Political enthusiasm : partisan feeling and democracy's enchantments / Andrew Poe.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Poe, Andrew, author.

Contributor:

Rosengarten Family Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political psychology.

Enthusiasm--Political aspects.

Enthusiasm.

Physical Description:

226 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Manchester : Manchester University Press, 2022.

Summary:

Enthusiasm has long been perceived as a fundamental danger to democratic politics, with many regarding it as a source of instability and irrationalism. Such views can make enthusiasm appear as a direct threat to the reason and order on which democracy is thought to rely. But such a desire for a sober and moderate democratic politics is perilously misleading and ignores the emotional basis on which democracy thrives.0Enthusiasm in democracy works to help political actors identify and foster radical changes. We feel enthusiasm at precisely those moments of new beginnings, when politics takes on new shapes and structures. Being clear about how we experience enthusiasm, and how we recognize it, is thus crucial for democracy, which depends on the sharing of power and the alteration of rule.0This book traces the shifting understanding of enthusiasm in modern Western political thought. Poe explores how political actors use enthusiasm to motivate allegiances, how we have come to think on the dangers of enthusiasm in democratic politics, and how else we might think about enthusiasm today. From its inception, democracy has relied on a constant affective energy of renewal. By tracing the way this crucial emotional energy is made manifest in political actions - from ancient times to the present - this book sheds light on the way enthusiasm has been understood by political scientists, philosophers, and political activists, as well as its implications for future democratic politics.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Igniting politics: from enthusiasm to fanaticism

2. On the borders of enthusiasm: beginning a very dangerous politics

3. Our unknown zeal: or what goes wrong when we seek political relief

4. Strike! Enthusiasm in several political acts

5. Stirring emotion: hatreds in democracy.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Rosengarten Family Fund.

Other Format:

ebook version :

ISBN:

1526156911

9781526156914

OCLC:

1226763964