The History of Political Thought in National Context

In this volume a distinguished international team of contributors characterises the nature of, and recent developments in, the history of political thought in their respective countries. The essays scrutinise not only the different academic histories and methodological traditions on which the study of the history of political thought has drawn, but also its relationship to cultural and political debates within nations. This collection represents a major contribution to the history of ideas, in which political thought has always been central, whilst reflecting the disciplinary tensions - and national differences - of what remains a ‘borderline’ subject, located at the intersection of history, politics and philosophy. The different national characteristics taken on by political discourse, and the complex relationship these characteristics have to the aspirations of the discipline itself, are considered in these wide-ranging essays, which cover the history of political thought in the UK, the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Central and Eastern Europe.

• Identifies national dimensions as key elements in the formation of an international enterprise • Identifies the different national configurations of the ‘borderline’ disciplinary character of the history of political thought • Complex character of the political revealed by its different national narratives

1. The history of political thought and the national discourses of politics Dario Castiglione and Iain Hampsher-Monk; 2. The voice of the ‘Greeks’ in the Conversation of Mankind Janet Coleman; 3. History of political theory in the Federal Republic of Germany: strange death and slow recovery Wolfgang Mommsen; 4. A German version of the ‘Linguistic Turn’: Reinhart Koselleck and the history of political and social concepts (Begriffsgeschichte) Melvin Richter; 5. One hundred years of history of political thought in Italy Angelo D’Orsi; 6. Discordant voices: American histories of political thought Terry Ball; 7. The Professoriate of Political Thought in England since 1914: a tale of three chairs Robert Wokler; 8. The history of political thought and the political history of thought Iain Hampsher-Monk; 9. The rise of, challenge to, and prospects of a Collingwoodian approach to the history of political thought Quentin Skinner; 10. Towards a philosophical history of the political Pierre Rosanvallon; 11. ‘Le Retour des Emigrés’?: The study of the history of political ideas in contemporary France Jeremy Jennings; 12. National political cultures and regime changes in Eastern and Central Europe Victor Neumann; 13. The limits of the national paradigm in the study of political thought: the case of Karl Popper and Central European Cosmopolitanism Malachi Hacohen; 14. Postscript: Disciplines, canons, and publics: the history of the ‘History of Political Thought’ in comparative perspective Stefan Collini.