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Chapter 3 - Antitotalitarianism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2019

Iain Stewart
Affiliation:
University College London
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Summary

This chapter explores the origins, development and applications of Aron’s theory of totalitarianism from the 1930s to the 1950s. It begins by discussing how Aron’s earliest theorisations of totalitarianism and political religion emerged from critical dialogues with the works of Élie Halévy and Carl Schmitt such that by the eve of the Second World War Aron had arrived at an understanding of totalitarianism as a pathology of modern democracy. The chapter then considers how Aron’s theory of totalitarianism developed with the onset of the Cold War and how this impacted on his understanding of the meaning of modern democracy as a constitutional, pluralist, multi-party regime. It concludes with a discussion of Aron’s theory of totalitarianism in relation to that of Hannah Arendt, explaining how and why Aron came to de-emphasise notions of totalitarianism and secular religion in his work following the death of Stalin in 1953.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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  • Antitotalitarianism
  • Iain Stewart, University College London
  • Book: Raymond Aron and Liberal Thought in the Twentieth Century
  • Online publication: 18 October 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108695879.004
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  • Antitotalitarianism
  • Iain Stewart, University College London
  • Book: Raymond Aron and Liberal Thought in the Twentieth Century
  • Online publication: 18 October 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108695879.004
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Antitotalitarianism
  • Iain Stewart, University College London
  • Book: Raymond Aron and Liberal Thought in the Twentieth Century
  • Online publication: 18 October 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108695879.004
Available formats
×