Overview
- Argues against Arendt’s ‘banality of evil’ thesis from a theoretical perspective
- Compares regimes to consider why they become totalitarian
- Demonstrates that totalitarianism is not purely a modern phenomenon
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Table of contents (8 chapters)
Keywords
- totalitarianism in Spain
- totalitarianism in Germany
- totalitarianism in Sweden
- totalitarianism in France
- evil acts
- Hannah Arendt
- banality of evil
- Spanish Inquisition
- French Inquisition
- Nazi Germany
- Holocaust
- evilness
- anti-Semitism
- social exclusion
- nationalism
- racism
- pre-modern totalitarianism
- totalitarian regimes
- authoritarian regimes
- religion and society
About this book
This book provides a comparative and historical analysis of totalitarianism and considers why Spain became totalitarian during its inquisition but not France; and why Germany became totalitarian during the previous century, but not Sweden. The author pushes the concept of totalitarianism back into the pre-modern period and challenges Hannah Arendt’s notion of the banality of evil. Instead, he presents an alternative framework that can explain why some states become totalitarian and why they induce people to commit evil acts.
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Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Steven Saxonberg is a professor in the Institute of European Studies, Faculty of Social Studies, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia, and the Institute of Public Policy and Social Work, Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. He has done research at the Centre for Social and Economic Strategies, Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Pre-Modernity, Totalitarianism and the Non-Banality of Evil
Book Subtitle: A Comparison of Germany, Spain, Sweden and France
Authors: Steven Saxonberg
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28195-3
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-28194-6Published: 04 November 2019
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-28197-7Published: 04 November 2020
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-28195-3Published: 23 October 2019
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: IX, 303
Topics: Religion and Society, Politics and Religion, Political Sociology, European Politics, Political History, Comparative Politics