Political scientist studies apocalyptic political rhetoric

Stanford political scientist Alison McQueen's research shows that apocalyptic rhetoric can make wars, natural disasters, economic collapse and even the possibility of nuclear war easier to understand. But although it can rouse people to action, apocalyptic rhetoric also carries great peril. Stanford political scientist Alison McQueen has studied the use of political rhetoric that evokes the end of the times, finding that it can comfort people during crises, making wars or economically troubled times, for instance, easier to understand. But although it can be used by politicians to rouse people to action, McQueen's research shows evoking the apocalypse is a risky strategy because it can also create false moral clarity. Political scientist Alison McQueen says rhetoric evoking end times can create false moral clarity. (Image credit: L.A. Cicero) In her new book, Political Realism in Apocalyptic Times , McQueen focused on the works of political realists who lived during times of heightened tensions: Renaissance political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli; Thomas Hobbes, a 17th-century English political philosopher; and Hans Morgenthau, a 20th-century international relations theorist. As realists who perceived politics through power and interest rather than ideology, each criticized apocalyptic rhetoric.