Overview

For eighteenth- and nineteenth-century authors such as Burke, Constant, and Mill, a powerful representative assembly that freely deliberated and controlled the executive was the defining institution of a liberal state. Yet these figures also feared that representative assemblies were susceptible to usurpation, gridlock, and corruption. Parliamentarism was their answer to this dilemma: a constitutional model that enabled a nation to be truly governed by a representative assembly. Offering novel interpretations of canonical liberal authors, this history of liberal political ideas suggests a new paradigm for interpreting the development of modern political thought, inspiring fresh perspectives on historical issues from the eighteenth to early twentieth centuries. In doing so, Selinger suggests the wider significance of parliament and the theory of parliamentarism in the development of European political thought, revealing how contemporary democratic theory, and indeed the challenges facing representative government today, are historically indebted to classical parliamentarism.

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9781108475747

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Reviews

'Political theorists interested in the history of ideas, constitutional theory, and comparative constitutionalism will want to read this … Highly recommended.' M. J. Dudas, Choice 'Selinger's book is not only a fresh reading of intellectual history intended for professional historians but also a call to rethink our current visions of the so-called liberal democracies in the light of the parliamentary tradition.' Ján Tomaštík and Jan Holzer, International Journal of Parliamentary Studies

'Political theorists interested in the history of ideas, constitutional theory, and comparative constitutionalism will want to read this ... Highly recommended.' M. J. Dudas, Choice 'Political theorists interested in the history of ideas, constitutional theory, and comparative constitutionalism will want to read this ... Highly recommended.' M. J. Dudas, Choice

Author Information

William Selinger is Lecturer in European History, 1700–1850 at University College London. He is a historian of political thought whose work has focused on the development of modern theories of democracy, representative government, and the state. His articles have appeared in a variety of political theory and intellectual history journals. Prior to publication, this book was awarded the Annual Montreal Political Theory Manuscript Award, 2017.

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