- Indiana University, Department of Political Science, 210 Woodburn Hall, 1100 E. 7th St., Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
- (812) 855-6308
Aurelian Craiutu
Indiana University, Political Science, Faculty Member
- Political Philosophy, History of Political Thought, Political Science, Sovereignty, Alexis de Tocqueville, Raymond Aron, and 17 moreBenjamin Constant, Moderation, François Guizot, Social and Political Philosophy, Gustave de Beaumont, 18th/19th French Political Thought, French Revolution, American Studies, Central and Eastern Europe, Romanian Studies, Democracy, Representative government, Political Theory, Intellectual History, History of Ideas, Social and Political Thought, and Histories and theories of modernityedit
Tocqueville’s epistolary exchanges give us a privileged vantage point to better appreciate the character of the man behind the scene, with his shifting passions, big dreams, and recurrent disappointments. Given the fact that more than... more
Tocqueville’s epistolary exchanges give us a privileged vantage point to better appreciate the character of the man behind the scene, with his shifting passions, big dreams, and recurrent disappointments. Given the fact that more than half of Tocqueville’s complete works—nineteen out of thirty-two volumes—contain the letters he sent and received from his friends, relatives, and acquaintances, it is somewhat surprising that we still don’t have a full-fledged study of Tocqueville’s rich correspondence. This essay is an invitation to doing just that. Tocqueville’s letters demonstrate his unflinching commitment to liberty in an age when freedom had few supporters of his caliber. They make him appear as an even more interesting (and more political) figure than previously thought.
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The chapter explores the nature of liberal education as a form of "spiritual exercise" ad defined by the French philosopher Pierre Hadot (1922-2010). It is based on a lecture given at the end of each large introductory course in political... more
The chapter explores the nature of liberal education as a form of "spiritual exercise" ad defined by the French philosopher Pierre Hadot (1922-2010). It is based on a lecture given at the end of each large introductory course in political theory I give at Indiana University. The last section of the paper comments on my own educational experience in communist Romania under the private mentorship of philosopher Mihai Sora (1916-2023).
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This article examines Norberto Bobbio and Raymond Aron's views on the role of the intellectuals in modern society and focuses on Bobbio's Politics and Culture and Aron's The Opium of the Intellectuals. Published in 1955, both books show... more
This article examines Norberto Bobbio and Raymond Aron's views on the role of the intellectuals in modern society and focuses on Bobbio's Politics and Culture and Aron's The Opium of the Intellectuals. Published in 1955, both books show how the two thinkers interpreted the duties and the responsibilities of intellectuals during the Cold War. Bobbio and Aron refused to embrace political Manichaeism and effectively practiced the art of dialogue and civil disagreement as an antidote to the rising political polarization and sectarianism of their time. The article explores their exchanges with the Italian and French communists and fellow travellers and focuses on their critique of the intellectuals' preference for bold narratives and good acting at the expense of providing careful analyses of concrete institutions and practices. We conclude that Bobbio and Aron continue to serve as models of responsible public intellectuals who can teach us how to appreciate and defend liberal democracy today.
Research Interests: Intellectual History, Political Philosophy, History of Ideas, Western Europe, Cold War and Culture, and 14 morePolitical Science, Cold War, Communism, Italian Politics, History of Political Thought, French Politics, Democracy, Sociology of Intellectuals, Political Ideology, Norberto Bobbio, Raymond Aron, History of Political Ideas, Poltical Theory, and Cold War History and International Relations
How did Tocqueville manage to write Democracy in America at such an early age? The chapter seeks to answer this question by examining the intellectual context in which his masterpiece was written. It explores Tocqueville’s intellectual... more
How did Tocqueville manage to write Democracy in America at such an early age? The chapter seeks to answer this question by examining the intellectual context in which his masterpiece was written. It explores Tocqueville’s intellectual dialogue with members of his generation (T. Jouffroy, Charles de Remusat) or prominent contemporaries such as Chsteaubriand and Lamennais.
In Cambridge Companion to Democracy in America, ed. Richard Boyd, Cambridge UP, 2022, pp. 69-99.
In Cambridge Companion to Democracy in America, ed. Richard Boyd, Cambridge UP, 2022, pp. 69-99.
Research Interests: Intellectual History, Philosophy, French History, Political Theory, Political Science, and 9 moreFrench Revolution, History of Political Thought, French Political Philosophy, Democracy, Alexis de Tocqueville, History of Political Ideas, François-René de Chateaubriand, Democracy in America, and 18th/19th French Political Thought
T ocqueville’s Democracy in America offered the image of an accomplished and successful demo- cratic regime. Although Tocqueville never wrote a third volume, he continued to be interested in American political events and exchanged a ...
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A review essay of key works and trends in the political thought of Central and Eastern Europe, before and after 1989. The topics examined include the nature of the 1989 velvet revolutions in the region, debates on civil society,... more
A review essay of key works and trends in the political thought of Central and Eastern Europe, before and after 1989. The topics examined include the nature of the 1989 velvet revolutions in the region, debates on civil society, democratization, the relationship between politics, economics, and culture, nationalism, legal reform, feminism, and "illiberal democracy." The review essay concludes with an assessment of the most recent trends in the region.
Research Interests: Eastern European Studies, Political Philosophy, Political Theory, Political Science, Revolutions, and 10 moreLiberalism, Politics, Economic Theory, History of Political Thought, Democracy, Postcommunist studies, Central and Eastern Europe, Open Society, 1989 Romanian Revolution, and Theories of Socialism
A comparative examination of Isaiah Berlin and Raymond Aron's views on liberty with focus on Berlin's Four Essays on Liberty (1969) and Aron's Essais sur la liberte (1965).DOI: 10.1080/08913811.2020.1891761... more
A comparative examination of Isaiah Berlin and Raymond Aron's views on liberty with focus on Berlin's Four Essays on Liberty (1969) and Aron's Essais sur la liberte (1965).DOI: 10.1080/08913811.2020.1891761
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08913811.2020.1891761
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08913811.2020.1891761
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Introduction to Jacques Necker, On Executive Power in Great States. Edited with an introduction and notes by Aurelian Craiutu (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2020), 448 pp.... more
Introduction to Jacques Necker, On Executive Power in Great States. Edited with an introduction and notes by Aurelian Craiutu (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2020), 448 pp.
https://www.libertyfund.org/books/on-executive-power-in-great-states
Jacques Necker (1732–1804) was a Swiss statesman and financier who played a crucial role in French political life from 1776 to 1789. Born in Geneva, he was a devout Protestant who amassed considerable wealth as a successful banker. In October 1776, he was appointed as director of the Royal Treasury and, later, in June 1777, as director general of finances of France under Louis XVI. While in charge of the finances of the kingdom, his most famous decision, in 1781, was to make public the budget of France for the first time, a novel practice in an absolute monarchy.
His work On Executive Power in Great States (1792) is arguably one of the most important texts ever written on the issue of executive power in modern society. It includes memorable formulations regarding liberty and public spirit among the English and the Americans, the relation between economic prosperity and political freedom, and the seminal influence of religion and morals on liberty. Necker provides a defense of representative government and offers an examination of the French political system, which he compares on several occasions with England and America. Before Tocqueville, Necker understood the importance of America for the Old World as the first successful example of popular self-government and free institutions.
In his book, Necker called upon French legislators to study the principles of the U.S. Constitution. His bold innovation was to replace the theory of the functional separation of powers with the “intertwining of powers” that were dependent upon the existence of effective links between the executive and the legislative. In the absence of such links, Necker maintained, “all would be contest and confusion.” Necker’s fundamental premise was that it would be impossible to establish effective cooperation between different powers solely through the exercise of constant watchfulness and mutual distrust.
Although Necker was one of the most important politicians in France before and during the French Revolution, he has been largely ignored as a political thinker. This is the first modern edition of Necker’s important work, shedding fresh light on the timely topics of executive power, constitutionalism and the rule of law, federalism, balance of power, and the dependence of liberty on morality and religion. Professor Aurelian Craiutu significantly revised and corrected the 1792 English translation and added explanatory notes, an introduction, and a select bibliography.
https://www.libertyfund.org/books/on-executive-power-in-great-states
Jacques Necker (1732–1804) was a Swiss statesman and financier who played a crucial role in French political life from 1776 to 1789. Born in Geneva, he was a devout Protestant who amassed considerable wealth as a successful banker. In October 1776, he was appointed as director of the Royal Treasury and, later, in June 1777, as director general of finances of France under Louis XVI. While in charge of the finances of the kingdom, his most famous decision, in 1781, was to make public the budget of France for the first time, a novel practice in an absolute monarchy.
