Dante's Modernity: An Introduction to the Monarchia. With an Essay by Judith Revel: 16 (Cultural Inquiry)

Claude Lefort one of the most prominent political philosophers of the twentieth century reads Dantes Monarchia and demonstrates the surprising relevance of this radical fourteenth-century treatise defending the necessity of a universal monarchy independent from the Church. Written to accompany a new French translation of Dantes treatise in 1993 and appearing here for the first time in English Leforts essay exemplifies his signature method of taking political philosophy in new directions by reframing key works from the history of political thought. Dantes Monarchia was attacked early on by the Church burned as heretical in 1329 and remained on the Vaticans index of prohibited works until 1881. With trenchant insight and his characteristic attention to detail Lefort pursues the often hidden influence of Dantes long suppressed treatise on the politics and political thought of subsequent centuries. He also challenges us to explore its still unrealized potential by disentangling Dantes notion of universal sovereignty from its historical links to imperialism and nationalism. Drawing out the provocation of Dantes treatise for contemporary debates Leforts essay presents readers of Dante with a remarkably fresh account of an oft-neglected yet crucial part of the authors oeuvre.In her extensive interpretive essay Judith Revel submits Leforts encounter with Dante to a transformative mis/reading and shows the importance of Dantes text for Leforts conception of political philosophy. She carefully reconstructs its radical legacy all too frequently reduced to a postmarxist turn or even mistaken for an affirmation of liberal democracy.The two essays are accompanied by a note from their translator Jennifer Rushworth and a preface by Christiane Frey.