Showing results for "Contemporary Political Theory" in History & Theory

The Great Recession, institutional dysfunction, a growing divide between urban and rural prospects, and failed efforts to effectively address immigration have paved the way for a populist backlash that disrupts the postwar bargain between political elites and citizens. Whether today's populism represents a corrective to unfair and obsolete policies or a threat to liberal democracy remains up for debate. To respond to today's crisis, good leaders must strive for inclusive economic growth while addressing social and cultural issues, including demographic anxiety, with frank attention.

The last twenty years have witnessed a proliferation of radical social and political movements around the world. From the International Women's Strike and Occupy, to #BlackLivesMatter and direct action against the climate emergency, a series of common questions have re-emerged as immediate and practical challenges. How should radical political movements relate to the state? What makes emancipatory politics fundamentally different from both technocratic and populist models of "politics as usual"?

In this visit to New York's 92nd Street Y, Bernard Lewis discusses the Islamic doctrine of Holy War and its manipulation by modern extremists. Lewis turns to history to answer the most critical question we face today: is this a clash of civilization, an intractable ideological face-off like the Cold War? These are topics that came out of his work on his book Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror.