historical Perspective: Dead Precedents is a collection of chapters that utilizes the thinking of historians, philosophers, and political scientists to explore historical parallels to the presidency of Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States of America. This collection provides an extensive analysis on the ways Trump’s impulsiveness, breaking of norms, and disregard for longstanding democratic pieties, caused him to represent a definitive end to the "American century," an era when American self-confidence, steadiness, and leadership, even in the face of titanic challenges, were almost universally taken for granted. Yet this book also argues how in the longer sweep of history, Trump is a familiar figure in the turbulent life of democracies. These in-depth chapters reveal the ways Trump represents the anti-institutionalist, the populist demagogue, the would-be authoritarian who exploits electoral and political vulnerabilities to gain and hold power. Through these detailed evaluations, these chapters suggest that Trump is not radically unique, but that democracies have produced many previous versions of the Trump phenomenon. This book is essential reading for scholars and students in political science, political theory, history, and leadership. This book is also noteworthy for readers interested in key developments in contemporary American democracy. One of its greatest appeals is its extensive look into leadership on an international scale, from Donald Trump’s global significance to various explorations of non-American leaders, and the comparisons that can be made.

Tamás Nyirkos provides a timely and essential reassessment of the concept of the "tyranny of the majority" for the study of democracy today. The analysis is divided into three parts: the first discusses the "prehistory" of majority tyranny; the second reviews the elements of the "standard theory" in the modern era; while the third deals with the current "postmodern" challenges to the prevailing order of liberal democracy. Combining different elements of theories dating from the Middle Ages to the present, Nyirkos theorizes that while the term "the tyranny of the majority" may be misleading, the threat that tyrannical governments justify themselves by reference to the majority will remain with us for the foreseeable future. He shows how some of the greatest political philosophers of the past – democrats and antidemocrats alike – shared the same fears about the majoritarian principle. The Tyranny of the Majority will offer all those who read it a better understanding of what is meant not only by this term, but also by related terms like democratic despotism, populism, or illiberal democracy. It will be of interest to scholars of politics and international relations, political philosophy, political theology, and intellectual history.

This book aims to recover from ancient and modern thinkers valuable arguments about statesmanship, leadership, and tyranny which illuminate reassessments of political science and practice after the election of Donald Trump. Like almost everyone else, contemporary political scientists were blind-sided by the rise of Trump. No one expected a candidate to win who repeatedly violated both political norms and the conventional wisdom about campaign best practices. Yet many of the puzzles that Trump’s rise presents have been examined by the great political philosophers of the past. For example, it would come as no surprise to Plato that by its very emphasis on popularity, democracy creates the potential for tyranny via demagoguery. And, perhaps no problem is more alien to empirical political science than asking if statesmanship entails virtue or if so, in what that virtue consists: This is a theme treated by Plato, Aristotle, and Machiavelli, among others. Covering a range of thinkers such as Confucius, Plutarch, Kant, Tocqueville, and Deleuze, the essays in this book then seek to place the rise of Trump and the nature of his political authority within a broader institutional context than is possible for mainstream political science.

Andreas Avgousti considers the modern problem of reputation by turning to the dialogues of Plato, to show that reputation is not only an issue for political elites, but that it is a quality that helps the wider citizenry to cohere, bringing together citizens and non-citizens. Avgousti argues that reputation is worth thinking about because it is a power that circulates among the many, linked to and sustained by myths and rumors, and it is a power that the many exercise through the social mechanisms of praise and blame.

Post-truth politics is both a result of a democratic culture in which each person is encouraged to voice their opinion, and a threat to the continuation of democracy as partisans seek to deny political standing to those with incommensurate world views. Are there resources within political theory for overcoming this tension? This book argues that Stanley Cavell's philosophy provides a conceptual framework for responding to post-truth politics. Jonathan Havercroft develops an original interpretation of Stanley Cavell as a theorist of democratic perfectionism. By placing Cavell's writings in conversation with political theorists on debates about the social contract, interpretive methods, democratic theory and political aesthetics, Stanley Cavell's Democratic Perfectionism cultivates modes of responsiveness that strengthen our democratic culture and help us resist the contemporary crisis of democratic backsliding. Each chapter diagnoses a sceptical crisis in contemporary politics and a mode of responsiveness in Cavell's thought that can respond to that crisis.

