Republicanism in the Modern World

By John Maynor

Book Overview

In response to the dominance of liberalism, some theorists haverecently embraced the republican model as an attractivealternative. The overriding appeal of these moves seems to be therobust emphasis that forms of republicanism place on citizenshipand civic virtue in light of what many commentators see as adecline in the social nature of modern politics. However, many ofthese discussions about republicanism are inconsistent and fail tocapture the essence of a classical republican theory for today'scomplex modern world. The result is that the ideals and values ofclassical republicanism have become diluted and misappropriated asthey are utilized by both philosophers and politicians without aclear and consistent sense of their historical pedigree and theirrelevance to the contemporary world.


Republicanism in the Modern World develops and extends thetheoretical implications of a distinctive republican conception ofliberty as non-domination. Building on the recent work of QuentinSkinner and Philip Pettit, Maynor explores the complexinterdependent relationship between liberty as non-domination andconflict, citizenship, and civic virtue to develop a modern theoryof republicanism. Maynor argues that modern republicanism, inspiredand informed by classical versions, can be the basis for a renewedeffort to rejuvenate the political ideals and institutions of themodern democratic nation-state.


This book will be invaluable to students and scholars in politics, political philosophy and international relations.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0745628079
• ISBN13: 9780745628073
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: Polity Press
• Length: 240 Pages