Compromise and Disagreement in Contemporary Political Theory

'Christian Rostbøll and Theresa Scavenius's volume offers the most searching analysis available of the nature, limits and ethics of compromise. It brings together established and up and coming scholars, who divide roughly equally between critical defenders and reflective critics of the coherence and moral worth of compromise. Along the way, the authors engage with some of the key questions of contemporary political philosophy, including the existence of value pluralism, reasonable disagreement and the possibility of public reason, the justification of democracy, and the virtues of citizenship. In sum, this is a book that in exploring the centrality of compromise to our political practice provides new insights into some of the core issues of political philosophy.'- Richard Bellamy, Director of the Max Weber Programme, European University Institute

'Compromise and Disagreement in Contemporary Political Theory is an important book. Contrary to the claim of populists that elected leaders and legislative majorities are entitled to rule without accommodating minority views or interests, this book shows that compromise is at the heart of constitutional democracy. Far from being a faute de mieux to consensus or mere modus vivendi, compromise has normative status in its own right. It is the great merit of this volume to begin the discussion about the status and the normative justifications of compromise and its role in making democracy work. A must read for all political theorists interested in constitutionalism and democracy.' - Jean L. Cohen, Nell and Herbert Singer Professor of Political Science and Contemporary Civilization, Columbia University