The politics of good intentions : history, fear, and hypocrisy in the new world order

Tony Blair has often said that he wishes history to judge the great political controversies of the early twenty-first century--above all, the actions he has undertaken in alliance with George W. Bush. This book is the first attempt to fulfill that wish, using the long history of the modern state to put the events of recent years--the war on terror, the war in Iraq, the falling out between Europe and the United States--in their proper perspective. It also dissects the way that politicians like Blair and Bush have used and abused history to justify the new world order they are creating. Many books about international politics since 9/11 contend that either everything changed or nothing changed on that fateful day. This book identifies what is new about contemporary politics but also how what is new has been exploited in ways that are all too familiar. It compares recent political events with other crises in the history of modern politics--political and intellectual, ranging from seventeenth-century England to Weimar Germany--to argue that the risks of the present crisis have been exaggerated, manipulated, and misunderstood. David Runciman argues that there are three kinds of time at work in contemporary politics: news time, election time, and historical time. It is all too easy to get caught up in news time and election time, he writes. This book is about viewing the threats and challenges we face in real historical time.

Wonderfully written, lively, and energetic, The Politics of Good Intentions provides an illuminating guide to a host of contemporary issues, both practical and theoretical. Runciman marches to the beat of no drummer; his analysis is invariably fresh and often remarkably creative.--Cass Sunstein, Karl N. Llewellyn Distinguished Service Professor, Law School and Department of Political Science, University of Chicago

Whenever I read David Runciman, I'm reminded of what I'm always missing in contemporary political writing: perspective. Theoretically sophisticated and empirically concrete, witty and serious, historical and contemporary, Runciman is the E. H. Carr or A. J. P. Taylor of our times--always engaged, always pushing, always a surprise. His is a genuinely transatlantic voice of sanity and hope, which should be heard on both sides of our shared pond.--Corey Robin, City University of New York, author of Fear: The History of a Political Idea

We have been waiting for a book on the world after 9/11 and the decision to go to war in Iraq, and this is it. David Runciman's The Politics of Good Intentions is a masterly analysis of the mix of moralizing illusion and economy with the truth that has infected politics since the terrorist attacks, and which took the U.S. and Britain into an unending war in Iraq. Rigorously reasoned and written with a spare elegance and grace, this will be the canonical book on Blair, Bush, and Iraq for some time to come.--John Gray, London School of Economics, author of Al Qaeda and What It Means to Be Modern and Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals

Political Studies Review

The Politics of Good Intentions . . . signals a welcome re-engagement of contemporary political thinkers with politicians' thought. We can but hope that Runciman's efforts will be reciprocated.

"Many books about international politics since September Eleventh contend that either everything changed or nothing changed on that fateful day. This book identifies what is new about contemporary politics but also how what is new has been exploited in ways that are all too familiar. It compares recent political events with other crises in the history of modern politics - political and intellectual, ranging from seventeenth-century England to Weimar Germany - to argue that the risks of the present crisis have been exaggerated, manipulated and misunderstood."--Jacket