The Politics of Irony: Essays in Self-Betrayal. (book reviews)

This collection of essays is important because it addresses the crucial but elusive concept of irony. Each essay--and the collection as a whole--is first-rate, because irony in political thought and politics is investigated, rather than idealized. Indeed, by rethinking what irony is and does, the essays represent a provocative rethinking of political theory as an enterprise.

The editors, Daniel Conway and John Seery, frame the essays by turning two oft-repeated claims into questions. Does irony threaten politics by undermining the commitments and solidity of self that are ostensibly ...

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