The Despotic Rulers

The Despotic Rulers PDF Author: Muḥammad Jawād Maghnīyah
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Shīʻah
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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The Despotic Rulers

The Despotic Rulers PDF Author: Muḥammad Jawād Maghnīyah
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Shīʻah
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description


The Nature of Despotism

The Nature of Despotism PDF Author: Tom Ambrose
Publisher: New Holland Publishers Uk Limited
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
The tyrants discussed in The Nature of Despotism share common backgrounds, behaviours and motivations that, when viewed together, can be seen as forming the character of the despot. From more predictable origins, such as violent, miserable childhoods, to those that seem more surprising, such as frustrated artistic impulses, each aspect of despotic cause and effect is examined in detail.

Montesquieu and the Despotic Ideas of Europe

Montesquieu and the Despotic Ideas of Europe PDF Author: Vickie B. Sullivan
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022648291X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 301

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Book Description
Montesquieu is famous as a tireless critic of despotism, which he associates overtly with Asia and the Middle East and not with the apparently more moderate Western models of governance found throughout Europe. However, Vickie B. Sullivan argues that a creaful reading of Montesquieu's enormously influential The Spirit of the Law reveals the surprising result that he recognizes that Europe itself is susceptible to despotic practices - and that the threat emanates not from the East but rather from certain despotic ideas that inform Western institutions and practices. Sullivan guides readers through Montesquieu's sometimes veiled yet sharply critical accounts of Machiavelli, Hobbes, Aristotle, and Plato, as well as various Christian thinkers have brough forth despotic ideas in the form, for example, of brutal Machiavellianism, of Hobbes's justifications for the rule of one, of Plato's reasoning that denied slaves the right of natural defense, and of the Christian teachings that equated heresy with treason. Such ideas, Montesquieu shows, inform such revered European institutions as the French monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church. In this new reading of Montesquieu's masterwork, Sullivan corrects the misconception that it offers simple, objective observations, showing it to be instead a powerful critique of European politics that would become remarkably and regrettably prescient after Montesquieu's death, when despotism repeatedly emerged in Europe with virulent intensity. -- from dust jacket.

The Spirit of Despotism

The Spirit of Despotism PDF Author: Vicesimus Knox
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781835915905
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"The Spirit of Despotism" is a political treatise written by Vicesimus Knox, an English essayist and clergyman, first published in 1795. The book is a critical examination of the nature and consequences of despotism, exploring its various forms and manifestations throughout history. Knox begins by defining despotism as a form of government characterized by the absolute power and arbitrary rule of a single individual or group. He argues that despotism is inherently oppressive and tyrannical, depriving individuals of their natural rights and freedoms. Drawing upon examples from ancient and modern history, Knox identifies the key features of despotism, including censorship, surveillance, and the suppression of dissent. He explores how despotic rulers use fear, intimidation, and propaganda to maintain control over their subjects, creating a climate of suspicion and obedience. One of the central themes of "The Spirit of Despotism" is the relationship between despotism and corruption. Knox argues that despotism breeds corruption by concentrating power in the hands of a small elite, who use their influence for personal gain at the expense of the common good. Throughout the book, Knox also examines the role of religion, law, and education in perpetuating or challenging despotism. He argues that a free press, an independent judiciary, and an educated citizenry are essential safeguards against despotism, providing checks and balances to prevent the abuse of power. "The Spirit of Despotism" is not only a critique of authoritarian rule but also a call to action for citizens to resist tyranny and defend their liberties. Knox advocates for political reform, constitutional government, and the promotion of civic virtue as antidotes to the corrosive influence of despotism. Although written more than two centuries ago, "The Spirit of Despotism" remains relevant today as a warning against the dangers of unchecked power and a reminder of the enduring struggle for freedom and democracy. Knox's insights into the nature of despotism continue to resonate with readers, offering valuable lessons for confronting authoritarianism in all its forms.

The Desktop Digest of Despots and Dictators

The Desktop Digest of Despots and Dictators PDF Author: Gilbert Alter-Gilbert
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1620877465
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
The Desktop Digest of Dictators and Despots is a compendium and quick reference guide to history’s most notorious absolutist rulers and authoritarian regimes. In a handsome hardcover format, this handy encyclopedia of totalitarians is as informative as it is titillating, a lurid panorama of history’s most malignant autarchs with original full-color portraits and accompanying psychobiographical profiles. From pharaohs to ayatollahs, from Caesar to Hitler, here are fifty-three profiles of history’s most warped personalities and their shocking crimes. Roman Emperor Nero, who lit the roads to the Coliseum’s night games by lining them with human torches made of the burning bodies of crucified Christians Alfredo Stroessner, under whose administration Paraguay offered comfortable refuge to former Nazis while rifle-toting “sportsmen” flocked to the countryside on weekends to legally hunt Indians Idi Amin, the dictator of Uganda, where power outages at the capitol were a routine occurrence because the sluiceways at the nearby hydroelectric dam were clogged with the bodies of so many citizens executed in his torture cells that the pampered local disposal team—the crocodiles—couldn’t eat them fast enough The horrifying pageant of tyranny has trailed in its wake a vicious train of exploitation, intolerance and oppression—war, conquest, subjugation, slavery, imprisonment, torture and execution—which continues unabated to the present day. Dictators never disappoint when it comes to proving that absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is the perfect handbook for educators, armchair historians, and pop-culture pundits.

