Republicanism: An Introduction

by Rachel Hammersley

Republicanism is a centuries-old political tradition, yet its precise meaning has long been contested. The term has been used to refer to government in the public interest, to regimes administered by a collective body or an elected president, and even just to systems embodying the values of liberty and civic virtue. But what do we  really  mean when we talk about republicanism?   

In this new book, leading scholar Rachel Hammersley expertly and accessibly introduces this complex but important topic. Beginning in the ancient world, she traces the history of republican government in theory and practice across the centuries in Europe and North America, concluding with an analysis of republicanism in our contemporary politics. She argues that republicanism is a dynamic political language, with each new generation of thinkers building on the ideas of their predecessors and adapting them in response to their own circumstances, concerns, and crises.   

This compelling account of the origins, history, and potential future of one of the world’s most enduring political ideas will be essential reading for anyone with an interest in republicanism, from historians and political theorists to politicians and ordinary citizens.

Genres: Politics

276 pages, Paperback

Published November 16, 2020

About the author

Rachel Hammersley is a Senior Lecturer in Intellectual History at Newcastle University. She has published on the translation and dissemination of English republican ideas in France and on notions of republicanism, democracy, and revolution during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. She has a passion for communicating knowledge of history and past ideas not just to academic audiences, but also a wider readership.

Reviews

[Dante · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book to finish off the year with. Hammersley's navigation of the great morass of republican political thought balances well the necessary political-historical contextualisation with the conceptual disputes that have unfolded in two milienia of republican theorising. Her initial gesture that this unruly tradition ultimately results in that favouirte of the philosopher, a mere 'family resemblance' of over-lapping and continually repurposed political concerns and philosophical interventions, is certainly convincing given the storied history she displays the term to have had. Given its textbook form, some of the more interesting interpretative questions regarding how this tradition has taken shape aren't given significant space, but the guiding threads of competing accounts of virtue, liberty, constitutionalism, governmental form and anti-monarchial exclusivism are well woven together. I'm certainly glad this book's been published just as I start a slow immersion into republican thought.

[Mehmet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good introduction and summary, yet the glaring absence of non-Western republics from this comprehensive narrative is problematic. The call to bring republicanism back to practical politics in lieu of a conclusion is not convincing and is perhaps another sign of why it has been fairly redundant compared to other ideologies like nationalism, liberalism and socialism.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having been taught by Rachel I’m probably displaying significant bias.

[Joseph Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect introduction to republicanism, with the footnotes providing good suggestions for further reading for those interested.