This book is important because it weaves together both Anglophone and Continental thinking in political philosophy. Examining the role of historical memory in the debate on democratic ethics not only constitutes an original theoretical contribution-ultimately, it can further support the democratic pluralism the book defends.-Marcel Gauchet, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris This is a very important book. It gives us a comprehensive conceptual framework for the creation of the inclusive spaces for public deliberation and mediation necessary in order for "post-colonial," "post-national" and "post-totalitarian" democracies to function. Such spaces are ones in which we can all be ourselves together, not only as individual persons, but also as members of our various communities of belonging. It is only in such inclusive spaces that, together, we can create a common future we can all enter together as full human beings.-Jacqueline Wasilewski, former professor at International Christian University, Tokyo

This book offers an original contribution to the debate on contemporary democratic ethics.  It argues that public culture provides the mediating spaces required for processes of encounter, but should be supplemented with an open dialog on history, memory, and identity. Since democratic modernity is consolidating its new phase characterized by the multiplicity of perspectives, the mediation of conflict, identity, and memory are required to continue fostering mutual understanding and the identification of issues of common concern. The historical emergence of a public culture is a democratic gain. Recognizing this offers opportunities for ethical transformation that respects diversity but also addresses the realities of conflict under conditions of post modernity.