Politics: A Very Short Introduction

Politics: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: Kenneth Minogue
Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks
ISBN: 0192853880
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 153

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Book Description
In this introduction, Kenneth Minogue discusses the development of politics from the ancient world to the twentieth century. He considers the evolution of different systems, ideological aspects and the future of political science.

On the Government of Rulers

On the Government of Rulers PDF Author: Ptolemy of Lucca
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 0812201337
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 323

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Book Description
Ptolemy, considered a proto-Humanist by some, combined the principles of Northern Italian republicanism with Aristotelian theory in his De Regimine Principum, a book that influenced much of the political thought of the later Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the early modern period. He was the first to attack kingship as despotism and to draw parallels between ancient Greek models of mixed constitution and the Roman Republic, biblical rule, the Church, and medieval government. In addition to his translation of this important and radical medieval political treatise, written around 1300, James M. Blythe includes a sixty-page introduction to the work and provides over 1200 footnotes that trace Ptolemy's sources, explain his references, and comment on the text, the translation, the context, and the significance.

How to Make Love to a Despot: An Alternative Foreign Policy for the Twenty-First Century

How to Make Love to a Despot: An Alternative Foreign Policy for the Twenty-First Century PDF Author: Stephen D. Krasner
Publisher: Liveright Publishing
ISBN: 1631496603
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
After generations of foreign policy failures, the United States can finally try to make the world safer—not by relying on utopian goals but by working pragmatically with nondemocracies. Since the end of the Second World War, the United States has sunk hundreds of billions of dollars into foreign economies in the hope that its investments would help remake the world in its own image—or, at the very least, make the world “safe for democracy.” So far, the returns have been disappointing, to say the least. Pushing for fair and free elections in undemocratic countries has added to the casualty count, rather than taken away from it, and trying to eliminate corruption entirely has precluded the elimination of some of the worst forms of corruption. In the Middle East, for example, post-9/11 interventionist campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq have proved to be long, costly, and, worst of all, ineffective. Witnessing the failure of the utopian vision of a world full of market-oriented democracies, many observers, both on the right and the left, have begun to embrace a dystopian vision in which the United States can do nothing and save no one. Accordingly, calls to halt all assistance in undemocratic countries have grown louder. But, as Stephen D. Krasner explains, this cannot be an option: weak and poorly governed states pose a threat to our stability. In the era of nuclear weapons and biological warfare, ignoring troubled countries puts millions of American lives at risk. “The greatest challenge for the United States now,” Krasner writes, “is to identify a set of policies that lie between the utopian vision that all countries can be like the United States . . . and the dystopian view that nothing can be done.” He prescribes a pragmatic new course of policy. Drawing on decades of research, he makes the case for “good enough governance”—governance that aims for better security, better health, limited economic growth, and some protection of human rights. To this end, Krasner proposes working with despots to promote growth. In a world where a single terrorist can kill thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people, the United States does not have the luxury of idealistically ignoring the rest of the world. But it cannot remake the world in its own image either. Instead, it must learn how to make love to despots.

The Narrow Corridor

The Narrow Corridor PDF Author: Daron Acemoglu
Publisher: Penguin Books
ISBN: 0735224382
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 594

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Book Description
How does history end? -- The Red Queen -- Will to power -- Economics outside the corridor -- Allegory of good government -- The European scissors -- Mandate of Heaven -- Broken Red Queen -- Devil in the details -- What's the matter with Ferguson? -- The paper leviathan -- Wahhab's children -- Red Queen out of control -- Into the corridor -- Living with the leviathan.

Tyrants

Tyrants PDF Author: Nigel Cawthorne
Publisher: Arcturus Publishing
ISBN: 1782122559
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
"I have committed many acts of cruelty and had an incalculable number of men killed, never knowing whether what I did was right. But I am indifferent to what people think of me." - Genghis Khan A spine-chilling chronicle of dictators and their crimes against humanity, Tyrants introduces the most bloodthirsty madmen - and women - ever to wield power over their unfortunate fellow human beings. From Herod the Great, persecutor of the infant Jesus, to Adolf Hitler, mass murderer and instigator of the most devastating war the world has ever known, this book examines history's most infamous despots and tells in vivid detail the story of the lives they led, their ruthless climb to the top and the destruction and sorrow they left in their wake. Unflinching in its coverage, Tyrants is a gripping and compelling portrait of the darker side of politics and power, revealing the strange and grisly stories behind the world's most infamous autocrats.