Rhetoric for a Democracy in Crisis: A Study of Political Theory

“In this book, the political theorist Víctor Alonso-Rocafort provides us with some ideas to move out of this impasse of democracy which is ultimately also an impasse of speech. Combining erudite knowledge of classics of ancient and modern political thought – from Isocrates, to Vico and Arendt – with examples drawn from the author’s own political biography, the book is a provocation to recuperate rhetoric’s inclusive ethos and the civic belief in the emancipatory power of public reasoning.” (Paolo Gerbaudo, Senior Research Fellow in Social Sciences, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain)

This book offers a response to the democratic crisis of our time. Drawing on the rich rhetorical tradition, it recovers a distinct Mediterranean current—shaped by figures such as Isocrates, Quintilian, and Giambattista Vico—that provides compelling theoretical alternatives. Contemporary democracy, the book argues, can be significantly enriched by this legacy. It explores its connections to the political theory that challenged the positivist political science, its resistance to the propaganda typical of tyrannies, and its inclusive ethos grounded in a reverence for difference—resonating with Hannah Arendt’s notion of freedom of movement, both in the world and in thought.

The rhetorical perspective developed here contributes to rethinking ‘the political’ as envisioned by Arendt and Sheldon Wolin, in opposition to the Schmittian conception recently revived by populism. In doing so, the book demonstrates the potential of rhetorical thought to renew the principles of radical democracy in the face of contemporary challenges.

Víctor Alonso-Rocafort is Associate Professor of Political Theory at Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), Spain, where his research explores rhetoric, radical democracy, and environmental political theory.