The spectre of race : how discrimination haunts western democracy /

A troubling probe of past democracies, Hanchard's erudite survey of the ideals of equality focuses on the status of nonwhite people in eras dominated in aggregate and power by whites. In searing prose backed by scholarly notes, Hanchard (Penn) looks to esteemed governance of the past for glints of faulty ethics based on social or religious determiners, race and ethnicity, literacy, wealth, gender, and/or dynastic distinction. His auxiliary charts pose the issue of affirmative action, a conundrum that entails a divergent approach and rationale. The postscript, composed in the aftermath of skinhead xenophobia and white supremacy in the Charlottesville clash of August 14, 2017, contains a chilling portent--that the stoking of racist flames gives off heat but little light. Instead, a nation beset by an upsurge of hate and entitlement may "misidentify actual threats," notably, the feasibility of immigration and alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian interlopers. In chapter 5, the author posits peremptorily that "most students of comparative politics" should follow his logic. Overall, the work teeters on the pedantic with unnecessarily weighty diction and arcane historical references for high school and junior college pupils to fathom. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Mary Ellen Snodgrass, Lenoir-Rhyne University

The geographic and temporal distance may be vast between ancient Athens and the civil rights era in the United States, but, according to this dense study by Johns Hopkins political scientist Hanchard, the former society's concept of autochthony-the limitation of political rights to native-born males-produced a "gendered ethnonational regime" comparable to numerous modern societies, including that of mid-20th-century America. Hanchard explores the existence of nondemocratic institutions within at least nominally democratic societies and the attempts of those excluded from full citizenship-whether on grounds of race, gender, age, or place of birth-to gain political rights. He also traces how the discipline of comparative politics developed and how the field's leading scholars incorporated into their research such events as global wars, decolonization, and liberation movements; Hanchard calls upon his fellow scholars to bring the historical legacies of imperialism and racism into their understanding of Western political philosophies. While the work is lucidly written-and Hanchard does a creditable job in highlighting seminal but little-known scholars, such as Edward Augustus Freeman, who in the late 19th century pioneered comparative analysis in the study of political history-this work is too dry in tone to reach a broad nonacademic audience. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.