European Political Thought 1600–1700
European Political Thought 1600–1700

Author: W. M. Spellman

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 1999-01-05

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 1349272000

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The European seventeenth century saw the seeming resolution of two great conflicts. Through the nightmares of the Thirty Years War and the British civil wars, the murderous religious hatreds that had dominated the previous period finally burnt themselves out. Extreme Protestants were defeated, expelled, contained or subordinated, and Catholicism successfully re-established itself through much of Europe as the dominant religion. Dr. Spellman studies all the great political theorists of the century (dominated inevitably by Hobbes). This book will be invaluable for anyone studying seventeenth century European history - it allows those studying the thought of the period to understand the historical context, and those studying the military and political events to understand their intellectual underpinning.

Shakespeare and Republicanism
Shakespeare and Republicanism

Author: Andrew Hadfield

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2005-07-21

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 9781139445412

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This groundbreaking work, first published in 2005, reveals exactly how Shakespeare was influenced by contemporary strands in political thought that were critical of the English crown and constitution. Shakespeare has often been seen as a conservative political thinker characterised by an over-riding fear of the 'mob'. Hadfield argues instead that Shakespeare's writing emerged out of an intellectual milieu fascinated by republican ideas. From the 1590s onwards, he explored republican themes in his poetry and plays: political assassination, elected government, alternative constitutions, and, perhaps most importantly of all, the problem of power without responsibility. Beginning with Shakespeare's apocalyptic representation of civil war in the Henry VI plays, Hadfield provides a series of powerful new readings of Shakespeare and his time. For anyone interested in Shakespeare and Renaissance culture, this book is required reading.

A Short History of Western Political Thought
A Short History of Western Political Thought

Author: W. M. Spellman

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2017-09-16

Total Pages: 197

ISBN-13: 0230343783

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This brief narrative survey of political thought over the past two millennia explores key ideas that have shaped Western political traditions. Beginning with the Ancient Greeks' classical emphasis on politics as an independent sphere of activity, the book goes on to consider the medieval and early modern Christian views of politics and its central role in providing spiritual leadership. Concluding with a discussion of present-day political thought, W. M. Spellman explores the return to the ancient understanding of political life as a more autonomous sphere, and one that doesn't relate to anything beyond the physical world. Setting the work of major and lesser-known political philosophers within its historical context, the book offers a balanced and considered overview of the topic, taking into account the religious values, inherited ideas and social settings of the writers. Assuming no prior knowledge and written in a highly accessible style, A Short History of Western Political Thought is ideal for those seeking to develop an understanding of this fascinating and important subject.

Shaping History
Shaping History

Author: Wayne Ph Te Brake

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 1998-07-13

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 0520213181

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"A superb synthesis of popular politics in early modern western and central Europe. . . . Te Brake has cut across the barriers to find common properties and principles of variation in the politics of ordinary people."—Charles Tilly, Columbia University

Political Thought in the Age of Revolution 1776-1848
Political Thought in the Age of Revolution 1776-1848

Author: Michael Levin

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2010-12-09

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 1137267623

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The years between the American Revolution of 1776, the French Revolution of 1789 and the European Revolutions of 1848 saw fundamental shifts from autocracy to emerging democracy. It is a vital period in what may be termed 'modernity': that is of the western societies that are increasingly industrial, capitalist and liberal democratic. Unsurprisingly, these years of stress and transition produced some significant reflections on politics and society. This indispensable introductory text considers how a cluster of key thinkers viewed the global political upheavals and social changes of their time, covering the work of: - Edmund Burke - Georg Hegel - Thomas Paine - Alexis de Tocqueville - Jeremy Bentham - Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels Lively and approachable, it is essential reading for anyone with an interest in modern history, political history or political thought.

European Colonialism Since 1700
European Colonialism Since 1700

Author: James R. Lehning

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2013-08-29

Total Pages: 323

ISBN-13: 0521518709

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The only textbook to survey the major Atlantic, Asian and African empires of Europe, from 1700 through decolonization in 1945.

Absolutism in Central Europe
Absolutism in Central Europe

Author: Peter Wilson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2002-11-01

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 1134748051

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Absolutism in Central Europe is about the form of European monarchy known as absolutism, how it was defined by contemporaries, how it emerged and developed, and how it has been interpreted by historians, political and social scientists. This book investigates how scholars from a variety of disciplines have defined and explained political development across what was formerly known as the 'age of absolutism'. It assesses whether the term still has utility as a tool of analysis and it explores the wider ramifications of the process of state-formation from the experience of central Europe from the early seventeenth century to the start of the nineteenth.

The Political Thought of the Dutch Revolt 1555-1590
The Political Thought of the Dutch Revolt 1555-1590

Author: Martin van Gelderen

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2002-10-03

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 9780521891639

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This book is a comprehensive study of the history of the political thought of the Dutch Revolt (1555-90). It explores the development of the political ideas which motivated and legitimized the Dutch resistance against the government of Philip II in the Low Countries, and which became the ideological foundations of the Dutch Republic as it emerged as one of the main powers of Europe. It shows how notions of liberty, constitutionalism, representation and popular sovereignty were of central importance to the political thought and revolutionary events of the Dutch Revolt, giving rise to a distinct political theory of resistance, to fundamental debates on the 'best state' of the new Dutch commonwealth and to passionate disputes on the relationship between church and state which prompted some of the most eloquent early modern pleas for religious toleration.

The Cosmopolitan State
The Cosmopolitan State

Author: H Patrick Glenn

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2013-05-23

Total Pages: 399

ISBN-13: 0199682429

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The idea of the 'nation-state' has failed, Glenn argues, and a major shift in our understanding of the state is needed. He provides an original approach by situating cosmopolitanism in its historical context and demonstrating that the state is necessarily cosmopolitan in character, and has always been subject to transnational law-making.