Political Realism in Apocalyptic Times

'This is an excellent addition to the burgeoning literature on political realism. Straddling political theory and international relations (IR) in a fresh and creative fashion, McQueen offers us a strikingly original portrait of realist responses to apocalypse. Moving seamlessly from Machiavelli to Hobbes to Morgenthau, from early modern debates about the nature of God to modern fears of nuclear annihilation and catastrophic climate change, she tells a fascinating story that raises profound questions about the dangers and the possibilities of political theology. Combining acute textual interpretation, felicitous historical contextualisation, and subtle normative analysis, Political Realism in Apocalyptic Times makes a major contribution to political theory and international relations.' Duncan Bell, University of Cambridge

'Richard Hofstadter famously coined the term 'the paranoid style' to describe a certain histrionic strand within American politics. In Political Realism in Apocalyptic Times, McQueen audaciously outdoes Hofstadter by demonstrating the more widely pervasive 'apocalyptic' style characteristic not only of American political theorizing and practice but also of modern political thought more generally. McQueen shows how and explains why the rhetoric of doomsday, visions of tribulation and redemption, and 'end times' ideologies not only persist but actually pervade the supposedly secular age. She meticulously and ingeniously traces the apocalyptic quality of the contexts in which political authors/actors such as Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Morgenthau wrote, and how this apocalypticism infiltrated their writings. The book is certain to make an enormous impact in the fields of political thought, intellectual history, and American studies, especially given the now fashionable 'theological' turn in political theory and the dramatic surge in apocalyptic politics throughout the world.' John P. McCormick, University of Chicago

'Alison McQueen uses the common, apocalyptic context of their thinking to give us a novel perspective on the unlikely trio of Machiavelli, Hobbes and Morgenthau. The perspective unifies and illuminates, revealing aspects of their writings, and connections between their concerns, that are unseen in other treatments.' Philip Pettit, Princeton University, New Jersey and Australian National University, Canberra

'The most important achievement of Alison McQueen's fascinating new book is that she launches an overdue conversation between and among different versions of 'realism', past and present. Shedding fresh light on Machiavelli, Hobbes, Hans Morgenthau, and other 'realists', McQueen ignores the usual disciplinary boundaries between and among competing realist brands. Hers is an indispensable contribution not only to a growing body of realist scholarship but to political science and philosophy.' William E. Scheuerman, Indiana University

'The heart of the book is four case studies that attempt to con...

Alison McQueen is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Stanford University, California. She writes on the history of political thought, religion in early modern political thought, and political realism. Her work has been published in the Journal of Politics, Perspectives on Politics, European Journal of Political Theory, Political Theory, and Critical Review of Social and Political Philosophy. She is the recipient of the American Political Science Association's Leo Strauss Award for the best dissertation in political philosophy (2012). She has held fellowships at Princeton's University Center for Human Values and the Stanford Humanities Center.

1. Introduction; 2. Understanding the apocalypse; 3. Machiavelli's Savonarolan moment; 4. Hobbes 'At the Edge of Promises and Prophecies'; 5. Morgenthau and the postwar apocalypse; 6. Conclusion.