Provisional Politics : Kantian Arguments in Policy Context

If we are to vindicate moral reasoning in politics, Elisabeth Ellis argues in this original and provocative work, we must focus on the conditions of political discourse rather than the contents of any particular ethical system. Written in an engaging, direct style,Provisional Politicsbuilds on Ellis's prize-winning interpretation of Kant's theory of provisional right to construct a new theory of justice under conditions of agency and plurality. She develops this new perspective through a series of cases ranging from the treatment of AIDS widows in Kenya to the rights of non-citizens everywhere, as well as the clash between democratic decision-making and the politics of species conservation. The book concludes with a sobering discussion of the probable limits of political agency.

Elisabeth Ellis is associate professor of political science, Texas A&M University. Her book Kant's Politics: Provisional Theory for an Uncertain World, published by Yale University Press, won the 2006 Foundations of Political Theory first book award. She lives in College Station, TX.