{"title":"Tzvetan Todorov","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTzvetan Todorov\u003c\/strong\u003e offers profound reflections on the complexities of modern politics and the fragility of democratic ideals. His works explore the moral and ethical challenges faced by societies confronting violence, fear, and power, often delving into the darker dimensions of human nature and governance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders will find compelling analyses of contemporary issues such as torture and state terror, inviting deep consideration of justice, human rights, and the defence of freedom. Todorov’s writing combines philosophical insight with acute political observation, making his books essential for those interested in \u003cem\u003ePolitics \u0026amp; Current Affairs\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-inner-enemies-of-democracy-by-tzvetan-todorov-9780745685748","title":"The Inner Enemies of Democracy","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe political history of the twentieth century can be viewed as the history of democracy’s struggle against its external enemies: fascism and communism. This struggle ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet regime. Some people think that democracy now faces new enemies: Islamic fundamentalism, religious extremism and international terrorism, and that this is the struggle that will define our times. Todorov disagrees: the biggest threat to democracy today is democracy itself. Its enemies are within: what the ancient Greeks called \u003cem\u003ehubris\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTodorov argues that certain democratic values have been distorted and pushed to an extreme that serves the interests of dominant states and powerful individuals. In the name of ‘democracy’ and ‘human rights’, the United States and some European countries have embarked on a crusade to enlighten some foreign populations through the use of force. Yet this mission to ‘help’ others has led to Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, to large-scale destruction and loss of life and to a moral crisis of growing proportions. The defence of freedom, if unlimited, can lead to the tyranny of individuals.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDrawing on recent history as well as his own experience of growing up in a totalitarian regime, Todorov returns to examples borrowed from the Western canon: from a dispute between Augustine and Pelagius to the fierce debates among Enlightenment thinkers, to explore the origin of these perversions of democracy. He argues compellingly that the real democratic ideal is to be found in the delicate, ever-changing balance between competing principles: popular sovereignty, freedom and progress. When one of these elements breaks free and turns into an over-riding principle, it becomes dangerous: populism, ultra-liberalism and messianism, the inner enemies of democracy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47471797207276,"sku":"9780745685748","price":30.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780745685748-the-inner-enemies-of-democracy.jpg?v=1775254976"},{"product_id":"torture-and-the-war-on-terror-by-tzvetan-todorov-9781803097039","title":"Torture and the War on Terror","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOne of the world's leading intellectuals dismantles the political and ethical justifications for institutional torture.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the aftermath of 9\/11, the US government approved interrogation tactics for enemy combatant detainees that could be defined as torture, which was outlawed in Europe in the eighteenth century and forbidden by the Geneva Conventions and the United Nations Convention Against Torture. In conjunction with these policies, the Bush administration vocally defended torture as a necessary tool in its Global War on Terror. Though the election of Barack Obama and his signing of the executive order to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay signalled a considerable shift away from the policies of the Bush era, the lessons to be learned from the Global War on Terror will remain relevant and necessary for many years to come.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eTorture and the War on Terror\u003c\/em\u003e, Tzvetan Todorov argues that the use of the terms \"war\" and \"terror\" dehumanises the enemy and permits treatment that would otherwise be impermissible. He examines the implications and corrupting impact of the attempt to impose \"good\" through violence and spread democratic values by unethical means. Todorov asks: Can violence overcome violence? Does the need to protect one's own country justify violating human rights? Challenging one by one the political and ethical arguments in favour of torture, Todorov likens institutional torture to a cancer that is eroding our society and undermining the very fundamental democratic ideas of justice and right.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48038595821804,"sku":"9781803097039","price":52.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781803097039-torture-and-the-war-on-terror.jpg?v=1785394058"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/tzvetan-todorov.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}