John Keane is Professor of Politics at the Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster. He is currently writing a full-scale history of democracy - the first for over a century.

• 1. Surplus violence; 2. Muskets, terrorists; 3. Thinking violence; 4. Civilisation; 5. Barbarism?; 6. Why violence?; 7. Uncivil wars; 8. Ethics; 9. Ten rules for democratizing violence.

'Keane's is a learned, at times almost magisterial, book. He writes easily and with grace about a variety of relevant topics from liberal political theory to contemporary apocalyptic terrorism, from Sorel to Muslim fundamentalism. At every turn the reader is taken on a gambit into a relevant literature and comes away braced by the journey. It is descriptively ambitious yet energized by a normative argument. It is as current as today's politics yet in touch with classic traditions in political theory and sociology. As a result, Violence and Democracy is impressive indeed.' Austin D. Sarat, Amherst College, Massachusetts

John Keane is Professor of Politics at the Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster. He is currently writing a full-scale history of democracy - the first for over a century.

• 1. Surplus violence; 2. Muskets, terrorists; 3. Thinking violence; 4. Civilisation; 5. Barbarism?; 6. Why violence?; 7. Uncivil wars; 8. Ethics; 9. Ten rules for democratizing violence.

'Keane's is a learned, at times almost magisterial, book. He writes easily and with grace about a variety of relevant topics from liberal political theory to contemporary apocalyptic terrorism, from Sorel to Muslim fundamentalism. At every turn the reader is taken on a gambit into a relevant literature and comes away braced by the journey. It is descriptively ambitious yet energized by a normative argument. It is as current as today's politics yet in touch with classic traditions in political theory and sociology. As a result, Violence and Democracy is impressive indeed.' Austin D. Sarat, Amherst College, Massachusetts

John Keane is Professor of Politics at the Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster. He is currently writing a full-scale history of democracy - the first for over a century.

• 1. Surplus violence; 2. Muskets, terrorists; 3. Thinking violence; 4. Civilisation; 5. Barbarism?; 6. Why violence?; 7. Uncivil wars; 8. Ethics; 9. Ten rules for democratizing violence.

'Keane's is a learned, at times almost magisterial, book. He writes easily and with grace about a variety of relevant topics from liberal political theory to contemporary apocalyptic terrorism, from Sorel to Muslim fundamentalism. At every turn the reader is taken on a gambit into a relevant literature and comes away braced by the journey. It is descriptively ambitious yet energized by a normative argument. It is as current as today's politics yet in touch with classic traditions in political theory and sociology. As a result, Violence and Democracy is impressive indeed.' Austin D. Sarat, Amherst College, Massachusetts