New Books in Political Science

Can laws be unjust and yet remain, in some sense, morally legitimate? In Political Philosophy: The Puzzle of Legitimate Injustice (Princeton UP, 2026), Jonathan Quong considers central issues in political philosophy through the lens of this single question. He explores and evaluates recent influential work on this topic and then proposes a novel approach of his own. The puzzle at the heart of his account is the phenomenon of legitimate injustice—laws and policies that are substantively unjust yet may be legitimately imposed by government officials. How can such laws be legitimate if, as some have argued, justice is the first virtue of social institutions?

Quong analyzes the work of those who deny that injustice committed by states can be legitimate simply by virtue of its democratic or procedural pedigree; the Kantian account of legitimate institutions and justice; instrumental approaches to political legitimacy; and the recent wave of work in democratic theory focused on its egalitarian character. Arguing that these analyses do not offer an adequate solution to the puzzle and that there are compelling reasons to revise or reject them, Quong lays out his view and explains the implications for more general theories of political morality. He argues that we can explain legitimate injustice by appeal to distributive justice. If political disagreement is inevitable, then unjust legislation is largely unavoidable; it constitutes a burden that must be distributed according to just principles. Quong’s novel and illuminating framework offers a unique introduction to crucial questions in political philosophy.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

The idea of civility goes back to classical Rome and the ways in
which citizens engaged one another within the republic. The term itself
is often used in a number of different ways, reflecting expected
behavior, particularly in public spaces, and as a mechanism to manage
human interaction. But civility and the use of this idea often shape
hierarchical relationships within society and within politics and may
define who is to be included within the polis and who may be excluded.
Thus, the conversations that led to the new book, Civility Unbound: Contesting a Democratic Value,
interrogated the idea of civility in many of its facets and did not
necessarily settle on a simple definition or means of implementing
civility within contemporary society. Michael DiNiscia, Director of
Research and Strategic Initiatives at New York University’s Brademas
Center, and Ellyn Toscano, Director of the Hawthorndon Foundation,
edited this valuable exploration of the idea of civility within
democracy. In so doing, they brought together academics, politicians and
former politicians, activists, artists, and individuals from the
foundation world to discuss this controversial idea of civility,
unpacking the term, the way it is used, and how society may consider
civility within the realm of politics and public life.

I had the pleasure of discussing Civility Unbound
with Michael DiNiscia and Hussein Rashid, one of the contributing
authors. Our conversation covered the content of the book, tracing the
sections that include philosophy and political theory, democratic
institutions and politics, social justice and protest, media engagement,
and lessons from arts and culture. The chapters are fascinating and
accessible. As a reader, you feel as though you are part of the ongoing
conversation with the various authors, since the chapters are in
dialogue with each other and with the reader, without coming to a
consensus on the role and capacity of civility within democratic society
but with many paths to consider. The impetus for this book, and for
focusing on the idea of civility, grew out of the events of January 6,
2021, and an overarching question about whether the United States could
return to a state of civility in our politics, after we had witnessed
the violent insurrection that attempted to stymie the constitutional
process of tallying Electoral College votes. Civility Unbound: Contesting a Democratic Value brings many voices together to, in a way, respond to this violence, this incivility that had been demonstrated by a group of American
citizens.

The various contributing authors to Civility Unbound
take up the theory and practice of civility, trying to determine what it
actually means and the rules around civility and political engagement.
Across the chapters we find that there is a paradox around civility,
around who is asked to “remain civil” and who gets to define what
civility means. Civility may well reside within power relationships and
dynamics, with rules applied to some groups or individuals and not to
others. Invoking civility may well surface inequalities and the unequal
places and footing of those engaging in politics and society. This is
particularly important to consider in context of American democracy, and
the unequal distribution of power and state violence inherent in the
American state. Civility Unbound: Contesting a Democratic Value prompts the reader to consider how democratic engagement works and how we are to participate in attempts at self-rule.

We discussed the First America podcast during the conversation. Here is a link to the podcast website: First America Podcast

Lilly J. Goren is a professor of political science at Carroll University in Waukesha, WI. She is co-host of the New Books in Political Science channel at the New Books Network. She is co-editor of The Politics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Volume I: The Infinity Saga (University Press of Kansas, 2022), and of The Politics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Volume II: Into the Multiverse (University Press of Kansas, 2025) as well as co-editor of the award winning book, Women and the White House: Gender, Popular Culture, and Presidential Politics
(University Press of Kentucky, 2012). She can be reached @gorenlj.bsky.social
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

While many know that Mark Twain created some of the most famous characters in literature—Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Jim and Puddn’head Wilson—too few have understood that the Missouri author wasn’t only America’s greatest humorist, but also one of its most subtle political thinkers. But what was the political philosophy of the elusive and ironic Mark Twain for his new democratic America?

To help answer that question, as we continue Season 6, I have as our guest Ivan Kenneally. A contributor to The New Atlantis and First Things, among other publications, he wrote an essay for The Hedgehog Review on modern reactions to Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), titled: “Mark Twain’s Absurd, Noble America,” which we will be discussing today.

We also talk about the travels of the two runaways Huck and Jim, along with their many disguises and rouses, how Americans like Tom Sawyer read European literature too dogmatically, the conmen Twain depicts in the Duke and Dauphin, technical versus tacit knowledge in his memoir Life on the Mississippi, contemporary interest in Twain from Ron Chernow and Percival Everett, the nature of irony as well as the poverty of modern comedy, and what philosophers and comedians alike can learn from the Missouri author and philosopher.

Hosted by Ryan Shinkel, Madison’s Notes is the podcast of Princeton University’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. The transcript for this interview is available on the JMP substack page, “Madison’s Footnotes.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

Drawing on an original data set of interventions and wars from 1945 to the current day, as well as numerous short case studies, Richard Ned Lebow offers a novel account of their origins and outcomes - one that emphasises miscalculation, failure to conduct meaningful risk assessments, and cultural and political arrogance.

A successive work to Why Nations Fight (2010), in this book Why Nations Still Fight (Cambridge UP, 2026) he explains why initiators routinely lose militarily and politically when they resort to force, as well as accounting for why the great powers, in particular, have not learned from their failures.

Lebow offers both type- and region-specific forecasts for the future likelihood of interventions and wars.

His account reveals the inapplicability of theories nested in the realist and rationalist paradigms to the study of war.

He argues what is needed instead is an "irrationalist" theory, and he takes the initial steps in this direction.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

Between 1990 and 2020, women candidates won only 6% of the world’s presidential races. How Women Win Presidential Elections in Latin America (Temple University Press, 2026) explains the factors, strategies, and perceptions
that help (or hinder) women to democratically access their country’s
highest political office. Dr. Catherine Reyes-Housholder introduces a
theory of gendered incentives and perceived potential to reveal why a
political party would break with tradition and nominate a woman. She
also shows how citizens respond when women candidates are running in
incumbent parties or competing to displace those in power.

Drawing on comparative research on the presidency and gender, How Women Win Presidential Elections in Latin America
examines the successful campaigns of Michelle Bachelet in Chile and
Dilma Rousseff in Brazil, as well as why Blanca Ovelar lost her
presidential race in Paraguay. Dr. Reyes-Housholder’s findings indicate
that voter sexism is not a major factor; however, women do not triumph
in these elections in the same ways that men do. Rather, the central
unknown factor behind women’s victories is how they become candidates of
major parties—and gender profoundly influences who parties nominate.

This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book
focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty
negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative
analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find
Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science