French political thought from montesquieu to tocqueville liberty in a levelled society. See stephen holmes, benjamin constant and the making of modern liberalism new haven. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The books in this series discuss the emergence of intellectual traditions and related new disciplines. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading french political thought from montesquieu to tocqueville. An unruly history harvard university press, forthcoming. Project muse french political thought from montesquieu. The reception of the political and religious ideas of thomas hobbes in england 16401700, the ideological origins of the british empire, machiavelli and republicanism, and several more. Events centre for the history of political thought. The ideas in context book series by multiple authors includes books taming the leviathan. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. French political thought from montesquieu to tocqueville.
For a different vision of aristocratic liberalism, see alan kahans aristocratic liberalism. It should be noted that in an important recent article michael mosher has likewise. Revisionist historians from furet to rosanvallon have emphasised the impact of revolutionary republicanism on postrevolutionary france, with its monist conception of politics and its focus. Highlighting the persistence of a pluralist liberalism that was rooted in. Associate professor, department of history arizona state. Her current research is focused on the nature of the enlightenment in england and continental. Rousseau and the revival of humanism in contemporary french political thought. According to the textbook version of history, the enlightenment played a crucial. Such subtlety, however, was lost on many of his nineteenthcentury followers. Everyone who has embarked on the difficult journey to the roots of european liberalism and its dilemmas will find in french political thought from montesquieu to tocqueville a very useful road map. In kahans definition, aristocratic liberalism consisted essentially of a shared set of elitist values pp.
June 20, 1923 may 12, 2015 was a germanamerican historian, educator, and author. Cambridge, 2008, andrew jainchill, reimagining politics after the terror. This study makes a major contribution to our understanding of one of the most important and enduring strands of modern political thought. The past fifteen years in france have seen a remarkable flourishing of new work in political philosophy. French historians of political thought such as pierre rosanvallon and lucien jaume have long argued that early nineteenthcentury french liberalism expressed a kind of minority opinion that, first, was never able to change french political culture, and, second, succumbed, in the words of rosanvallon, to the liberal recomposition of. The hebrew republic teaches us to read early modern political thought in a radically new way. Victorian political thought on france and the french palgrave 2002, in nations and nationalism. Freedom and aristocracy in french political thought. This anthology brings into english for the first time essays by some of the best young french political thinkers writing today, including marcel. Alexandrowicz, the law of nations in global history. Karl ameriks, university of notre dame critical philosophy. French liberalism from montesquieu to the present day, ed. But for two hundred years, many have tried to find other ways of being french and republican.
French political thought from montesquieu to tocqueville ideas in context. A social history of western political thought from renaissance to enlightenment, 2012. Rather, it was propelled by an antidemocratic backlash following the atlantic revolutions. He was sterling professor of history at yale university and former director of the new york public librarys center for scholars and writers 19972003. This article draws attention to the importance of early eighteenthcentury debates about the nature of the french monarchy for our understanding of montesquieus masterpiece the spirit of the laws. She is the author of french political thought from montesquieu to tocqueville. Skip to main content accessibility help we use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Her research focuses on the history of political thought in europe and in the united states from 1700 to the present. This book began life as a doctoral dissertation at the history department of the university of leuven. These essays challenge the traditional account, bringing together new insights from leading scholars.
While exclusively focused on the historical study of political ideas, the series. Book to screen in the news video interviews fully booked podcast. The invention of modern freedom the equating of liberty with restraints on state power was not the natural outcome of such secular western trends as the growth of religious tolerance or the creation of market societies. Eric nelsons deep knowledge of the hebrew, as well as the greek and latin, sources of sixteenth and seventeenthcentury political thought is brilliantly deployed in this book. French political thought from montesquieu to tocqueville by. The idea of the centralized state has played a powerful role in shaping french republicanism. French political thought from montesquieu to tocqueville cambridge. But his book on the eighteenth century, in search of. The french tradition discussion paper sp iv 2007401. Studies history of ideas, political theory, and early modern history. Ignoring his contribution to republican political thought therefore cuts off contemporary republicans from an important resource for thinking about this problem. Since the 1980s, many important books have been written on the history of nineteenthcentury liberal thought. Gay received the american historical associations aha award for scholarly distinction in 2004.