His work On Executive Power in Great States (1792) is arguably one of the most important texts ever written on the issue of executive power in modern society. It includes memorable formulations regarding liberty and public spirit among the English and the Americans, the relation between economic prosperity and political freedom, and the seminal influence of religion and morals on liberty. Necker provides a defense of representative government and offers an examination of the French political system, which he compares on several occasions with England and America. Before Tocqueville, Necker understood the importance of America for the Old World as the first successful example of popular self-government and free institutions.
In his book, Necker called upon French legislators to study the principles of the U.S. Constitution. His bold innovation was to replace the theory of the functional separation of powers with the “intertwining of powers” that were dependent upon the existence of effective links between the executive and the legislative. In the absence of such links, Necker maintained, “all would be contest and confusion.” Necker’s fundamental premise was that it would be impossible to establish effective cooperation between different powers solely through the exercise of constant watchfulness and mutual distrust.
Although Necker was one of the most important politicians in France before and during the French Revolution, he has been largely ignored as a political thinker. This is the first modern edition of Necker’s important work, shedding fresh light on the timely topics of executive power, constitutionalism and the rule of law, federalism, balance of power, and the dependence of liberty on morality and religion. Professor Aurelian Craiutu significantly revised and corrected the 1792 English translation and added explanatory notes, an introduction, and a select bibliography.
Research Interests: Intellectual History, Political Philosophy, Political Theory, Political Science, French Revolution, and 14 moreHistoriography of the French Revolution, French Political Philosophy, French Revolution and Napoleon, France, Monarchy, Political Power, Executive Power, Louis XVI, 18th/19th French Political Thought, Jacques Necker, Madame De Staël, French Political Thought, Groupe De Coppet, and Early Modern Intellectual History and the History of Ideas
This article explores several key aspects of Tocqueville's "new science of politics". By focusing on its cross-disciplinary, comparative, normative, and political components, it highlights Tocqueville's conceptual and methodological... more
This article explores several key aspects of Tocqueville's "new science of politics". By focusing on its cross-disciplinary, comparative, normative, and political components, it highlights Tocqueville's conceptual and methodological sophistication as illustrated by his preparatory notes for Democracy in America and his voyage notes. The essay also defends Tocqueville against those critics who took him to task for working with an imprecise definition of democracy or with an ambiguous conception of equality.
https://revistascientificas.us.es/index.php/araucaria/issue/view/875
https://revistascientificas.us.es/index.php/araucaria/issue/view/875
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An analysis of the methodological eclecticism at the core of the writings of Elinor and Vincent Ostrom, founders of the Bloomington School of institutional analysis.
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Moderation is a highly contested virtue on which there seems to be little agreement in our political vocabulary and culture. What is the nature of moderation and why should we care about it? Can moderation ever serve as a foundation for... more
Moderation is a highly contested virtue on which there seems to be little agreement in our political vocabulary and culture. What is the nature of moderation and why should we care about it? Can moderation ever serve as a foundation for social activism and reform? In this chapter, we try to answer these questions by focusing on the American political tradition which is particularly interesting for any student of moderation. We compare the moderation of the Founding Fathers with the rise of ideological intransigence and the steady decline of political moderation over the past several decades in the United States. The second part of our essay examines a prominent social activist— Saul Alinsky (1909-1972)—to whom the word moderation may have never been applied until now, but whose works and actions displayed, however, surprising affinities with the principles of political moderation. A self-styled “realistic radical,” Alinsky espoused and practiced key tenets of political moderation in his community organizing, albeit in an unorthodox style that may not be associated with moderation at first sight. Alinsky’s case is insightful and challenging for several reasons, beyond the character in question, famous for his wit, quickness of mind, and generous impulses as well as for his openness to working with individuals from all walks of life. By taking a new look at his case, we suggest that moderation is susceptible of being defined in a broad way that goes beyond the stereotypes mentioned above. We argue that a pragmatic form of moderation can have tangible outcomes at the grassroots level and can serve as a basis for effective social activism. As such, it implies a good dose of courage, non-conformism, eclecticism, and flexibility in the fight for the principles of the good society
Research Interests: American Studies, Political Philosophy, Democratic Education, Political Theory, Democratic Theory, and 13 moreAbraham Lincoln, Political Science, Liberalism, Political Extremism/Radicalism/Populism, History of Political Thought, American Political Thought, Democracy, Contemporary Political Theory, Radicalism, George Washington, Political Ideologies, History of the Left, and Saul Alinsky
A review-essay of Balázs Trencsényi, Michal Kopeček, Luka Lisjak Gabrijelčič, Maria Falina, Mónika Baár, and Maciej Janowski, A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe: Volume II: Negotiating Modernity in the “Short... more
A review-essay of Balázs Trencsényi, Michal Kopeček, Luka Lisjak Gabrijelčič, Maria Falina, Mónika Baár, and Maciej Janowski, A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe: Volume II: Negotiating Modernity in the “Short Twentieth Century” and Beyond, Part I: 1918-1968. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018. ISBN: 978-0-19-873715-5.
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/MZEMDNRSYJP45BQG3DQW/full?target=10.1080/23801883.2019.1644726
A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe: Volume II: Negotiating Modernity in the “Short Twentieth Century” and Beyond, Part II: 1968-2018. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018. ISBN: 978-0-19-882960-7.
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/MZEMDNRSYJP45BQG3DQW/full?target=10.1080/23801883.2019.1644726
A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe: Volume II: Negotiating Modernity in the “Short Twentieth Century” and Beyond, Part II: 1968-2018. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018. ISBN: 978-0-19-882960-7.
Research Interests: Eastern European Studies, Political Philosophy, Political Theory, Political Science, Democratization, and 8 moreHistory Of Political Thought (Political Science), Political History, History of Political Thought, Democracy, Comparative Political Theory, Central and Eastern Europe, Political Thought, and Central and Eastern European Politics
Special issue on Mme de Staël, Germaine, ou la politique. Madame de Staël,
Research Interests: Intellectual History, Political Philosophy, French Studies, Political Theory, French Revolution, and 10 moreFrench Revolution and Napoleon, French history and politics, France, Modern Political Philosophy, Staël, Germaine de, François Guizot, History of poliical ideas, 18th/19th French Political Thought, Madame De Staël, and Modern Western Political Thought
An analysis of Berlin's interpretation of Marx and Marxism with special focus on his book Karl Marx (1939)
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Laboulaye, “le plus Américain de tous les Francais” , n’avait jamais visité les États-Unis, bien qu’il ait reçu beaucoup d’invitations officielles pour s’y rendre. En dépit de cette lacune, il était devenu à partir des années 1860s, sous... more
Laboulaye, “le plus Américain de tous les Francais” , n’avait jamais visité les États-Unis, bien qu’il ait reçu beaucoup d’invitations officielles pour s’y rendre. En dépit de cette lacune, il était devenu à partir des années 1860s, sous le Second Empire, l’Américaniste le plus éminent de la France. Comment se fait-il donc que quelqu’un qui n’a jamais visité un pays aussi complexe et divers que les États-Unis ait pu devenir un jour son meilleur interprète en France? C’est ce paradoxe que cet essai se propose d'explorer.
“Laboulaye et les États-Unis,” Revue Française d'Histoire des Idées Politiques, 47:1 (May 2018), pp. 203-226 [in French], http://liseuse.harmattan.fr/978-2-343-14752-9
https://www.cairn.info/revue-francaise-d-histoire-des-idees-politiques.htm
“Laboulaye et les États-Unis,” Revue Française d'Histoire des Idées Politiques, 47:1 (May 2018), pp. 203-226 [in French], http://liseuse.harmattan.fr/978-2-343-14752-9
https://www.cairn.info/revue-francaise-d-histoire-des-idees-politiques.htm
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https://aeon.co/essays/reports-of-the-demise-of-liberalism-are-greatly-exaggerated The many deaths of liberalism The essay, co-written with Daniel H. Cole, examines the rhetoric of the announced death or failure of liberalism in... more
https://aeon.co/essays/reports-of-the-demise-of-liberalism-are-greatly-exaggerated
The many deaths of liberalism
The essay, co-written with Daniel H. Cole, examines the rhetoric of the announced death or failure of liberalism in historical perspective. It draws, among others, on Ortega y Gasset, Karl Popper, Judith Shklar, Albert Hirschman, J. G. Merquior, and Alan Ryan's ideas. The essay argues that although liberal societies have not always lived up to these principles, which in some respects are always aspirational, it cannot be denied that political societies based on liberal principles have been more successful, on almost any measure, than regimes that are more authoritarian, or sectarian.
