Edinburgh Studies in Comparative Political Theory and Intellectual History

Examines how the imagination of space in the early modern period influenced the development of the modern concept of political universalism

• Offers a history and genealogy of the concept of space in the European philosophical traditionPresents the political effects of the modern cosmological transition
• Provides a systematic critique of the Westphalian logic of the State as absolute, universal, autonomous, and unique
• Gives an account of the developments and contradictions of abstract universalism, and its philosophical entanglement with the European colonial project and the nascent logic of capitalism
• Discusses the emancipatory content of universalism and the philosophical causes and effects of its contemporary crisis

How did early modern philosophy of space shape the modern concept of political universalism? In this book, Pablo Bustinduy persuasively argues that political universalism emerged from both the developments of Newtonian science and the formulation of the modern philosophy of the State. In the metaphysics of an open, empty, abstract and absolute space, Bustinduy suggests, the universalist project of modern politics found its logical model and foundation. There, the anxiety of a dislocated world was overcome, and the ontology of modern physics found a specific political expression that, despite being besieged by multiple crises, still animates our political imagination.

By offering a political reading of early modern philosophy of space, Space and Political Universalism in Early Modern Physics and Philosophy reveals the connections between the logical development of early modern science, the contemporary elaborations of the philosophy of the State, and the historical articulations of the Westphalian system, early capitalist social formations, and the European colonial project. In doing so, it offers a powerful reflection on how we might detach democracy from the 'perilous metaphysics' of infinite space that has engendered political violence and domination, positing space as an emptiness that prevents the closure of the political itself.

Examines the meaning of five theopolitical figures – scripture, prophecy, oath, charisma and hospitality – in contemporary philosophical-political discourse

• Re-inscribes contemporary political concepts and experiences in the 'theological locus' from which they supposedly come and at the same time looks for new semantic derivations for the political arena
• Engages with various 20th century continental philosophers, including Walter Benjamin, Jacques Derrida, Jean-Louis Chrétien, Michel Foucault, Giorgio Agamben, Jean-Luc Nancy, John Caputo, Jean Luc Marion among others
• Brings into dialogue discussions of theological literature and history
• Combines philosophical reflection with case studies of the political interpretation of the Bible; the Lisbon earthquake of 1755; the transferences between oath and sacrament in early Christianity; and acclamations from the imperial cult to modern autocracies
• Considers different theological traditions of thought, mainly, Christian and Jewish

This book explores the extent to which theological discourse has been, and continues to be, relevant in shaping the meanings, symbols and realities of certain instituted political practices. This relevance has historically manifested itself in the hybridisation of theological and political concepts, images, gestures, and rituals.

Combining theological and political concepts, Herrero shows that some divine traces could be embedded in institutionalised political practices. She argues that these theopolitical figures – scripture, prophecy, oath, charisma and hospitality – should be read negatively as other names of God, in the sense of a negative theology, in the post-secular world. By analysing the symbolic meaning of these figures, Theopolitical Figures sheds new light on crucial questions for contemporary societies, such as the unconditional character of justice, the unfeasibility of historical expectation, the stability of the word, the idea of power as a gift, and openness to otherness as an ethical-political imperative.

Examines how Montesquieu, Hume, Smith, and Ferguson's foundational liberal theories responded to the moral and civic challenges of early capitalism

• Brings together discussions of key Enlightenment thinkers Montesquieu, David Hume, Adam Smith, and Adam Ferguson
• Recaptures a conceptual space in the famous eighteenth-century commerce and virtue debates, which illustrates the possibility that one may accept the general principles of modernity while maintaining a healthy skepticism towards commerce
• Compares how Montesquieu and key thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment developed their distinct theories of honour in the context of eighteenth-century high finance, namely, in response to the infamous collapse of the Mississippi and South Sea ‘bubbles’ (1720)
• Provides a heuristic device for identifying when commercial innovation poses a threat to liberal societies, and a framework for balancing commercial ends with the public good under conditions of liberal democracy
• Expands the currency of ideas available in foundational liberal thought for identifying an emotional quality that is necessary for twentyfirst-century citizenship

Montesquieu’s Moderate Liberalism and the Scottish Enlightenment responds to a perennial problem in political theory: how to balance commercial considerations with the public good. It investigates this dilemma through the lenses of Enlightenment thinkers whose liberal theories responded to the hazards of commercial innovation during capitalism’s nascent stages. Vassiliou argues that Montesquieu, David Hume, Adam Smith, and Adam Ferguson represent a moderate perspective in foundational liberal thought, which emphasizes the critical importance of honour. He compares how their liberal theories uniquely channel human beings’ desire for honour to nourish a sense of interpersonal magnanimity within an inward-looking, liberal commercial world. In an age of polarized extremes, we have witnessed restive democracies flirting with populist, illiberal responses for managing the hazards of capitalist innovation. Montesquieu and his Scottish counterparts’ foundational liberal theories offer us more viable, middle-ground prescriptions which are sensitive to the emotional constitution of a liberal society.

