The Oxford Handbook of the History of Political Philosophy

The Oxford Handbook of the History of Political Philosophy presents fifty original essays, each specially written by a leading figure in the field, covering the entire subject of the history of political philosophy. They provide not only surveys of the state of research but substantial pieces that engage with, and move forward, current debates. Part I addresses questions of method. Contributors discuss the contextual method, classically articulated by Quentin Skinner, along with important alternative methods associated with Leo Strauss and his followers, and contemporary post-modernism. This section also examines the value of the history of political philosophy and the history of the discipline itself. Part II, Chronological Periods, works through the entire history of Western political philosophy. While most contributions address recognizable chronological periods, others are devoted to more specialized topics, including the influence of Roman Law, medieval Arabic political philosophy, Socialism, and Marxism. Aspects of the history of political philosophy that transcend specific periods are the subject of Part III. Essays on topics such as democracy, the state, and imperialism trace theoretical developments over time. The histories of major non-Western traditions-Muslim, Confucian, and Hindu-are discussed in the final Part, with special reference to their relationships to Western political thought.Acknowledgments ; Introduction ; I APPROACHES ; 1. The Contextual Approach ; 2. The Straussian Approach ; 3. Postmodern Approaches to the History of Political Thought ; 4. The Value of the History of Political Philosophy ; 5. History of Political Philosophy as Discipline ; II CHRONOLOGICAL PERIODS ; 6. The Origins of Political Philosophy ; 7. Classical Political Philosophy: Plato & Aristotle ; 8. Hellenistic Political Theory ; 9. Early Christian Political Philosophy ; 10. Influence of Roman Law ; 11. Arabic Contributions to Medieval Political Theory ; 12. Medieval Political Theory c. 1000-1500 ; 13. Renaissance Political Philosophy ; 14. Political Thought in the Age of the Reformation ; 15. The School of Salamanca ; 16. The Early Modern Foundations of Classic Liberalism ; 17. Absolutism ; 18. Enlightenment Political Philosophy ; 19. Scottish Enlightenment ; 20. Early Nineteenth-Century Liberalism ; 21. German Idealism ; 22. Socialism ; 23. Marxian Tradition ; 24. Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Liberalism ; 25. Political Philosophy and the Idea of a Social Science ; 26. Contemporary Political Philosophy: Anglo-American ; 27. Contemporary Continental Political Thought ; 28. Political Philosophy in a Globalizing World ; III THEMES ; 29. Democracy ; 30. Rights ; 31. The State ; 32. Sovereignty ; 33. The Social Contract (Contract of Government) ; 34. Citizenship ; 35. Property ; 36. Equality ; 37. Freedom ; 38. Douglass and Hobbes on Fear, Imagination, and Slavery ; 39. Imperialism ; 40. The Idea of the Welfare State ; 41. Libertarianism ; 42. Religious Toleration ; 43. Republicanism ; 44. Political Obligation ; 45. Anarchism ; 46. Feminism ; 47. Animal Rights and Political Theory ; IV NON-WESTERN PERSPECTIVES ; 48. Confucian Political Philosophy ; 49. The Muslim Tradition of Political Philosophy ; 50. Hindu Political Philosophy