The many deaths of liberalism
The essay, co-written with Daniel H. Cole, examines the rhetoric of the announced death or failure of liberalism in historical perspective. It draws, among others, on Ortega y Gasset, Karl Popper, Judith Shklar, Albert Hirschman, J. G. Merquior, and Alan Ryan's ideas. The essay argues that although liberal societies have not always lived up to these principles, which in some respects are always aspirational, it cannot be denied that political societies based on liberal principles have been more successful, on almost any measure, than regimes that are more authoritarian, or sectarian.
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Jonathan White and Lea Ypi review "Faces of Moderation", Aurelian Craiutu reviews "The Meaning of Partisanship", with responses from authors.
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An analysis of a few key passages from Madame de Stael's Considerations that shed light on her commitment to liberal principls
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An examination of the intellectual dialogue between Mme de Stael and Rousseau
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co-authored with Matthew N. Holbreich and published in Michael Zuckert ed. in Combining the Spirit of Religion and the Spirit of Liberty: Tocqueville’s Thesis Revisited, ed. Michael Zuckert, University of Chicago Press, 2017, pp. 123-52.
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An analysis of the affinities between Raymond Aron and Alexis de Tocqueville published in a collective volume, edited by Jose Colen and Elizabeth Dutartre-Michaut at Presses Universitaires a Vienne & Astier, with a foreword by Pierre... more
An analysis of the affinities between Raymond Aron and Alexis de Tocqueville published in a collective volume, edited by Jose Colen and Elizabeth Dutartre-Michaut at Presses Universitaires a Vienne & Astier, with a foreword by Pierre Manent.
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An analysis of Tocqueville's new science of politics and the lessons for contemporary social and political scientists. Published in in: Harald Bluhm and Skadi Krause (Hg.), Alexis de Tocqueville. Analytiker der Demockratie, Paderborn:... more
An analysis of Tocqueville's new science of politics and the lessons for contemporary social and political scientists. Published in in: Harald Bluhm and Skadi Krause (Hg.), Alexis de Tocqueville. Analytiker der Demockratie, Paderborn: Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 2015, pp. 33-51. ISBN 978-3-7705-5954-1 [in German, trans. Skadi Krause]
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This essay examines the role of “critical spectatorship” in the writings of two distinguished European intellectuals, José Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955) and Raymond Aron (1905-1983). For all of their differences, the two thinkers belonged... more
This essay examines the role of “critical spectatorship” in the writings of two distinguished European intellectuals, José Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955) and Raymond Aron (1905-1983). For all of their differences, the two thinkers belonged to the same spiritual family—European liberalism broadly defined—a common cultural and political universe placing special emphasis upon individual liberty, dignity, and human excellence. We begin the paper by commenting on the struggle between civilization and barbarism, a fundamental topic in Ortega and Aron’s writings. We then examine the rhetoric of going beyond both the political left and right, which both Ortega and Aron used. Next, we turn to the concept of “critical spectatorship” central to their writings and comment on the similarities and differences between their visions on this issue. We conclude by drawing a few conclusions on the relevance of Ortega and Aron’s types of social and political criticism for us today.
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Interpretive study serving as editors' introduction to Tocqueville on America after 1840 (Cambridge, 2009) co-authored with Jeremy Jennings
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An application of some of Tocqueville's key concepts (from Democracy in America, The Old Regime and the Revolution, and his Recollections) to the process of democratization in Eastern Europe.
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Introduction to Guizot's book
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An examination of the role of political moderation in the writings of prominent members of the Coppet group (Necker, Stael, Constant)
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N. Steinhardt (1912-1989) was a literary critic and writer who is now best remembered as the author of Jurnalul fericirii (The Diary of Happiness). First published in 1991, it may be considered as one of the most original and uplifting... more
N. Steinhardt (1912-1989) was a literary critic and writer who is now best remembered as the author of Jurnalul fericirii (The Diary of Happiness). First published in 1991, it may be considered as one of the most original and uplifting books published in post-communist Eastern Europe after 1989.Born into a Jewish middle-class family in Bucharest in 1912, N. Steinhardt emerged as one of the most original young voices in the rich cultural atmosphere of inter-war Romania.Although of Jewish origin, Steinhardt survived the harsh period of the war unscathed and decided to stay in Romania after the communist takeover in 1948. Unable to publish and forced to occupy only modest positions to earn a living, Steinhardt lived a marginal life in the 1950s. He was arrested in January 1960 in what came to be known as the “Constantin Noica-Dinu Pillat” trial and was condemned to twelve years of hard labour in prison. At the Jilava prison, he converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity in the most unconventional of settings. In August 1980, at the age of 68, he became a monk at the Rohia monastery in Maramureş (northern Romania). In December 1987, he published a memorable essay, “Taina libertǎţii” (“The Secret of Liberty”), which miraculously appeared in the December 1987 issue of Familia, an Oradea-based journal, “Taina libertǎţii” was immediately broadcast on Radio Free Europe and Deutsche Welle and became famous amongst their wide audience in Romania and abroad. He died in March 1989.
Research Interests: Eastern European Studies, History of Ideas, Political Theory, Totalitarianism, Communism, and 10 morePostcommunist studies, Eastern Europe, Romania, Postcommunism, Literature and Totalitarianism, Prison Literature, Central and Eastern Europe, Securitate, Steinhardt, Solzhenitsyn, Jurnalul Fericirii, and The Diary of Happiness
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Book chapter in National Reconciliation in Eastern Europe that analyzes the complex relations between the Romanian majority and the Hungarian minority in the aftermath of the fall of the Ceausescu's regime in December 1989.
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The article examines the rhetoric of academic writings on democratization in Eastern Europe (1990-1996)
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Having political opinions is not a matter of having an ideology once and for all; it is a question of taking the right decisions in changing circumstances.-Raymond Aron Although the different aspects of moderation-personal,... more
Having political opinions is not a matter of having an ideology once and for all; it is a question of taking the right decisions in changing circumstances.-Raymond Aron
Although the different aspects of moderation-personal, institutional, and political-are related to each other and, taken together, might point to a thin (as opposed to a thick) definition of this concept, I have preferred to highlight the complexity and diverse faces of this elusive virtue, leaving the question of its precise definition open. I showed that in all of its incarnations, political moderation has a distinct content .and style and forms a diverse tradition of thought, resembling an archipelago consisting of various islands represented by a wide array of ideas and modes of argument and action. The moderate thinkers discussed in these pages affirmed several basic attitudes that allow us to begin describing the school of moderation to which they belonged, beyond their inevitable personal and intellectual differences. The agenda of moderation promotes social and political pluralism and endorses trimming and balance between competing values and principles. It rejects monist conceptions of the public good and the good life and opposes Manichaeism. It prefers gradual reforms over radical revolutionary breakthroughs and sometimes-though not always-searches for a juste milieu or "golden mean'' between extremes that would maintain the equipoise of the community.
Although the different aspects of moderation-personal, institutional, and political-are related to each other and, taken together, might point to a thin (as opposed to a thick) definition of this concept, I have preferred to highlight the complexity and diverse faces of this elusive virtue, leaving the question of its precise definition open. I showed that in all of its incarnations, political moderation has a distinct content .and style and forms a diverse tradition of thought, resembling an archipelago consisting of various islands represented by a wide array of ideas and modes of argument and action. The moderate thinkers discussed in these pages affirmed several basic attitudes that allow us to begin describing the school of moderation to which they belonged, beyond their inevitable personal and intellectual differences. The agenda of moderation promotes social and political pluralism and endorses trimming and balance between competing values and principles. It rejects monist conceptions of the public good and the good life and opposes Manichaeism. It prefers gradual reforms over radical revolutionary breakthroughs and sometimes-though not always-searches for a juste milieu or "golden mean'' between extremes that would maintain the equipoise of the community.
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Front page and table of contents for FACES OF MODERATION (Penn Press, 2017)
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Political moderation is the touchstone of democracy, which could not function without compromise and bargaining, yet it is one of the most understudied concepts in political theory. How can we explain this striking paradox? Why do we... more
Political moderation is the touchstone of democracy, which could not function without compromise and bargaining, yet it is one of the most understudied concepts in political theory. How can we explain this striking paradox? Why do we often underestimate the virtue of moderation? Seeking to answer these questions, A Virtue for Courageous Minds examines moderation in modern French political thought and sheds light on the French Revolution and its legacy.
