Richard Whatmore is a Professor of Modern History and Co-Director of the Institute of Intellectual History at the University of St. Andrews. He is the author of Republicanism and the French Revolution (OUP, 2000); Against War and Empire (Yale, 2012); What is Intellectual History? (Polity, 2015); and Terrorists, Anarchists and Republicans (Princeton, 2019).

• 1: Political thought: a brief history


• 2: History and political philosophy: Arendt, Oakeshott, and Rawls


• 3: Political thought and extremism: Koselleck


• 4: Political thought in North America: Strauss


• 5: Political thought and the history of liberty: Foucault


• 6: Political theorists as historians: The Cambridge School


• 7: The History of Political Thought and Present Politics


• Further Reading


• Index

Richard Whatmore examines the diverse, interconnected relationships between political history, theory, and action. Considering the work of Michel Foucalt, John Pocock, Quentin Skinner and other key theorists, this book highlights the connections between past and present political systems, and the ongoing relevance of the field today.