Rhetoric for a Democracy in Crisis

This book offers a response to the democratic crisis of our time. Drawing on the rich rhetorical tradition, it recovers a distinct Mediterranean currentshaped by figures such as Isocrates, Quintilian, and Giambattista Vicothat provides compelling theoretical alternatives. Contemporary democracy, the book argues, can be significantly enriched by this legacy. It explores its connections to the political theory that challenged the positivist political science, its resistance to the propaganda typical of tyrannies, and its inclusive ethos grounded in a reverence for differenceresonating with Hannah Arendt's notion of freedom of movement, both in the world and in thought.

The rhetorical perspective developed here contributes to rethinking 'the political' as envisioned by Arendt and Sheldon Wolin, in opposition to the Schmittian conception recently revived by populism. In doing so, the book demonstrates the potential of rhetorical thought to renew the principles of radical democracy in the face of contemporary challenges.

Makes an important contribution to the so-called revival of rhetoric among political theorists Focuses on a number of thinkers and topics that have not yet received the necessary attention from scholars Develops a re-reading of figures within contemporary democratic theory, advancing an alternative vision of the political

Autorentext

Víctor Alonso-Rocafort is Associate Professor of Political Theory at Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), Spain, where his research explores rhetoric, radical democracy, and environmental political theory.

Inhalt

Chapter 1: Boundaries for a New Science.- Chapter 2: A Defense of Political Theory.- Chapter 3: Hannah Arendt and the Lost Pearls of Walter Benjamin.- Chapter 4 The Political Theory of Isocrates and Quintilian.- Chapter 5: Giambattista Vico: Insights for Democratic (Re)Construction.- Chapter 6: Freedom of Movement in Hannah Arendt.- Chapter 7: The Political First: the Moment of Arendt and Wolin.