This book argues that Nietzsche's political thought and his own proposed model of governance is Bonapartist in conception: autocratic will in the guise of popular rule. Bonaparte is the model for the Nietzschean commander; not only his virtu, his ethics of martial valour, but his political institutions and techniques of power. Nietzsche understood that Napoleon manipulated the democratic process, abandoned the concept of popular sovereignty and undermined the principle of equality, that he was opposed to parliamentary politics but maintained their simulacra, a manoeuvre Nietzsche admired in respect of tactics.
Autorentext
Don Dombowsky is Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics and International Studies and in the Department of Philosophy, Bishop's University, Canada.
Zusammenfassung
Among Nietzsche's favourite authors were Bonapartists, who largely formed Nietzsche's view of Napoleon - open the pages of the Nietzschean corpus and you will find a Napoleonic landscape, and Nietzsche's promotion of Napoleon serves to support the Bonapartist movement of the late nineteenth century. This book contains an innovative treatment of Nietzsche's political thought, far exceeding in scope and insight any previous writings on the subject.