Tocqueville and Gobineau on the Nature of Modern Politics

Bibliographic Data

ID8034304
AuthorsAristide Tessitore (corresponding author)
Year2005
Volume67
Issue4
Pages631-657
Publication date2005-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Review of Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0034-6705 • E-ISSN: 1748-6858
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0034670500035658
OpenAlexW2036796521
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited20

This essay takes its bearings from an epistolary dialogue between Arthur de Gobineau and Alexis de Tocqueville about the contours of modern politics. Their dispute illuminates in a remarkable way the theological-political problem that suffuses the emergence of modern politics and, as a consequence, provides a helpful frame of reference for understanding several contemporary controversies bearing on the relationship between religion and liberal democratic politics. Moreover, their correspondence casts new light on the underpinnings of Tocqueville's thought. The frankness of this exchange together with the relentless character of Gobineau's arguments, provoke in Tocqueville an articulation of the larger context within which he understands modern politics and, in so doing, reveals an important, though largely neglected, intellectual framework that informs much of his published work

Articulation (sociology · Character (mathematics · Context (archaeology · Democracy · Epistemology · Frame (networking · Political science · Politics · Sociology · American Constitutional Law and Politics · History · Law · Philosophy · Political Theory and Influence · Religion and Society Interactions

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