The world is currently plagued by polarization, hyper-partisanship, authoritarianism, Majoritarian Democracy, Identity Politics, zero-sum politics and economics, inequality, racism, sexism, populism, Nativism, and dystopian societies. There is a desperate cry for solutions to these problems. This book is dedicated to solving these problems. This book identifies the extent of the problems as they are manifested in America. Then, this book takes the novel approach of operationalizing Justice as Fairness as the foundation of it uses the myriad works of John Rawls to devise solutions to these problems. Specifically, it uses Rawls’ “Justice as Fairness” as the foundation of a revolutionary set of solutions to these global problems.) This book is at once observational, diagnostic, prophylactic, and prognostic in its focus. This book takes an observational, diagnostic, and prophylactic approach to solve the problems above. According to Rawls, “Justice as Fairness” is an exercise in “ideal (metaphysical) theory.” This book goes beyond the metaphysical, by rendering Justice as Fairness into the realm of “nonideal (real world) theory.” It does this by first deciphering and explaining Justice as Fairness’ challenging concepts using ideas borrowed from many disciplines. The book then moves on to develop a Justice as Fairness Logic Model which identifies the structures, mechanics, and dynamics of Justice as Fairness. Then, this book operationalizes Justice as Fairness through the creation of a revolutionary management system, “Equity Management,” and a companion license-fee-free web-based software system, “Plato.” Equity Management-Plato was developed using Justice as Fairness, Systems Theory, program evaluation techniques, the judicial principle “strict scrutiny,” and Environmental Scanning and Forecasting. Finally, this book outlines how Equity Management-Plato can be used to manage six public sector environments ultimately creating a level playing field and just, fair, and inclusive circumstances for all Americans. The historical, political, social, and economic contexts of this book derive from the American experience. However, the problems and solutions identified in this book are universal. Therefore, the prognosis for countries adopting Equity Management-Plato is the development of new social contracts the adoption of Representative Consensus Democracy; justice, fairness, inclusion, reconciliation, and the realization of E Pluribus Unum. If affirmatively adopted and implemented, the solutions proposed in this book will result in the creation of Rawls’ “realistic utopias,” the saving of liberal democracy worldwide, and ultimately the creation of a “better world.” Author_Bio: Charles A. Washington is currently the President of Washington & Associates, Inc. which specializes in software design, development, and related consulting. Previously, he was President of Washington & Rice, LLC that was responsible for developing and disseminating contract compliance software named “Champ” and “Champ-Web” which was sold into four states. He spent eight years working for government agencies as a Grants Manager and as a Contract Compliance Manager. He received a BA degree (double major in Political Science and Black Studies), a MA degree, and a Ph.D., all from Indiana University-Bloomington. He taught at Cleveland State University, Jackson State University, Cuyahoga County Community College, and Lakeland Community College. He is married and has two children. He currently lives in Ohio. Keywords: John Rawls, Justice As Fairness, Social Contract, Equity Management-Plato, Representative Consensus Democracy; Justice, Fairness, Inclusion, Positive-Sum Politics And Economics, Reconciliation

In September 2019， the 6th High-level Think Tanks Symposium of China and CEEC was held in Bled， Slovenia. The Symposium took place regularly in China or CEE countries each year from 2013 to 2019， and it is a top-level platform for scholars， experts and government officials from China and CEE countries to discuss China-CEEC Cooperation. This book collected essays of the 6th Symposium， which analyzed the achievements of China-CEEC Cooperation in the past eight years and discussed the direction for future cooperation from multiple dimensions. The purpose of this book is to provide readers with a comprehensive perspective of analyzing China-CEEC Cooperation and contribute to the success of the 6th Symposium.

The election of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States in 2016 was a pivotal moment not just for America but for the world. A celebrity rather than a politician, Trump promised to turn politics on its head – and he did. But was he an aberration or did he represent a continuity of forces already in play? Who was he, where did he come from, and what did he do? These are questions future historians will ask as they grapple with the meaning of Trump, the implications of his presidency, and his place in history.

It is an excellent book – highly intelligent, interesting and original. Expressing high philosophy in a readable form without trivialising it is a very difficult task and McAleer manages the task admirably. Plato is, yet again, intensely topical in the chaotic and confused world in which we are now living. Philip Allott, Professor Emeritus of International Public Law at Cambridge University This book is a lucid and accessible companion to Plato’s Republic, throwing light upon the text’s arguments and main themes, placing them in the wider context of the text’s structure. In its illumination of the philosophical ideas underpinning the work, it provides readers with an understanding and appreciation of the complexity and literary artistry of Plato’s Republic. McAleer not only unpacks the key overarching questions of the text – What is justice? And Is a just life happier than an unjust life? – but also highlights some fascinating, overlooked passages which contribute to our understanding of Plato’s philosophical thought. Plato’s 'Republic': An Introduction offers a rigorous and thought-provoking analysis of the text, helping readers navigate one of the world’s most influential works of philosophy and political theory. With its approachable tone and clear presentation, it constitutes a welcome contribution to the field, and will be an indispensable resource for philosophy students and teachers, as well as general readers new to, or returning to, the text.