Aurelian Craiutu begins with classical thinkers who extolled the virtues of a moderate approach to politics, such as Aristotle and Cicero. He then shows how Montesquieu inaugurated the modern rebirth of this tradition by laying the intellectual foundations for moderate government. Craiutu looks at important figures such as Jacques Necker, Madame de Staël, and Benjamin Constant, not only in the context of revolutionary France but throughout Europe. He traces how moderation evolves from an individual moral virtue into a set of institutional arrangements calculated to protect individual liberty, and he explores the deep affinity between political moderation and constitutional complexity. Craiutu demonstrates how moderation navigates between political extremes, and he challenges the common notion that moderation is an essentially conservative virtue, stressing instead its eclectic nature.
Drawing on a broad range of writings in political theory, the history of political thought, philosophy, and law, A Virtue for Courageous Minds reveals how the virtue of political moderation can address the profound complexities of the world today.
Aurelian Craiutu begins with classical thinkers who extolled the virtues of a moderate approach to politics, such as Aristotle and Cicero. He then shows how Montesquieu inaugurated the modern rebirth of this tradition by laying the intellectual foundations for moderate government. Craiutu looks at important figures such as Jacques Necker, Madame de Staël, and Benjamin Constant, not only in the context of revolutionary France but throughout Europe. He traces how moderation evolves from an individual moral virtue into a set of institutional arrangements calculated to protect individual liberty, and he explores the deep affinity between political moderation and constitutional complexity. Craiutu demonstrates how moderation navigates between political extremes, and he challenges the common notion that moderation is an essentially conservative virtue, stressing instead its eclectic nature.
Drawing on a broad range of writings in political theory, the history of political thought, philosophy, and law, A Virtue for Courageous Minds reveals how the virtue of political moderation can address the profound complexities of the world today.
Research Interests: Intellectual History, Political Philosophy, Political Theory, French Revolution, Social and Political Philosophy, and 11 moreFrench Revolution and Napoleon, French history and politics, France, 18th Century France, Constitutionalism, Montesquieu, Benjamin Constant, Moderation, Balance of Power, Germaine de Staël, and Early Modern Intellectual History and the History of Ideas
Liberalism under Siege: The Political Thought of the French Doctrinaries is a compelling examination of the French Doctrinaries, a largely neglected group of liberal thinkers in post-revolutionary France who were proponents of a nuanced... more
Liberalism under Siege: The Political Thought of the French Doctrinaries is a compelling examination of the French Doctrinaries, a largely neglected group of liberal thinkers in post-revolutionary France who were proponents of a nuanced sociological and historical approach to political theory. The first systematic interpretation of the French Doctrinaries' political writings to appear in English, Liberalism under Siege combines textual analysis and historical interpretation to explore the Doctrinaires' ideas on the French Revolution, democracy, political power, sovereignty of reason, publicity, capacity, and representative government. Aurelian Craiutu's detailed work is not only an argument for the reappraisal of the Bourbon Restoration as a golden age of political thought; it is also a passionate and persuasive addition to contemporary debates about the diversity of liberalism.
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Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America has been recognized as an indispensable starting point for understanding American politics. From the publication of the second volume in 1840 until his death in 1859, Tocqueville continued to... more
Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America has been recognized as an indispensable starting point for understanding American politics. From the publication of the second volume in 1840 until his death in 1859, Tocqueville continued to monitor political developments in America and committed many of his thoughts to paper in letters to his friends in America. He also made frequent references to America in many articles and speeches. Did Tocqueville change his views on America outlined in the two volumes of Democracy in America published in 1835 and 1840? If so, which of his views changed and why? The texts translated in Tocqueville on America after 1840: Letters and Other Writings answer these questions and offer English-speaking readers the possibility of familiarizing themselves with this unduly neglected part of Tocqueville's work. The book points out a clear shift in emphasis especially after 1852 and documents Tocqueville's growing disenchantment with America, triggered by such issues as political corruption, slavery, expansionism, and the encroachment of the economic sphere upon the political.
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George W. Bush’s foreign policy touted America as the model of democracy worth exporting to the four corners of the globe. Osama bin Laden has painted a picture of our society as soulless and materialistic, representing values that are... more
George W. Bush’s foreign policy touted America as the model of democracy worth exporting to the four corners of the globe. Osama bin Laden has painted a picture of our society as soulless and materialistic, representing values that are the antithesis of his version of Islam. Such starkly contrasting images of America fuel much heated debate today and drive conflicts around the world. But foreigners have long had a love/hate relationship with the United States, as this book reveals.
Contributors from comparative literature, history, philosophy, and political science combine their talents here to trace the changing visions of America that foreign travelers to our shores from England and France brought back to their contemporaries over the course of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Novels and letters, political analysis, and philosophy are mined for perceptions of what America meant for these European visitors and how idealistic or realistic their observations were. Major writers such as Tocqueville play an important role in this dialogue, but so do lesser-known thinkers such as Gustave de Beaumont, Michel Chevalier, and Victor Jacquemont, whose importance this volume will help resurrect.
Contributors from comparative literature, history, philosophy, and political science combine their talents here to trace the changing visions of America that foreign travelers to our shores from England and France brought back to their contemporaries over the course of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Novels and letters, political analysis, and philosophy are mined for perceptions of what America meant for these European visitors and how idealistic or realistic their observations were. Major writers such as Tocqueville play an important role in this dialogue, but so do lesser-known thinkers such as Gustave de Beaumont, Michel Chevalier, and Victor Jacquemont, whose importance this volume will help resurrect.
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"The questions and issues raised by Tocqueville in his monumental studies of France and America are just as crucial for understanding the evolution of democracy in the West and the development of democracy in the non-western world. They... more
"The questions and issues raised by Tocqueville in his monumental studies of France and America are just as crucial for understanding the evolution of democracy in the West and the development of democracy in the non-western world. They clearly show the breadth of Tocqueville's contributions to the development of modern social sciences. Among the questions addressed by Tocqueville were: How does the weight of the past affect the evolution of political institutions and political behavior? What impact do differences in physical environment have on the organization of society? What are the relationships between social equality, freedom, and democracy? To what extent does centralization destroy the capacity for local initiative and self-governance? What conditions are needed to nurture the flourishing of self-governing communities? What safeguards are needed to preserve freedom and to prevent incipient democracies from becoming dictatorships? Why has democracy had such a problem taking hold in many parts of the non-western world? How should one study democracy in non-western settings? Tocquevillian analytics can help us provide answers.
Addressed to a wider audience than Tocqueville scholars, the book argues that Tocquevillian analytics can be used to understand developments in non-western as well as western societies and be updated to address such issues as globalization, ethnicity, New World-Old World comparisons, and East-West dynamics. The first part of the book examines the basic components of Tocquevillian analytics, outlining its stepwise, interdisciplinary approach to understanding societies and nations. The second part applies the Tocquevillian conceptual framework to the contemporary world and contains individual chapters on various regions of the world–North America, Russia, Western Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Unlike previous collective works on Tocqueville,Conversations with Tocqueville does not offer a survey of the authors' views, but instead focuses on presenting a cohesive"
Addressed to a wider audience than Tocqueville scholars, the book argues that Tocquevillian analytics can be used to understand developments in non-western as well as western societies and be updated to address such issues as globalization, ethnicity, New World-Old World comparisons, and East-West dynamics. The first part of the book examines the basic components of Tocquevillian analytics, outlining its stepwise, interdisciplinary approach to understanding societies and nations. The second part applies the Tocquevillian conceptual framework to the contemporary world and contains individual chapters on various regions of the world–North America, Russia, Western Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Unlike previous collective works on Tocqueville,Conversations with Tocqueville does not offer a survey of the authors' views, but instead focuses on presenting a cohesive"
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Research Interests: French History, Nineteenth Century Studies, French Revolution, French Political Philosophy, French Revolution and Napoleon, and 8 moreFrench history and politics, Alexis de Tocqueville, François Guizot, Pierre Rosanvallon, method of the French Doctrinaires, Bourbon Restoration, Modern French Political Thought, and Pierre Royer-Collard
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Review-essay on Aurelian Craiutu, Faces of Moderation and David Brown, Moderates in Wall Street Journal (April 2017) by D. Akst
Book review published in Wall Street Journal (April 3, 2017)
Author: Javier Fernandez Sebastian (Bilbao, Spain)
Published in The Review of Politics, Fall 2015
Published in The Review of Politics, Fall 2015
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Review of A Virtue for Courageous Minds by Ross Carroll
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Review of A Virtue for Courageous Minds by Minchul Kim
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Review/commentary of A Virtue for Courageous Minds by Dario Valcarcel [In Spanish]
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The story of French liberalism is, we are often told, one of exceptions, eccentricities, and enigmas. Compared to their British counterparts, French liberals seem more reluctant to embrace individualism. Whereas liberals in the... more
The story of French liberalism is, we are often told, one of exceptions, eccentricities, and enigmas. Compared to their British counterparts, French liberals seem more reluctant to embrace individualism. Whereas liberals in the English-speaking world typically espouse what Isaiah Berlin called “negative liberty”—a sphere of private autonomy from which the state is legally excluded—French liberals have often proved highly accommodating towards “positive
liberty”—that is, liberty insofar as it is tethered to collectively defined ends. A new wave of scholarship seems, however, to be emerging, in which the paradigm of exceptionalism takes a back seat to considerations that, at first glance, would seem to be more conventional and less polemical in their approach to the history of French liberal thought.
