The Lesser Evil - Ignatieff, Michael

Michael Ignatieff 

The Lesser Evil

Political Ethics in an Age of Terror

Buch mit Leinen-Einband
 
Führen wir nicht mehr
Nicht lieferbar
Empfehlen


Produktbeschreibung zu The Lesser Evil

Must we fight terrorism with terror, match assassination with assassination, and torture with torture? Must we sacrifice civil liberty to protect public safety?
In the age of terrorism, the temptations of ruthlessness can be overwhelming. But we are pulled in the other direction too by the anxiety that a violent response to violence makes us morally indistinguishable from our enemies. There is perhaps no greater political challenge today than trying to win the war against terror without losing our democratic souls. Michael Ignatieff confronts this challenge head-on, with the combination of hard-headed idealism, historical sensitivity, and political judgment that has made him one of the most influential voices in international affairs today.
Ignatieff argues that we must not shrink from the use of violence - that far from undermining liberal democracy, force can be necessary for its survival. But its use must be measured, not a program of torture and revenge. And we must not fool ourselves that whatever we do in the name of freedom and democracy is good. We may need to kill to fight the greater evil of terrorism, but we must never pretend that doing so is anything better than a lesser evil.
In making this case, Ignatieff traces the modern history of terrorism and counter-terrorism, from the nihilists of Czarist Russia and the militias of Weimar Germany to the IRA and the unprecedented menace of Al Qaeda, with its suicidal agents bent on mass destruction. He shows how the most potent response to terror has been force, decisive and direct, but - just as important - restrained. The public scrutiny and political ethics that motivate restraint also give democracy its strongest weapon: the moral power to endure when the furies of vengeance and hatred are spent.
The book is based on the Gifford Lectures delivered at the University of Edinburgh in 2003.


Produktinformation


  • Abmessung: 24 cm
  • Gewicht: 475g
  • ISBN-13: 9780691117515
  • ISBN-10: 0691117519
  • Best.Nr.: 12897337
The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks threatened Americans’ safety, and strained the U.S.’s judicial and social interpretations about how to respond to a national emergency. Civil rights and constitutional experts from both conservative and liberal camps had to respond to the country’s new “Homeland Security” practices dealing with surveillance and detention. Their reactions involved everything from the right of habeas corpus to the U.S. Constitution and the rights of captured combatants. Michael Ignatieff covers this heady area in essays adapted from a lecture series. The topic is crucial, but alas the book is dense reading. However, the author’s interpretations of civil and legal issues, constitutional law, the rule of law, and the ethics and morality of fighting terrorists will deeply intrigue those in related fields. getAbstract considers this an important book for lawyers and academics, if not casual readers. Ignatieff shows that balancing the rights of those criminals known as terrorists against the safety of citizens is an issue society will debate hotly for years to come.
Powered by
Die Buchzusammenfassungen von getAbstract sind der schnellste Weg, um Ihr Wissen zu erweitern. Jeden Monat werden 50 Neuerscheinungen aus den Bereichen Wirtschaft, Management, IT und Politik zusammengefasst. Wählen Sie aus über 5.000 Titeln aus. In allen Formaten, PDF, iPhone, Blackberry oder Palm.
Michael Ignatieff wurde 1947 in Toronto geboren und lebt heute in London. Nach seiner Forschungstätigkeit als Historiker am King's College, Cambridge, widmete er sich in den letzten Jahren mit großem Erfolg sowohl dem Roman als auch der politischen Reportage. Durch zahlreiche Arbeiten für die BBC und das kanadische Fernsehen sowie einer eigenen Talkshow ist er mittlerweile ein international gefragter Journalist und politischer Kommentator. 2003 erhielt er den Hannah-Arendt-Preis.

Andere Kunden interessierten sich auch für

Mehr von

Mehr zum Thema