{"product_id":"9780745604084","title":"Western Republicanism and the Oriental Prince","description":"\u003ch1\u003eWestern Republicanism and the Oriental Prince\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch3\u003ePatricia Springborg\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003eHistory \/ Modern \/ 19th Century\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe East\/West divide seems to be as old as history itself, the roots of Orientalism and anti-Semitism lying far beyond the origins of modern Western imperialism. The very project of Western classical republicanism had its darker side: to purloin the legacy of the Greeks, distancing them from Eastern systems deemed 'despotic' and 'other'.  \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWestern Republicanism and the Oriental Prince\u003c\/i\u003e is a thoroughly revisionist book, challenging not only the comfortable view the West has of its own political evolution, but the negative stereotypes of non-Western systems. Not only did these images serve to legitimate early modern European nation states struggling for an identity, but they also served to justify slavery and other forms of domination over subject peoples.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDrawing upon archaeological and epigraphic evidence, Springborg discusses the Mesopotamian and ancient Egyptian contribution of political forms and cultic institutions to classical Graeco-Roman civilization, an Eastern legacy to the West long obscured for political reasons. A different reading of the foundation myths of Athens and Rome, certain texts of Plato, Aristotle, and the writings of Herodotus, Isocrates, Plutarch and Diodorus Siculus, permits us to restore possible lines of filtration. Renaissance thought, long believed to have ushered in the Western classical republican tradition, demonstrates a curious ambivalence towards powerful Eastern system, objects of fascination as much as fear. We do not yet find sedimented the divide between Western Democracy and oriental despotism, in which post-Reformation thought as been set in stone.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis major new study will be of interest to students of political history, political theory, comparative politics and political archaeology.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cb\u003ePatricia Springborg\u003c\/b\u003e previously taught political theory at the University of Canterbury and has held visiting positions at both the Universities of California (Berkeley) and Pennsylvania. She has also been Reader in the Department of Government at the University of Sydney, and has authored \u003ci\u003eThe Problem of Human Needs and the Critique of Civilisation\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eRoyal Persons: Patriarchal Monarchy and the Feminine Principle\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e27 July 1992\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePolity Press\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePolity\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9780745604084\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHardback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e344\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight (oz): \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e24.0\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Polity Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44385480540300,"sku":"9780745604084","price":75.56,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/9780745604084.jpg?v=1780160041","url":"https:\/\/fh90cf-fv.myshopify.com\/products\/9780745604084","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}