liberty”—that is, liberty insofar as it is tethered to collectively defined ends. A new wave of scholarship seems, however, to be emerging, in which the paradigm of exceptionalism takes a back seat to considerations that, at first glance, would seem to be more conventional and less polemical in their approach to the history of French liberal thought.
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Review by Alain Laquieze in Jus Politicum (Paris, n° 13, December 2014), http://www.juspoliticum.com/Aurelian-Craiutu-A-Virtue-for.html
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Review by Harvey Chisick in The American Historical Review (2004).
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Author: Cheryl Welch (as part of a review-essay)
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Author: Cheryl Welch
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Author: Matthew Mancini
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Author: Brian Dannoff
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Author: Annelien de Dijn (University of Amsterdam)
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Author: Harvey Chisick (University of Haifa, Israel)
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Author: Benjamin Hill (Canada)
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Author: Karol Soltan (University of Maryland, College Park)
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Author: Helena Rosenblatt (CUNY, Graduate Center)
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Author: J. Neem (Western Washington University)
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Author: Miguel Morgado (Catholic University, Lisbon, Portugal)
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Author: Michael Drolet (Oxford University)
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Author: William Logue
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Published in European Journal of Political Theory, review by Carolina Armenteros, 2014
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Review of David McPherson, The Virtues of Limits
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Review of Q. Cassam's Extremism: A Philosophical Analysis (Routledge, 2021)
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10848770.2023.2194495
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10848770.2023.2194495
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Review of John Kekes, Moderate Conservatism: Reclaiming the Center (Oxford UP).
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A review of Matthew Rose, A World After Liberalism: Philosophers of the Radical Right. While we know what came before liberalism (arbitrary power, oppression, ignorance, violence, poverty, superstition, and coercive authority), we are at... more
A review of Matthew Rose, A World After Liberalism: Philosophers of the Radical Right. While we know what came before liberalism (arbitrary power, oppression, ignorance, violence, poverty, superstition, and coercive authority), we are at a loss when trying to figure out what might replace liberalism in the future. Rose's book explore the vision of a world after liberalism from the hard Right by drawing on lesser-known authors such as Oswald Spengler and Julius Evola.
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Aurelian Craiutu (2021): The Sphinx of modern democracy, History of
European Ideas, DOI: 10.1080/01916599.2021.1984154
Review of Alexis de Tocqueville, Oeuvres Completes, XVII, 3 vols. (Gallimard, 2021)
European Ideas, DOI: 10.1080/01916599.2021.1984154
Review of Alexis de Tocqueville, Oeuvres Completes, XVII, 3 vols. (Gallimard, 2021)
Research Interests: Intellectual History, Political Philosophy, History of Ideas, French History, Political Theory, and 10 moreLiberalism, History of Political Thought, French Political Philosophy, French Revolution and Napoleon, Alexis de Tocqueville, Tocqueville, The European Revolutions of 1848, Tocqueville, French liberalism, The French Revolution, and French Intellectual History
A review-essay of A history of modern political thought in East Central Europe: volume II: negotiating modernity in the ‘short twentieth century’ and beyond, part I: 1918–1968, by Balázs Trencsényi, Michal Kopeček, Luka Lisjak... more
A review-essay of A history of modern political thought in East Central Europe: volume II: negotiating modernity in the ‘short twentieth century’ and beyond, part I: 1918–1968, by Balázs Trencsényi, Michal Kopeček, Luka Lisjak Gabrijelčič, Maria Falina, Mónika Baár, and Maciej Janowski, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2018, Vol. II, Part I, 472 pp + viii. US 160.00 ISBN: 978-0-19-873715-5
A history of modern political thought in East Central Europe: volume II:
negotiating modernity in the ‘short twentieth century’ and beyond, part II:
1968–2018, by Balázs Trencsényi, Michal Kopeček, Luka Lisjak Gabrijelčič, Maria Falina, Mónika Baár, and Maciej Janowski, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2018, Vol. II, Part II, 392 pp + viii, US 105.00 ISBN: 978-0-19-882960-7
A history of modern political thought in East Central Europe: volume II:
negotiating modernity in the ‘short twentieth century’ and beyond, part II:
1968–2018, by Balázs Trencsényi, Michal Kopeček, Luka Lisjak Gabrijelčič, Maria Falina, Mónika Baár, and Maciej Janowski, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2018, Vol. II, Part II, 392 pp + viii, US 105.00 ISBN: 978-0-19-882960-7
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Review-essay of Balázs Trencsényi, Michal Kopeček, Luka Lisjak Gabrijelčič, Maria Falina, Mónika Baár, and Maciej Janowski, A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe: Volume II: Negotiating Modernity in the “Short... more
Review-essay of Balázs Trencsényi, Michal Kopeček, Luka Lisjak Gabrijelčič, Maria Falina, Mónika Baár, and Maciej Janowski, A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe: Volume II: Negotiating Modernity in the “Short Twentieth Century” and Beyond, Part I: 1918-1968 and Part II: 1968-2018 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018)
Research Interests: History, Intellectual History, European Studies, Political Philosophy, History of Ideas, and 8 morePolitical Theory, History Of Political Thought (Political Science), History of Political Thought, Modern Political Philosophy, Central and Eastern Europe, History of Political Ideas, Comparative Political Thought (Western and Eastern), and Early Modern Intellectual History and the History of Ideas
“Rediscovering Raymond Aron.” Review-essay of Scott Nelson’s Tragedy and History: The German Influence on Raymond Aron’s Political Thought, Iain Stewart’s Raymond Aron and Liberal Thought in the Twentieth Century, and L’abécédaire de... more
“Rediscovering Raymond Aron.” Review-essay of Scott Nelson’s Tragedy and History: The German Influence on Raymond Aron’s Political Thought, Iain Stewart’s Raymond Aron and Liberal Thought in the Twentieth Century, and L’abécédaire de Raymond Aron, eds. Dominique Schnapper and Fabrice Gardel,
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Review of Henry Hardy's In Search of Being Human
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/a-genius-for-being-human
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/a-genius-for-being-human
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Review of La Réception de la Constitution anglaise au XIXe siècle: une étude du droit politique français. Par TANGUY PASQUIET-BRIAND
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Review of the critical edition of Mme de Stael, Considerations sur les principaux evenements de la Revolution francaise
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Review of William Galston, Anti-Pluralism: The Populist Threat to Liberal Democracy, http://www.libertylawsite.org/book-review/galston-on-the-new-revolt-of-the-masses/
(2018)
(2018)
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Review of A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe: Volume I: Negotiating Modernity in the ‘Long Nineteenth Century,’ Balázs Trencsényi et al., in Global Intellectual History (2018),... more
Review of A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe: Volume I: Negotiating Modernity in the ‘Long Nineteenth Century,’ Balázs Trencsényi et al., in Global Intellectual History (2018), https://doi.org/10.1080/23801883.2018.1444343
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Review of Alan S. Kahan, Tocqueville, Religion, and Democracy: Checks and Balances for Democratic Souls
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Review of Mark Lilla's The Once and Future Liberal: After Identity Politics in The Modern Age (Winter 2018)
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Book Review of Steven Smith's Modernity and Its Discontents
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Review of a book on Charles de Remusat, one of the leading French Doctrinaires who played a key role in French politics into the beginning of the Third Republic.
