Publius and Political Imagination [Paperback]

Jason Franks Publius and Political Imagination is the first volume of the Modernity and Political Thought series to take as its focus not a single author, but collaboration between political thinkers, in this very special case the collective known by the pseudonym: Publius. Frank's revisionist reading of The Federalist Papersperhaps the most canonical text in American political thoughtcounters familiar realist and deliberativist interpretations and demonstrates the neglected importance of political imagination to both Publius's arguments and to the republic he was invented to found.Jason Frank is an associate professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University.

While accepting the centrality of The Federalist Papers to American politics, Frank argues that the success of the text has made some of its key insights 'obscure or illegible.' A shared vision of the authors is defended (Publius), while the attempt to unlink the contributions of Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay is refuted. . . .Chapter 1 addresses the challenge of constituency, or the means citizens assume in creating a republic. Chapter 2 explicates the importance of political imagination in the promotion of ratification. . . .Chapter 3 examines the role of interest as central to Publius's theory of political obligation. Chapter 4 surveys the influence of Leo Strauss and his epigones in the interpretation of the text. . . .The last chapter convincingly connects The Federalist Papers with the continued evolution of and need for civic engagement. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. Choice Reviews

Publius and Political Imagination is a study of The Federalist Papers, but not a conventional one. This is promising. Although a classic cannot be exhausted, the scholarship of the past half-century has canvassed The Federalist to a point near redundancy. Yet, Jason Frank does not offer yet another commentary on The Federalist but a highly nuanced interprelƒe