Totalitarian democracy and after : International Colloquium in Memory of Jacob L. Talmon, Jerusalem, 21-24 june 1982 = had-Dı̂mûqrâṭiyā haṭ-ṭôṭâlı̂ṭârı̂t we-aḥarêhā

T H E co N c E PT o F To TALI TAR I AN n EM o c RA c Y gained widespreadcurrency among students of modern history largely after the publicationof Jacob L. Talmon's first book and his analysis there. In this colloquium,dedicated to his memory, the organizers decided to investigate furtherthe meaning of this formulation as well as to explore its repercussionson contemporary historical and literary trends and its relevance tothe political traditions and dynamics of countries and continents today.Talmon's passionate interest in the Jewish situation and its expressionsin various ideologies, mainly their culmination in Zionism, have beengiven attention in a special section of the colloquium.Talmon served as Professor of Modern History at the Hebrew Universityof Jerusalem and was a long-time member of the Israel Academy ofSciences and Humanities, until his untimely death in June 1980. Thecolloquium is sponsored by these two institutions.The present volume contains the major papers presented at thecolloquium, as well as those of the commentators who were invitedto participate in the discussions. We hope that this forum of distinguished contributors will serve its purpose in commemorating JacobTalmon's opus and will elicit a response of continuous interest in thechallenges of this subject This volume, first published in 1984, contains the principal papers from a distinguished colloquium held in 1982. Its avowed purpose is to investigate further the notion of "totalitarian democracy" and to look at its repercussions in the contemporary world.