Explores the reception of Machiavelli’s works in modern Latin America and Spanish-speaking political thought between 1880 and 1940. Combining historiography and political theory, this book compares different strands of Machiavelli’s reception in South and North America, and between Hispanic America and Spain. It provides new insight into Machiavelli's writings and how they have been read in different contexts. The book analyses these readings focusing on some specific themes including: the relationship between politics and morals; the links between political power and freedom; debates about political realism; reflections on liberalism and republicanism; and conceptions of time and history. The book argues that Machiavelli had a significant impact on both liberal and anti-liberal authors from Argentina and Spain. For liberals, he represented a synonym of tyranny but also, in opposite way, he had offered a synthesis between republicanism and liberalism. For anti-liberals, he was associated with Modernity and liberalism.

Socrates presented the philosopher king as both a perplexing innovation and a political aspiration, creating a fascinating philosophical puzzle and an enticing political challenge that endures today. Through a series of diverse studies, ranging from the prophet, intellectual, artist, advisor, scientist and ‘the people’, this book explores contemporary attempts to combine wisdom and power to secure justice. Haig Patapan provides a contextual analysis of whether and how philosophy and politics can be mutually salutary, revealing the extent to which wisdom can be empowered and power ennobled.

Opens a window on the ways in which Russian thinkers have historically considered the political

• Highlights the common traits that bind together Russian political philosophers, as well as their divergences, using a clear conception of political philosophy
• Juxtaposes pairs of authors who address a shared problem in contrasting ways to highlight conflicts and disputes
• Introduces less well-known thinkers (S.L. Frank, V.S. Nersesyants) and offers alternative perspectives on widely known ones (M.A. Bakunin, V.I. Lenin, N.A. Berdyayev, V.S. Solov’ëv, M.K. Mamardashvili)
• Demonstrates the specific character of the Russian tradition in political philosophy as distinctly European while also consciously different in many respects
• Utilises existing translations of primary sources, making a world of thought accessible to those who do not read Russian

Political philosophy in Russia has always sought, and sometimes found, a middle way between embracing anarchy and searching for authority. Political philosophy in Russia has never before been the subject of a scholarly monograph. While historical factors make this understandable, the topic deserves our attention more than ever, now that Russia, after a short Soviet century, has regained self-assurance as a world power. Its unique historical trajectory, and the specific role of philosophy in it, are of interest to many fields of research and, beyond that, broader audiences. A focus on political philosophy as it existed and exists in Russia despite periods of marginalisation and suppression, allows us to understand its specific character, importance and relevance, and to realise that, in trying to think philosophically, critically, and reflectively about the political reality that shapes them, Russian thinkers are not essentially different from philosophers elsewhere. Hence, many lessons that can be learned from this subject.

Uncovers the relationship between early modern natural law ideas and secular conceptions of politics

• Provides a fresh interpretation of the historical relationship between early modern developments in natural law theories and important features of modern political thought, including secularization and liberalism
• Offers a fresh, interdisciplinary reading of early Reformed Protestant natural law jurisprudence and political thought
• Reframes the relationship of the Reformed Protestant tradition to both medieval and Enlightenment political thought and jurisprudence in a way that has a lasting impact on scholarly discourse in law, intellectual history, theology, and political science

Reforming the Law of Nature is a stimulating study of the development of natural law ideas in the early modern period, uncovering their connection to conceptions of the origins of politics. It brings sixteenth and seventeenth century jurisprudence, theology and political philosophy into conversation with one another to uncover the ways in which developments in political thought affected the emergence of a secular understanding of political life.

Lays out an account of the origins and development of liberal political and economic theory

• Includes case studies that cover thinkers and ideas from the English Civil War through to liberalism’s first encounters with socialism
• Provides comparative analysis of distinct intellectual traditions including English natural rights theory, the Scottish Enlightenment, Victorian-era utilitarianism and classical political economy
• Integrates history of economic thinking into broader milieu of modern political, moral and natural philosophy
• Examines secondary literature and research from a range of disciplinary areas including political theory, modern intellectual history, economic thought and modern British history and philosophy

This book re-examines the philosophical roots of classical liberal political economy, as well as addressing the relationship between the empire and liberalism. It proposes an interpretive model based upon the interconnection between distinct theories of natural rights and the harmony of interests. It takes a fresh look at classical liberalism by exploring economic arguments in thinkers like Thomas Hobbes, Thomas Paine, John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon, who are not typically viewed as economic thinkers, and by highlighting the importance of Bernard Mandeville and Adam Smith in the development of interest-based liberalism. It also re-examines lesser-known economic tracts by thinkers such as John Locke, David Hume and John Stuart Mill in light of their more well-known political writings. With classical liberal assumptions still prominent in contemporary debates about economic justice, it is vital for every democratic citizen to understand the complex origins and development of the ideas that did so much to shape our world today.