The Two Sovereigns by Keith Tester (1992, Hardcover)

Invariably stimulating, The Two Sovereigns contains provocative ideas about issues central to both social theory and to making sense of the world(s) in which we live. It develops a series of original images or metaphors--gardens v. allotments, double strangers and so on--as aids to understanding social processes. Lively, bold and assured, this text will interest students of social theory, political science and philosophy.

The Two Sovereigns examines modernity through the prism of two sovereigns: the individual and the collective. A highly original meditation on the difficult and contradictory experiences of European modernity, it uses the collapse of communism in eastern and central Europe to explore why the institutions and narratives of modernity found it so difficult to deal with problems like the meaning of freedom, the role and status of intellectuals, and the legacy of the past. Tester argues that the central question of modernity is: how can the world bemade a better place? He argues that this question remains relevant and that it has yet to be definitively answered: the identity of the "sovereign maker" was always open to debate.

The Two Sovereigns is a superbly crafted examination of the collapse of communism in central and eastern Europe and surveys as well the prospects for change.