Dismantling Democratic States, Ezra Suleiman, Princeton and Oxford, Princeton University Press, 2003, pp. 327.

At the heart of this comparative text is a fundamental critique of the substitution of the norms of the market place for those of collective public interest. As citizens are transformed into ubiquitous consumers, so the reinvention of government raises profound questions about the public domain and its role. To this extent, the New Public Management (NPM) is a vehicle for a deeper ideological program, differentiating it from earlier reform endeavours. However, Suleiman contends it is a global movement very much constrained by cultural contexts. The reluctance of countries such as France or Japan to implement far-reaching reforms reflects deeply embedded socio-cultural and political values that underpin the public sphere, unlike prevalent values in the United States.

Comparative Biomedical Policy: Governing Assisted Reproductive Technologies, Ivor Bleiklei, Malcolm L. Goggin and Christine Rothmayr, eds., London: Routledge, 2004, pp. 284.

Few issues have the potential to combine elements of science fact and science fiction as does the field of biomedical research and its offshoot, assisted reproductive technologies (ART). As newspapers testify with regularity, this area of science and medicine uniquely combines promises for the improvement of human health but also exemplifies the dangers associated with scientists playing god with the very the building blocks of our species. Confronted with these stark opposites, public authorities have entered the fray and have tried, with varied responses, to frame these practices in such as way as to encourage and stimulate the positive elements of this area of research and medicine, such as in vitro fertilization, while cutting off or severely circumscribing the areas which have been deemed immoral or unethical, such as human cloning. It is where issues of morality or ethics enter the policy discourse that the waters get murky and where, as a result, governments find the arbitration between first-person experiences and societal norms the most difficult.

Contre l'espoir comme tâche politique., Lawrence Olivier., Montréal : Liber, 2004, 247 p.

Lawrence Olivier est un penseur et un philosophe de la modernité. Il n'est pas moderne, il n'est pas traditionnel et, Dieu merci, il n'est pas postmoderne non plus. Son dernier essai “ Contre l'espoir comme tâche politique ” donne cependant l'impression d'un immense plaidoyer contre le défi que s'est lancé l'humain moderne à lui-même. Défi situé au cœur même de la modernité, soit celui de “ faire de l'homme un homme ” à travers ce qu'il appelle “ le principe espérance ”, porté entre autres par l'éducation et l'expérience politique depuis le dix-huitième siècle.

Pursuing Equal Opportunities: The Theory and Practice of Egalitarian Justice, Lesley A. Jacobs, Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Public Policy; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004, pp. xiv, 280.

The concept of equality and the precise means by which it is most effectively realized are matters that for centuries have engaged scholars representing a variety of disciplines and animated some of the most interesting and sophisticated works in the fields of political theory, economics, sociology, and jurisprudence, to name only a few. Efforts to identify the specific demands of equality and the conditions necessary for its realization generate both theoretical and practical challenges. In particular, before one can develop a theory of egalitarian justice, it is necessary to determine what is meant by equality—what it provides and for whom—and which legal and political institutions are best suited to help secure its establishment and preservation.

The Biblical Politics of John Locke, Kim Ian Parker, Editions SR, Volume 29; Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2004, pp. ix, 211.

Parker's study is on the foundational role played by the creation story of Genesis in Locke's moral and political philosophy. Locke's First Treatise against patriarchalism was not only a refutation of Filmer's reading of Adam and original sin, it was a positive rereading of that story suggesting “an emancipation of humanity almost unprecedented in theological writings” (38). Locke's distinction between paternal and political power, then, is not merely a way of “scoring polemical points against Filmer” but becomes a way “to form the basis of his political theory” (120). What can too easily be read as “merely” exegetical polemic in the First Treatise is translated into philosophical argument in the Second Treatise.

James Madison: The Theory and Practice of Republican Government, Samuel Kernell, ed., Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003, pp. ix, 381.

The result of a conference celebrating James Madison's 250th birthday in 2001, this collection of essays is full of valuable insights on important aspects of his political science. At a time when historians give much less consideration to the politics of the Founding than they used to, these essays are a welcome reminder of the importance of the questions still remaining.

Love and Politics: Re-interpreting Hegel, Alice Ormiston, SUNY series in Hegelian Studies; Albany: State University of New York Press, 2004, pp. ix, 164.

John, Paul, George and Ringo remind us that “all you need is love.” I suspect most would agree with The Beatles when, pausing in our scholarly endeavours, we glance about at the gloomy train wreck of many a personal relationship. When we return to our vocation's most gripping questions—How are community and individual autonomy to be harmonized? How is reason to be satisfied and yet ordinary emotional experience affirmed? How can democratic institutions be strengthened against technocratic thinking and control?—love is no doubt put aside and the serious work of theorizing real solutions begins. Ormiston's project is to rescue love as a solution to just such questions.

Leo Strauss, Max Weber, And The Scientific Study Of Politics, Nasser Behnegar, Chicago: U. of Chicago Press, 2003, pp, xiii, 221.