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Review of Sophia Rosenfeld’s Common Sense: A Political History, in H-France (December 2012), http://www.h-france.net/vol12reviews/vol12no157craiutu.pdf
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Review of Tobias Bevc & Matthias Oppermann (eds.), Der souveräne Nationalstaat: Das politische Denken Raymond Aron, in Revue philosophique de la France et de l’étranger, Vol. 139, No. 3 (2014): 420-21.
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Review of Jeremy Jennings's Revolution and the Republic (Oxford UP, 2011)
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Review of Joshua Cherniss’s book on Isaiah Berlin, A Mind and Its Time (Oxford UP, 2013)
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Review of Duncan Light and David Phinnemore, eds., Post-Communist Romania: Coming to Terms with Transition
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Review of Tom Gallagher, Romania After Ceausescu
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“Rediscovering the Virtues of Political Moderation.” Review of Peter Berkowitz’s Constitutional Conservatism (November 2013).
http://www.libertylawsite.org/book-review/rediscovering-the-virtues-of-political-moderation/
http://www.libertylawsite.org/book-review/rediscovering-the-virtues-of-political-moderation/
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book review published in Society, 2004
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review of a A Modern Maistre by Owen Bradley, an original book that offers a post-modern interpretation of the social and political thought of Joseph de Maistre
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Review of Lucien Jaume's book, Tocqueville (Fayard, 2008)
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Over the past century or so, Tocqueville’s writings have proved to be a rich source of inspiration for political scientists, sociologists, philosophers, legal scholars, and historians. Politicians, too, including U.S. Presidents, have... more
Over the past century or so, Tocqueville’s writings have proved to be a rich source of inspiration for political scientists, sociologists, philosophers, legal scholars, and historians. Politicians, too, including U.S. Presidents, have sometimes quoted him in their speeches. In spite of all this, Tocqueville continues to defy our black-and-white categories and generalizations and his writings still pose significant challenges to his interpreters. What were his “true” beliefs, many of us still wonder? Are the two volumes of Democracy in America parts of the same conceptual project, or are they, in fact, different books because of their different focus and content? What was the relation between Tocqueville's theoretical project and his political life? Did he really understand America, or was he only interested in France? And what might he have missed in America, in spite of the attention with which he analyzed the American democracy? The difficulty of answering these questions can be explained in light of Tocqueville’s highly ambitious intellectual and political agenda. This paper explores four key dimensions of Tocqueville's new science of politics and then focuses on his use of three key conceps (democracy, equality, and liberty/determinism).
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Allocution (en francais) à l’Institut français à Bucarest (Roumaine), lors d'une table ronde sur le livre d'Aurelian Craiutu, Le Centre introuvable, le 12 juin 2006
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An examination of the views of America held by foreign visitors.
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The Coppet Group represents one of the most fascinating chapters in modern intellectual history that remains to this day little known in the English-speaking world. My presentation focuses on Madame de Stael's, Necker's, and Constant's... more
The Coppet Group represents one of the most fascinating chapters in modern intellectual history that remains to this day little known in the English-speaking world. My presentation focuses on Madame de Stael's, Necker's, and Constant's analyses of the legacy of the French Revolution and the difficulty of building free government in post-revolutionary France. I examine their most important political writings such as Necker's On the Executive Power (1792) and On the French Revolution (1796), Staël's Considerations on the Principal Events of the French Revolution (1818), On the Current Circumstances Which Can End the Revolution (1798), and Constant's Abandoned Fragments on the Possibility of a Republican Constitution in a Large State (1802) and Principles of Politics (1806 and 1815). These thinkers sought a via media between extremes in order to “end” the revolution. To this effect, they made a number of important theoretical innovations that drew on their readings and understanding of the English constitution. In particular, I focus on the theory of balance of powers and the preeminence of the executive power, the theory of neutral power, and the concept of "complex sovereignty."
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An examination of Tocqueville's views on democracy and greatness in American and modern society in general.
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Raymond Aron’s books stand out as an example of lucid political judgment in an age of extremes in which many intellectuals shunned moderation and were attracted to various forms of political radicalism. As an engaged spectator raised in... more
Raymond Aron’s books stand out as an example of lucid political judgment in an age of extremes in which many intellectuals shunned moderation and were attracted to various forms of political radicalism. As an engaged spectator raised in the tradition of Cartesian rationalism, Aron (1905- 1983) produced an impressive body of writings that include not only reflections on abstract topics such as philosophy of history, and the virtues and limitations of liberal democracy, but also well-informed commentaries on concrete issues such as the war in Algeria, the student’s revolt of May 1968, American foreign policy, and the Soviet Union. In this paper, I would like to reflect on a few key themes that speak to Aron’s political moderation and views on the role, virtues, limits, and possibility of moderation in political life. The paper also addresses the issue of political judgment in Aron’s works and draws on a representative selection from Aron’s writings covering his entire career.
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This lecture examines the influence of the American Revolution and the US Constitution upon its French counterpart along with the general relationship between the two events that redefined the world’s political scene in the second half of... more
This lecture examines the influence of the American Revolution and the US Constitution upon its French counterpart along with the general relationship between the two events that redefined the world’s political scene in the second half of the eighteenth century. This fascinating topic triggered strong controversies such as the famous debate in 1902 between the German George Jellinek and the French Émile Boutmy on the sources of the Declaration of 1789 (Jellinek insisted on the Anglo-American sources of the Declaration, while Boutmy highlighted its French sources). In On Revolution, Hannah Arendt compared the two revolutions and concluded that the French failed to constitutionalize the rights that they obtained in the summer of 1789. I begin by reflecting briefly on the fascination that some of the French had with America beginning the 1770s. Then I turn to the influence of the US Constitution in France in 1789. The American example was widely studied in France prior to 1789 and the state constitutions as well as the federal U.S. Constitution were known to the French public in the late 1780s. I will focus on key parliamentary debates that were carried in the summer of 1789 as the French began writing a new constitution. Special attention will be devoted to the Declaration of the rights of men, bicameralism, and executive veto in the Constituent Assembly (1789).
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Tocqueville’s Democracy in America offered the image of an accomplished and successful democratic regime. Although Tocqueville never wrote a third volume, he continued to be interested in American political events and exchanged a number... more
Tocqueville’s Democracy in America offered the image of an accomplished and successful democratic regime. Although Tocqueville never wrote a third volume, he continued to be interested in American political events and exchanged a number of important letters with his American friends
after 1840. Did Tocqueville change his views on America outlined in the two volumes published in 1835 and 1840? If so, did the evolution of his views of America affect his theory of democracy? Our book answers these questions by examining Tocqueville’s unduly neglected correspondence with his American friends. It seeks to reconstruct what “Volume Three” of Democracy in America might have looked like if it had ever been written. In these letters, Tocqueville addressed important topics such as the instability of the market and the immaturity of American democracy, issues that did not loom large in the two published volumes. Our book shows that in the last years of his life Tocqueville became very disenchanted with American political life and reassessed some of his previous views of American democracy
after 1840. Did Tocqueville change his views on America outlined in the two volumes published in 1835 and 1840? If so, did the evolution of his views of America affect his theory of democracy? Our book answers these questions by examining Tocqueville’s unduly neglected correspondence with his American friends. It seeks to reconstruct what “Volume Three” of Democracy in America might have looked like if it had ever been written. In these letters, Tocqueville addressed important topics such as the instability of the market and the immaturity of American democracy, issues that did not loom large in the two published volumes. Our book shows that in the last years of his life Tocqueville became very disenchanted with American political life and reassessed some of his previous views of American democracy
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What kind of virtue is political moderation and how can we study it? Is moderation a sensibility or temperament rather than a strategy, doctrine, or party platform? Is moderation best defined as a “positional” virtue and to what extent is... more
What kind of virtue is political moderation and how can we study it? Is moderation a sensibility or temperament rather than a strategy, doctrine, or party platform? Is moderation best defined as a “positional” virtue and to what extent is it contingent upon the existence and flourishing of various forms of political radicalism? What does it mean to be a moderate voice in politics? What do moderates seek in politics and how do they apply their moderate views? How many “faces” does moderation have? What are the institutional aspects of moderation?
