Cloaked in Virtue : Unveiling Leo Strauss and the Rhetoric of American Foreign Policy

It is now commonly acknowledged that numerous key players in and around the Bush administration’s planning of the Iraq invasion were connected through a common background in the political philosophy of Leo Strauss, a German-born University of Chicago professor who died in 1973. These Straussian "neocons" were held responsible for exploiting the September 11th attacks in order to further their own foreign policy agenda. Cloaked in Virtue is the first book to take a critical view of the political ideas of Leo Strauss himself by careful attention to his own writings before and after his emigration to the United States. The result is a critical examination of the political theory of Leo Strauss, lifting the veil of intentional obfuscation, and its influence on the neoconservative foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of politics and international relations. "It is now commonly acknowledged that numerous key players in and around the Bush administration's planning of the Iraqi invasion were connected through a common background in the political philosophy of Leo Strauss, a German-born University of Chicago professor who died in 1973. These Straussian "neocons" were held responsible for exploiting the September 11th attacks in order to further their own foreign policy agenda. Cloaked in Virtue is the first book to take a critical view of the political ideas of Leo Strauss himself by careful attention to his own writings before and after his emigration to the United States. The result is a critical examination of the political theory of Leo Strauss, lifting the veil of intentional obfuscation, and its influence on the neoconservative foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration."--BOOK JACKET In "Republican Guard", Nicholas Xenos describes the Straussian network and its nature, focusing upon delineating what in Leo Strauss' writings has influenced and can tell us about the 'character of American power today and the rhetoric through which it is enhanced and sustained.' In the end he argues and demonstrates that Strauss' political theory provides the means by which an imperial project can be camouflaged under the cloak of an appeal to liberal democracy. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of politics and international relations The Straussian Network -- Becoming Leo Strauss (i) -- Becoming Leo Strauss (ii) -- Leo Strauss Comes To American : Politics Between The Lines -- On Modernity's Tyranny -- Nihilism And The Straussian Justification Of Imperial Power. Nicholas Xenos. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [163]-166) And Index. Preface Introduction The Straussian Network Becoming Leo Strauss (I) Becoming Leo Strauss (II) Leo Strauss Comes to America: Politics Between the Lines On Modernity's Tyranny Nihilism and the Straussian Justification of Imperial Power Notes Bibliography Index