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19 Res Publica 1 (2013)

handle is hein.journals/respub19 and id is 1 raw text is: Res Publica (2013) 19:1-3
DOI 10.1007/s11158-012-9202-6
Reflections on Friendship in Political Theory
Derek Edyvane - Kerri Woods
Published online: 20 December 2012
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2012
Introduction
Interpersonal political conflicts stemming from moral disagreements and clashing
particularistic loyalties form the necessary background of contemporary political
theorising. These circumstances lend considerable urgency to the task of articulating
a basis for social unity and yet also contribute to scepticism about the prospects of
success in that enterprise. However, theorists of friendship, from Aristotle to
Montaigne to Arendt and beyond, have not necessarily seen moral and political
conflict as inimical to friendship. Indeed, civic republicans and communitarians see
in the relations of friends something akin to ideal relations of fellow-citizens.
This collection explores the possibilities of (political) friendship across different
and conflicting particularistic commitments. The papers address a range of
overlapping and interconnected concerns, including the significance and potential
of friendship in managing conditions of diversity and pluralism, the relationship
between friendship and civic respect, friendship and resistance, and the possibilities
of global friendship. By addressing these questions, we hope to illuminate a broader
range of issues in contemporary political theory, including the management of
tensions arising from pluralism, the limits and possibilities of affective concern and
the demands of justice, and the nature and function of moral education.
The idea of friendship as a specifically political concept has been largely
neglected in the field of contemporary political theory. However, recent years have
seen the gradual growth of a literature on the topic. Whilst the essays presented here
complement recent interventions, they also address the idea of friendship in
different and distinctive ways that help to push the debate in new directions.
D. Edyvane (E) - K. Woods
School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
e-mail: d.j.edyvane@leeds.ac.uk
K. Woods
e-mail: k.woods@leeds.ac.uk

I Springer

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