Sincerity in politics and international relations

This work examines concept of sincerity in politics and international relations in order to discuss what we should expect of politicians, within what parameters should they work, and how their decisions and actions could be made consistent with morality

PART I: Publicity. Political deception: lowering the bar -- The role of public reason's principle of sincerity -- Speaking on morality's behalf: when one should be silent and why -- What can we learn about political corruption from Kant's conceptions of honesty, publicity and truthfulness?

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Notes on contributors -- Introduction -- PART I: Publicity -- 1 Political deception: lowering the bar -- 2 The role of public reason's principle of sincerity -- 3 Speaking on morality's behalf: when one should be silent and why -- 4 What can we learn about political corruption from Kant's conceptions of honesty, publicity and truthfulness? -- PART II: Rhetoric -- 5 The political rhetoric of administrative ethics: Obama vs. the cynics -- 6 A Kantian rhetoric of sincerity: politics, truth and truthfulness -- 7 Making sense: the possibility of truthfulness in politics -- 8 On doubt and otherness: deconstructing power and dissent -- PART III: Institutions -- 9 Political dissimulation à la Kant: two limits of the sincerity requirement -- 10 Pretending peace: provisional political trust and sincerity in Kant and Améry -- 11 Governing by trust: sincerity as a procedural fairness norm -- 12 Truth-telling and right-speaking in European integration politics: from theory to practice and back -- Index

This work examines concept of sincerity in politics and international relations in order to discuss what we should expect of politicians, within what parameters should they work, and how their decisions and actions could be made consistent with morality. The collection features an international cast of authors who specialize in the topic of sincerity in politics and international relations. Each chapter will be focused on a contemporary issue in politics and international relations, including corruption, public hypocrisy, cynicism, trust, security, policy formulation and decision-making, political apology, public reason, denial and self-deception,and will argue against the background of a Kantian view of sincerity as unconditional. Focusing on sincerity bearing on political actions, practices, and institutions at national and international level, the collection will include an introduction by the editors that will serve to place the contributions in the context of ongoing contemporary debates on sincerity in politics and international theory. Offering a significant comprehensive outlook on the practical limits of sincerity in political affairs, this work will be of great interest to students and scholars alike.