Notwithstanding his contributions to religion, nonviolence, civil rights, and civil disobedience, among other areas, Gandhi's most significant contribution is that as a political philosopher. While he is not often treated as such, Gandhi was, as Anthony J. Parel argues, a political philosopher sui generis, both in his philosophical method of constant self-criticism and his framework of philosophical analysis. Gandhi wrote daily on politics, but he did so as an activist; political philosophy was to him not just a way of understanding truths of political phenomena but was directly related to understanding those truths in action. If realized in action these truths would give rise to new political institutions, which in turn would create a corresponding peaceful political and social order. Parel dubs this order Pax Gandhiana.

The main contention of Pax Gandhiana is that peace cannot be achieved by politics alone. Peace requires the confluence of the canonical ends of life: politics and economics (artha), ethics (dharma), forms of pleasure (kama), and the pursuit of spiritual transcendence (moksha). Modern political philosophy isolates politics from the other three ends, but Gandhi's originality, according to Parel, lies in the way that he brings all four together. In fact Gandhi's political philosophy is relevant not only to India but also to the rest of the world: it is a new type of sovereignty that harmonizes the interest of individual states with the community of states.

Arguing against scholars who dispute a theoretical unity in Gandhi's writings, Parel suggests that Gandhi is the preeminent non-western political philosopher, and in this book he seeks to identify the conceptual framework of Gandhi's political philosophy, the Pax Gandhiana.

Anthony J. Parel's profile page

Anthony J. Parel is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary.

"This exploration of Gandhi's political philosophy from within his own framework is an invaluable contribution. Anthony Parel brings the framework of purushartha to bear upon the fundamental principles of Gandhi's thought and life. This allows him to interweave ideas of ethics, equity, aesthetic pleasure, forms of being in the world and quest for ultimate freedom."

--Tridip Suhrud, Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust, Ahmedabad

"Parel's work raises Gandhi's thought to such an extent that the reviewer can no longer conceive of considering political philosophy historically or comparatively without incorporating a more substantial Gandhi. Essential."

--Choice

"How do we define Gandhi's framework ideas? In this fascinating text, through his customary scrupulous interpretation of Gandhi's writings and their connections to India's canonical texts, Parel conveys Gandhi's core belief that artha (politics and economics), influenced by dharma, is the means for personal and societal salvation. He makes a persuasive case for Gandhi as modern India's leading political theorist, a politics of swaraj, an inclusive civic nationalism India has so dismally failed to achieve, and an economics of benevolence. Perceptively, he contextualizes Gandhi with sympathetic minds, Thoreau, Ruskin, Tolstoy and those conflicted, Machiavelli, Tagore, Iqbal, Jinnah and Savarkar."

--Antony Copley, author of Gandhi: Against the Tide

"Anthony Parel is fresh but also persuasive in his argument that Gandhi the thinker or political philosopher may be even more significant than the better known Gandhi of action who led India's independence movement, demonstrated that nonviolence works better than violence, and sought to reconcile India's diverse groups."

--Rajmohan Gandhi, author of Mohandas: A True Story of a Man, His People and an Empire

"[A] rich and provocative new book."

--Voegelinview

"Mohandas K. Gandhi displayed more philosophic complexity than any other national leader on the twentieth century stage. It is difficult to fully and coherently explain his political philosophy. Thankfully, we have Professor Anthony Parel, the distinguished Gandhi scholar, to do that job-and to do it exceedingly well. He succeeds here in opening up a wide avenue of understanding by bringing to bear on this subject a lifetime of careful study and a vast storehouse of wisdom. Scholars seeking to come to grips with Gandhi will find in Professor Parel's book a singular work that is sweeping in its scope, unique in its perspective, and masterful in its analysis. It is a comprehensive, authoritative, and brilliant guide."

--Charles R. DiSalvo, author of M.K. Gandhi, Attorney at Law: The Man before the Mahatma