Political Creativity

For several decades, Antonio Gramsci has been one of the most studied and discussed political theorists; however, his originality as a political thinker has not yet been fully understood. In this incisive book, Sakari Hnninen explores Gramscis political theory of transformation and posits that he was altogether too creative a thinker to be simply categorized as an adherent of a certain school of thought or tradition. Following Gramscis own advice to trace the stable and permanent elements of a thinkers intellectual development in statu nascendi, Hnninen argues that Gramscis thinking was distinct and superior to the material he studied. Chapters examine the central question of his exilic writing in prison: political, historical and societal transformation generated by struggle and strife giving birth to something qualitatively new and unforeseen as a pluritemporal becoming rather than unilinear development. The book further investigates Gramscis modal analysis of political transformation moving from Marxian necessity to Machiavellian opportunity. Political Creativity: Antonio Gramsci on Political Transformation will be an enlightening read for students and scholars in the fields of political, social and historical science, particularly political theory, cultural studies and European politics. Its insights will also benefit political and civic activists, civil society agencies and think tanks.