Any serious student of Leo Strauss will be familiar with the fact that Strauss was a serious critic of modern political science. Strauss contended throughout his career that the modern social sciences are one of the driving forces currently driving modern liberalism into a state of crisis. In Leo Strauss, Max Weber and The Scientific Study of Politics, Nasser Behnegar encapsulates Strauss' critique of the modern social sciences in an accessible and easy to read text.

September 11: Consequences for Canada, Kent Roach, Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2003, pp. ii, 272.

This is an important book. It is scholarly, timely, and provocative. It has two chief aims. The first, as the title suggests, is in Kent Roach's words “to provide a critical assessment of the consequences of September 11 for Canada” (18). The second is to suggest how in his estimation Canada's anti-terrorism policies should evolve. To these ends the various chapters in September 11 examine post-9/11 developments in Canadian law and democracy, in Canada's immigration and security policies, and in Canadian sovereignty. In their sum these chapters provide a masterly treatment of the challenges posed to this country by a defining moment in both contemporary international relations and the “special” Canadian-American relationship. Given the depth and scope of this work, no brief review can do justice to it. Its finely-tuned yet erudite legal arguments deserve to be read closely.

Les territoires de la mondialisation, Guy Mercier (sous la direction de), Québec : Presses de l'Université Laval, 2004, 91 p.

Cet ouvrage collectif sous la direction de Guy Mercier, qui est Professeur à l'Université Laval au Québec (Canada), prolonge un débat entamé au salon international du livre de Québec le 25 avril 2002. Ce sont quatre géographes réputés qui discutent de l'actuelle mondialisation des économies et des moeurs. Il s'agit de Paul Claval, professeur émérite à la Sorbonne à Paris, Rodolphe De Konnick, professeur à l'Université de Montréal, Angelo Turco, professeur à l'Université Degli Studi (L'Aquila) et enfin, Augustin Berque, directeur de recherche à l'École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) à Paris.

Théories des relations internationales, Dario Battistella, Paris : Presses de sciences po, 2003, 512 p.

Depuis quelques années, plusieurs ouvrages ont été publiés en français sur différents aspects de la discipline des relations internationales, mais il manquait encore un véritable ouvrage d'introduction aux principales théories des relations internationales. C'est cette lacune que Dario Battistella, professeur à l'Institut d'études politiques de Bordeaux, cherche à combler avec son ouvrage intitulé Théories des Relations internationales. L'objectif poursuivi est de présenter, de manière simple et accessible, les principales écoles théoriques et les principaux auteurs en relations internationales pour les étudiants et pour les lecteurs en général qui s'intéressent à ces questions. L'autre objectif, plus ambitieux, est d'inciter des internationalistes francophones à la production théorique (l'auteur s'adresse aux chercheurs français, mais il me semble plus juste d'élargir à l'ensemble du monde francophone).

Smoke and Mirrors: Globalized Terrorism and the Illusion of Multilateral Security, Frank P. Harvey, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004, p. x, 345.

Following the second Gulf War, international observers were quick to criticize the unilateral behaviour of the United States. Without a UN mandate, the allies had undermined the very institution they had created to foster multilateralism following the Second World War. Yet, Frank Harvey makes the case that not only is unilateralism the new trend in American foreign policy, it is desirable in an age of terrorism and nuclear proliferation. Harvey begins by scrutinizing the foundations of multilateralism and their applicability to the post 9/11 world. He concludes that not only is the higher moral ground associated with multilateralism a fallacy, but that multilateralism can be dangerous in an era where rapid responses to security threats are needed. To justify his conclusions, Harvey examines both the buildup to the 2003 Iraq conflict and the issue of Ballistic Missile Defense. He concludes with an analysis of future U.S. and Canadian security policy.

Global Responses to Terrorism: 9/11 Afghanistan and Beyond, Mary Buckley and Rick Fawn, eds., New York: Routledge, 2003.

In the aftermath of 9/11, book publishers have been relatively quick to release works that somehow capitalize on the public's demand for insight with respect to terrorism and groups such as Al-Qaeda. Many of the monographs have been the work of journalists, others the efforts of scholars, and some the writings of practitioners. Still other books have been the result of collaborations, either in edited or co-authored forms, among writers from different backgrounds, training and experience.

Globalization and Society: Processes of Differentiation Examined, R. Breton and J.G. Reitz, eds., Praeger: Westport, 2003, pp. 321.

There is currently a plethora of books on globalization in all of its guises. Many of these fail to seriously contribute to a growing body of literature in any intellectually rigorous way because they either simply re-hash well-worn notions about global political economy or culture, or provide a weakly disguised postmodern attempt to textualise social and economic change. There are some notable exceptions, however, and this book is one of them. The first thing to strike you with this edited collection is the sheer breadth of the scale ranging from trends in global inequality to considerations about nationalism and the crisis of the welfare state. This is a comprehensive treatment of a highly complex set of processes which does not uncritically apply the term “globalization” without recourse to informed theoretical debate concerning the active role of civil society, forms of governmentality and the nation state. While the authors do not completely escape forms of reductionism in the language used, they do nonetheless attempt to ground this reasoning within a critical context which avoids the excesses of idiosyncratic localization or convergence theories.