Democracy and Dictatorship: The Nature and Limits of State Power

Norberto Bobbio

U of Minnesota Press, 1989 - Political Science - 186 pages

In this important volume Norberto Bobbio examines some of the central themes of political theory and presents a systematic exposition of his views. With great astuteness and profound scholarship, Bobbio unfolds the elements for a general theory of politics.


Bobbio's wide-ranging argument is focused on four themes: the distinction between the public and the private; the concept of civil society; differing conceptions of the state and differing ways of understanding the legitimacy of state power; and the relation between democracy and dictatorship. Bobbio's discussion draws on a wealth of theoretical and historical material, from Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes and Locke to Marx, Weber, Habermas and Foucault. By analysing the development of different languages of politics in relation to changing social and historical contexts, Bobbio deepens our understanding of the concepts we use to describe and evaluate modern political systems.

Contents

• The evaluative use of the great dichotomy: 9
• The second meaning of the dichotomy: 17
• The Marxian interpretation: 27
• The natural law tradition: 34
• State Power and Government: 44
• The name and the thing: 57
• The state and power: 69
• The foundation of power: 81
• State and law: 89
• The forms of government: 100
• Forms of state: 111
• The end of the state: 125
• Democracy and Dictatorship: 133
• The historical use: 145
• Representative democracy and direct democracy: 152
• Ancient dictatorship: 158
• Bibliography: 167

Bibliographic information

• Title: Democracy and Dictatorship: The Nature and Limits of State Power
• Author: Norberto Bobbio
• Publisher: U of Minnesota Press, 1989
• ISBN: 0816618135, 9780816618132
• Length: 186 pages
• Subjects: Political Science / General; Political Science / History & Theory; Political Science / Political Ideologies / Democracy