Who was Althusius, and why is the work of a seventeenth- century political theorist important in modern times?
Johannes Althusius (1557-1638) was a political theorist and a combative city politician who defended the rights of small communities against territorial absolutism. He designed a system of politics in which sovereignty would be shared and jointly exercised by a plurality of collectivities, spatial as well as social, on the basis of mutual consent and social solidarity.
Early Modern Concepts for a Late Modern World places Althusius in the context of his times and explains the main features of his political thought. It also suggests, perhaps most significantly, why his theories continue to resonate today. Hueglin's use of sources is thorough and scrupulous. He has worked in depth in Germanic scholarship and this access to German-language sources, some of which are almost unknown to the English-speaking world, provides a new interpretation of Althusius' theory.
With its emphasis on pluralized governance, negotiated compromise instead of majority rule, and the inclusion of the economic sphere into the political, Althusius' theory belongs to a countertradition in Western political thought. Although it was written at the beginning of the modern age of sovereign politics, it applies to today's search for a post-sovereign system of politics.
Author(s): Thomas O. Hueglin
Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Year: 1999
Language: English
Pages: 275
City: Waterloo
Table of Contents
Foreword
1 Introduction: Reconstruction, Relevance, and Context
Part One. The Contextual World of Althusius' Thought
2 Four Hundred Years of Althusius Controversy and the Need for a New Interpretation
3 The Historical Context: The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, the Dutch Revolt against Spain, and the Rise of the Absolutist State
4 Theoretical Consequences: Absolutism and Territorial Centralization
5 Recourse to Alternative Traditions: Political Calvinism, Aristotle, and Germanic Communitarianism
6 The Method: Politica Methodice Digesta Exemplis Sacris & Profanis lllustrata
Part Two. The Althusian System of Politics
7 Consociation: The Principle of Political Community in a Civil Society
8 Societal Federalism: A Compound Polity of Particular and Universal Citizenship
9 Representation: Problems of Participation and Legitimacy in the Political Process
10 Subsidiarity and the Division of Powers: The Balance between Autonomy and Solidarity
11 Sovereignty: Organized Unity of Action and a Right to Civil Disobedience
Part Three. The Relevance of Althusius Today
12 Conclusion: Lineage and Affinities
Appendix A: Chronology
Appendix B: Schema
Bibliography
Index
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