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History of Political Thought, 2011
In this article I pursue two main lines of argument. First, I seek to delineate two distinctive modes of justifying imperialism found in nineteenth-century political thought (and beyond). The 'liberal civilizational' model, articulated most prominently by John Stuart Mill, justified empire primarily in terms of the benefits that it brought to subject populations. Its proponents sought to 'civilize'lthe 'barbarian'. An alternative `republican' model focused instead on the benefits - glory, honour and power above all - that accrued to the imperial state. Less concerned with spreading civilization, its proponents concentrated on fortifying the imperial polity. Second, I offer a 'republican' interpretation of the writings of the historian and public moralist J.A. Froude (1818-94), arguing that he both diagnosed the problems of modern Britain and prescribed imperial solutions to those problems, based on his reading of the fate of the Roman republic.
European Journal of Political Theory, 2016
‘‘Developmentalism’’ is often regarded as the bete noire haunting liberal political theory, justifying modern civilizational hierarchies and liberal imperialism. But are all developmentalisms equally tied to Eurocentric, imperialist philosophies? I consider this question through a close reading of two of the most prominent, influential, and divisive modern accounts of historical development: those of Kant and J. S. Mill. I argue that Kant’s philosophy of history is embedded in an Enlightenment idealism treating non-Europeans as bound to either adopt Western norms or fade into obscurity. Conversely, the influences of Romanticism and sociology led Mill to recognize cultural differences as indelibly affecting any society’s development. Given this, I argue, against much of the current literature, (1) that Mill provides us with a significantly more capacious liberalism than Kant’s; (2) that his developmentalism holds the conceptual resources to understand progress as a pluralistic and culturally differentiated process; and so, more broadly, (3) that not all liberal developmentalisms are equally bound to imperialist politics.
Sidgwick. By exploring the fascinating historical contexts and human sides of these remarkable pioneers of utilitarianism, it yields a richer understanding and appreciation of their philosophical and political perspectives. By resisting overly reductive or narrow accounts of the meaning of utilitarianism, this historical reconstruction can also help explain why utilitarianism is experiencing a renaissance today and again being used to tackle some of the world's most serious problems. See
This book chapter employed Michel Foucault’s ideas of biopolitics and state racism to examine the ‘adverse inclusion’ of Jamaican-Africans as British subjects via the stasis of ‘free labour’. It focused On J.S.Mill's theories of colonial government.
Historical Journal, 2006
An historiographical review essay (2006), analysing the resurgence of interest in empire, discussing key themes in nineteenth century political thought, and assessing some important secondary literature on the topic.
Philosophia Africana, 2014
This article is part of a larger project in which I attempt to show that Western formal logic, from its inception in Aristotle onward, has both been partially constituted by, and partially constitutive of, what has become known as racism. In contrast to this trend, the present article concerns the major philosopher whose contribution to logic has been perhaps the most derided and marginalized, and yet whose character and politics are, from a contemporary perspective, drastically superior—John Stuart Mill. My approach to my core concern will be one of narrowing concentric circles. I will begin with Mill’s occasional political writings that bear on the issue of racism, including “The Negro Question.” From there, the core of the article will explore the political dimensions of Mill’s A System of Logic.
Postcolonialism and Political Theory, 2008
the pluralist, 2009
Victorian Visions of Global Order: Empire and International Relations in Nineteenth-Century Political Thought, edited by Duncan Bell, 2007
American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 2005
Journal of The History of Economic Thought, 2003
Journal of International Political Theory, 2000
Political Studies, 2003
2008
Papers from the British Criminology Conference Vol 14. pp. 31-48, 2014
Victorian Literature and Culture, 2011
Political Theory, 2012
Victorian Studies, 2012
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln, 2014