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It is surprising that the political thought of Jean-Joseph. Mounier (1758-1806), one of the authors of the famous Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and a prominent member of the group of the so-called French monarchiens,... more
It is surprising that the political thought of Jean-Joseph. Mounier (1758-1806), one of the authors of the famous Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and a prominent member of the group of the so-called French monarchiens, remains virtually unknown in the English-speaking world. This paper explores the issue of moderation in the writings of Mounier and his fellow monarchiens, an important group which also included Trophimé Gerald de Lally-Tollendal (1751-1830), Pierre Victor Malouet (1740-1814), and Stanislas de Clermont-Tonnerre (1757-1792), all of whom played a crucial role in the Constituent Assembly and endorsed the claims of the Third Estate in the summer of 1789. As followers of Montesquieu and admirers of the English constitution, they also defended constitutional monarchy and a moderate plan of reform centered in the principles of bicameralism and (absolute) royal veto.
I use a variety of original documents such as parliamentary speeches and pamphlets in order to comment on the monarchiens’ ideas on power and sovereignty, statesmanship, imperative mandate, mixed government, bicameralism, royal veto, separation of powers, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. I examine the monarchiens’ political moderation through the lenses of their defense of “tempered monarchy,” in which both the monarch and the National Assembly were supposed to form a system of checks and balances in a complex system of mutually limiting powers and intermediary bodies. I argue that the case of the monarchiens is particularly interesting for students of political moderation because it shows what Tocqueville called (in Volume Two of The Old Regime and the Revolution) “the revolutionary spirit of the moderates” and because it challenges the conventional association of moderation with conservatism.
I use a variety of original documents such as parliamentary speeches and pamphlets in order to comment on the monarchiens’ ideas on power and sovereignty, statesmanship, imperative mandate, mixed government, bicameralism, royal veto, separation of powers, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. I examine the monarchiens’ political moderation through the lenses of their defense of “tempered monarchy,” in which both the monarch and the National Assembly were supposed to form a system of checks and balances in a complex system of mutually limiting powers and intermediary bodies. I argue that the case of the monarchiens is particularly interesting for students of political moderation because it shows what Tocqueville called (in Volume Two of The Old Regime and the Revolution) “the revolutionary spirit of the moderates” and because it challenges the conventional association of moderation with conservatism.
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Graduate course (Fall 2015, Indiana University, Bloomington). The literature on revolutions is both immense and fascinating. We shall examine the works of some of the most important interpreters of these revolutionary moments as well as... more
Graduate course (Fall 2015, Indiana University, Bloomington).
The literature on revolutions is both immense and fascinating. We shall examine the works of some of the most important interpreters of these revolutionary moments as well as a few classic works on revolution (Hannah Arendt and, most recently, Martin Malia). It will include representative selections from Locke, Paine, Jefferson, Adams, Burke, The Federalist and the Anti-Federalist Papers, Madame de Staël’s Considerations on the French Revolution, Tocqueville’s The Old Regime and the Revolution and Recollections, Marx’s writings on the revolution of 1848 in France, and Lenin.
The literature on revolutions is both immense and fascinating. We shall examine the works of some of the most important interpreters of these revolutionary moments as well as a few classic works on revolution (Hannah Arendt and, most recently, Martin Malia). It will include representative selections from Locke, Paine, Jefferson, Adams, Burke, The Federalist and the Anti-Federalist Papers, Madame de Staël’s Considerations on the French Revolution, Tocqueville’s The Old Regime and the Revolution and Recollections, Marx’s writings on the revolution of 1848 in France, and Lenin.
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In this course, we shall explore a few classic works written by mostly European thinkers about America. The central issue will be the “rhetoric of America,” the question of American exceptionalism, and the roots of anti-Americanism. Is... more
In this course, we shall explore a few classic works written by mostly European thinkers about America. The central issue will be the “rhetoric of America,” the question of American exceptionalism, and the roots of anti-Americanism. Is America the complete incarnation of the ideas of the Enlightenment, a “postmodern” ideal situated beyond history, a source of spiritual decadence that threatens the European tradition? Or is it a source of rejuvenation for the rest of the world? Why are some people inclined to espouse various forms of anti-Americanism?
Readings will include selections from classic books such as Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America; James Bryce’s The American Commonwealth, Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur’s Letters from an American Farmer, Francis Troloppe’s The Domestic Manners of the Americans (1834) Charles Dickens’s American Notes (1842) as well as contemporary analyses such as Peter Katzenstein and Robert Keohane, eds., Anti-Americanisms in World Politics (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2007); Andrei Markovits, Uncouth Nation: Why Europe Dislikes America (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007); and Philippe Roger, The American Enemy: The History of French Anti-Americanism Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005).
Readings will include selections from classic books such as Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America; James Bryce’s The American Commonwealth, Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur’s Letters from an American Farmer, Francis Troloppe’s The Domestic Manners of the Americans (1834) Charles Dickens’s American Notes (1842) as well as contemporary analyses such as Peter Katzenstein and Robert Keohane, eds., Anti-Americanisms in World Politics (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2007); Andrei Markovits, Uncouth Nation: Why Europe Dislikes America (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007); and Philippe Roger, The American Enemy: The History of French Anti-Americanism Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005).
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The purpose of this course is to introduce students to a variety of approaches and issues in political philosophy. Half of the class will be devoted to reading and commenting on primary texts such as: Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s... more
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to a variety of approaches and issues in political philosophy. Half of the class will be devoted to reading and commenting on primary texts such as: Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Politics, Machiavelli’s The Prince, Hobbes’s Leviathan, Rousseau’s The Social Contract, and Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. The other half focuses on the secondary literature. After examining in detail each of these classic texts, we shall explore various ways in which they have been interpreted by several main schools: contextualist (Quentin Skinner and his disciples), post-modern (Sheldon Wolin and his disciples), Straussian (Leo Strauss and his disciples), feminist (Susan M. Okin, etc.), and intellectual history (Isaiah Berlin etc.), and conceptual history (Koselleck).
On a general level, this course has several pedagogical aims. First, it seeks to provide an overview of a few canonical texts and authors. Second, the course seeks to help students develop the capacity to engage in advanced textual exegesis and to critically evaluate alternative approaches and interpretive methods.
On a general level, this course has several pedagogical aims. First, it seeks to provide an overview of a few canonical texts and authors. Second, the course seeks to help students develop the capacity to engage in advanced textual exegesis and to critically evaluate alternative approaches and interpretive methods.
Research Interests:
Our selected readings will offer us an opportunity to engage in a critical evaluation of liberalism, libertarianism, conservatism, socialism, and communism by focusing on key theoretical texts that served as blueprint for political... more
Our selected readings will offer us an opportunity to engage in a critical evaluation of liberalism, libertarianism, conservatism, socialism, and communism by focusing on key theoretical texts that served as blueprint for political action.
The readings for this class include representative selections from many authors including Platon, J. Locke, E. Burke, K. Marx, E. Bernstein, A. de Tocqueville, J.S. Mill, M. Rothbard, M. Oakeshott, A. Solzhenitsyn, and A. Bloom. We will also try to address several controversial contemporary issues such as health-care, immigration reform, emergency powers, and gun control reform.
The requirements for the class include a mid-term and a final exam, and two selected papers. The class will be divided in several groups and students will be asked to argue (on selected topics) from a specific political (or ideological) perspective.
The readings for this class include representative selections from many authors including Platon, J. Locke, E. Burke, K. Marx, E. Bernstein, A. de Tocqueville, J.S. Mill, M. Rothbard, M. Oakeshott, A. Solzhenitsyn, and A. Bloom. We will also try to address several controversial contemporary issues such as health-care, immigration reform, emergency powers, and gun control reform.
The requirements for the class include a mid-term and a final exam, and two selected papers. The class will be divided in several groups and students will be asked to argue (on selected topics) from a specific political (or ideological) perspective.
Research Interests:
The course offers a close examination of some of the most important works and themes in classical political thought. It includes representative selections from Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s... more
The course offers a close examination of some of the most important works and themes in classical political thought. It includes representative selections from Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Politics, Cicero’s On Duties, Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, and St. Augustine’s City of God. The class will end by examining a few major texts in non-Western thought by Kautilya, Confucius, and Sun-Tzu.
The course will focus on key topics and concepts such as morality, power, laws and constitutions, civic virtue, statesmanship, just war, democracy, justice, freedom, and the problem of “dirty hands” in politics. Special attention will be paid to examining the context in which these authors wrote their works, the main concepts they used, and the implications of their ideas for our contemporary debates. The class will use a combination of lecture and discussions. The requirements include two exams, several quizzes, and class discussions on specific themes announced in the syllabus.
