Liberalism Under Siege: The Political Thought of the French Doctrinaires is a compelling examination of the French Doctrinaires, a largely neglected group of liberal thinkers in post-revolutionary France who were proponents of a nuanced sociological and historical approach to democracy. It combines textual analysis and historical interpretation to explore the Doctrinaires' ideas on the French Revolution, democracy, political power, sovereignty of reason, publicity, capacity, and representative government.
Chapter 1 In Lieu of Introduction Chapter 2 The Doctrinaires and Their Epoch Chapter 3 Between Scylla and Charybdis Chapter 4 Democracy and the French Revolution Chapter 5 The Sovereignty of Reason Chapter 6 Political Power and "The New Means of Government" Chapter 7 The Battle for Representative Government Chapter 8 Representation and Political Capacity Chapter 9 Publicity and Representative Government Chapter 10 The Elitist Liberalism of the French Doctrinaires