The course will focus on key topics and concepts such as morality, power, laws and constitutions, civic virtue, statesmanship, just war, democracy, justice, freedom, and the problem of “dirty hands” in politics. Special attention will be paid to examining the context in which these authors wrote their works, the main concepts they used, and the implications of their ideas for our contemporary debates. The class will use a combination of lecture and discussions. The requirements include two exams, several quizzes, and class discussions on specific themes announced in the syllabus.
Research Interests:
This course will be organized around three main themes: advising the “prince,” limiting power (constitutionalism) and democracy between theory and practice. They will provide the lenses through which we shall read key texts in modern... more
This course will be organized around three main themes: advising the “prince,” limiting power (constitutionalism) and democracy between theory and practice. They will provide the lenses through which we shall read key texts in modern political thought. In our discussions and lectures, we will address the following questions centered on the following three main clusters:
I. What do we mean when we say that someone is a good or bad politician? What are the requirements of effective leadership in politics and public life? What is political power and how must be exercised? Can we successfully combine ethical behavior with worldly success? Is compromise desirable in politics? How can we distinguish between opportunism and integrity in politics?
II. What is necessary in order to write good constitutions and make them work? What is constitutionalism and how can we best promote the principles of constitutionalism? Is there a “science of politics” or only “an art of politics” that varies with times and circumstances?
III. What is democracy and what are its real virtues and limitations? Does it promote real freedom? Why do we care about democracy? Is this the best form of government? If so, why? If not, why not?
The required readings include Machiavelli’s The Prince, Hobbes’ Leviathan, Locke’s Second Treatise on Government, and Rousseau’s On the Social Contract as well as representative selections from Tocqueville’s Democracy in America and Marx’s writings.
I. What do we mean when we say that someone is a good or bad politician? What are the requirements of effective leadership in politics and public life? What is political power and how must be exercised? Can we successfully combine ethical behavior with worldly success? Is compromise desirable in politics? How can we distinguish between opportunism and integrity in politics?
II. What is necessary in order to write good constitutions and make them work? What is constitutionalism and how can we best promote the principles of constitutionalism? Is there a “science of politics” or only “an art of politics” that varies with times and circumstances?
III. What is democracy and what are its real virtues and limitations? Does it promote real freedom? Why do we care about democracy? Is this the best form of government? If so, why? If not, why not?
The required readings include Machiavelli’s The Prince, Hobbes’ Leviathan, Locke’s Second Treatise on Government, and Rousseau’s On the Social Contract as well as representative selections from Tocqueville’s Democracy in America and Marx’s writings.
Research Interests:
The course offers an introduction to key themes in political theory by focusing on representative selections from major works in political philosophy such as Plato’s Apology, Cicero’s On Duties, Machiavelli’s The Prince, Hobbes’s... more
The course offers an introduction to key themes in political theory by focusing on representative selections from major works in political philosophy such as Plato’s Apology, Cicero’s On Duties, Machiavelli’s The Prince, Hobbes’s Leviathan, Locke’s Second Treatise on Government, Rousseau’s Social Contract, the Federalist Papers, and Mill’s On Liberty. A few other recommended readings and movies will complement the required readings.
The course will offer a broad framework for discussing topics that are central to politics and public life: sovereignty, power, constitutionalism, the role of laws, civic virtue, religion, democracy, justice, freedom, and equality. Special attention will be paid to exploring the context in which our authors wrote their works, the main concepts they used, and the implications of their ideas for contemporary debates. Although we will study these works in chronological order, we will emphasize the various meanings that the aforementioned key concepts have had over time.
The course will offer a broad framework for discussing topics that are central to politics and public life: sovereignty, power, constitutionalism, the role of laws, civic virtue, religion, democracy, justice, freedom, and equality. Special attention will be paid to exploring the context in which our authors wrote their works, the main concepts they used, and the implications of their ideas for contemporary debates. Although we will study these works in chronological order, we will emphasize the various meanings that the aforementioned key concepts have had over time.
Research Interests:
In this class, we will try to examine happiness from a cross-disciplinary perspective that will use a combination of books and movies. We will ask simple questions: To what extent does happiness depend on our inner life and on our outer... more
In this class, we will try to examine happiness from a cross-disciplinary perspective that will use a combination of books and movies. We will ask simple questions: To what extent does happiness depend on our inner life and on our outer circumstances? Does extra income increase happiness? Or should we work less and have more leisure? And how are we to measure happiness? To this effect, we shall examine a representative selection of works in related fields such as sociology, economics, political theory, literature, and philosophy. We begin by asking how we live today and explore next how we ought to live and what are the main ingredients of happiness and how can it be promoted in practice.
This year, the class will focus on several major themes: (1) the search for happiness in America today; (2) work, consumerism, and leisure; (3) nature, solitude, and friendship; (4) civilization, politics and happiness; (5) science and happiness; and (6) the economics and politics of happiness.
The texts that we’ll read in this class include selections from a wide array of sources such as David Brooks’s novel Bobos in Paradise, Juliet Schor’s The Overworked American, Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents, Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, Rousseau’s Reveries of a Solitary Walker, Seneca’s Letters, Emerson’s Essays, Pascal’s Pensées, Montaigne’s Essays, and Huxley’s Brave New World. Students will also be required to watch and comment on a few relevant movies (About Schmidt, Another Woman, Road Scholar) that illuminate some of the topics discussed in class.
This year, the class will focus on several major themes: (1) the search for happiness in America today; (2) work, consumerism, and leisure; (3) nature, solitude, and friendship; (4) civilization, politics and happiness; (5) science and happiness; and (6) the economics and politics of happiness.
The texts that we’ll read in this class include selections from a wide array of sources such as David Brooks’s novel Bobos in Paradise, Juliet Schor’s The Overworked American, Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents, Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, Rousseau’s Reveries of a Solitary Walker, Seneca’s Letters, Emerson’s Essays, Pascal’s Pensées, Montaigne’s Essays, and Huxley’s Brave New World. Students will also be required to watch and comment on a few relevant movies (About Schmidt, Another Woman, Road Scholar) that illuminate some of the topics discussed in class.
Research Interests:
Dictionary entry on the concept of "doux commerce" written in French for Dictionnaire du progressivisme, eds. Frédéric Rouvillois, Christophe Boutin & Olivier Dard (Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 2022), p. 335-39.
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Two dictionary entries on the French Doctrinaires and moderation for Le Dictionaire du conservatisme, eds. F. Rouvillois et al., Paris: Cerf, 2017
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An analysis of the political ideas of Matei Calinescu (1934-2009), author of Five Faces of Modernity (1987), Rereading (1993), and The Life and Opinions of Zacharias Lichter (NYRB, forthcoming). Published in Yearbook of Comparative... more
An analysis of the political ideas of Matei Calinescu (1934-2009), author of Five Faces of Modernity (1987), Rereading (1993), and The Life and Opinions of Zacharias Lichter (NYRB, forthcoming). Published in Yearbook of Comparative Literature: Matei Calinescu Festschrift, University of Toronto Press, Vol. 59, 2015, pp. 51-63.
Research Interests:
pdf copy of the article published in Dictionary of Literary Biography, ed. Steven Serafim, vol. 22: Twentieth-Century Eastern European Writers, second series, Gale Group,
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Published in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Steven Serafin ed., Detroit: Bruccoli, 2000, pp. 132-46.
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Prefaţă la Gustave Thibon, Diagnostic: Eseu de fiziologie sociala, Cluj-Napoca: Echinox, 2004
Foreword to a Romanian translation (2004) of Gustave Thibon, Diagnostics (1940). Text written in Romanian.
Foreword to a Romanian translation (2004) of Gustave Thibon, Diagnostics (1940). Text written in Romanian.
Research Interests:
http://www.revista22.ro/sora-90-3212.html The special issue of 22 edited by Aurelian Craiutu (with the generous sponsorship of the Volvo Foundation in Bucharest) also contains essays on Mihai Sora by Matei Calinescu, Mihai Ghica, and... more
http://www.revista22.ro/sora-90-3212.html
The special issue of 22 edited by Aurelian Craiutu (with the generous sponsorship of the Volvo Foundation in Bucharest) also contains essays on Mihai Sora by Matei Calinescu, Mihai Ghica, and Leonid Dragomir.
The special issue of 22 edited by Aurelian Craiutu (with the generous sponsorship of the Volvo Foundation in Bucharest) also contains essays on Mihai Sora by Matei Calinescu, Mihai Ghica, and Leonid Dragomir.