history of political thought

Montague Burton, a “model” immigrant

When I was writing my master’s thesis at Oxford, I explored the history of the discipline of International Relations. I was particularly interested in the career of Alfred E. Zimmern, who held in 1919 the first chair in IR in the world, as Wilson Professor of International Politics in Wales. A key moment in the history of the… Continue reading Montague Burton, a “model” immigrant

Sabbioneta, an Italian utopia

Few places are as daunted by their past as Sabbioneta, the ideal city envisaged by Vespasiano Gonzaga Colonna in the 16th century. The Duke Vespasiano was a minor member of the famous clan of the Gonzaga, who ruled the near-by city-state of Mantova. Between 1554 and his death in 1591, he dedicated his energies to… Continue reading Sabbioneta, an Italian utopia

Review of A Great and Terrible World: The Pre-Prison Letters, 1908-1926 by Antonio Gramsci

The final version of this review will be published in Political Studies Review, Volume 14 of the Journal, Issue 4, November 2016. A Great and Terrible World: The Pre-Prison Letters, 1908-1926 by Antonio Gramsci (ed. and trans. by Derek Boothman). London: Lawrence & Wishart Ltd, 2014. This volume is a collection of the early letters of… Continue reading Review of A Great and Terrible World: The Pre-Prison Letters, 1908-1926 by Antonio Gramsci

Review of The Companion to Raymond Aron

photo©www.erlingmandelmann.ch Forthcoming in Political Studies Review, Volume 15 of the Journal, Issue 1, February 2017. The Companion to Raymond Aron by Jose Colen and Elisabeth Dutartre-Michaut (eds). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015. The Companion to Raymond Aron seeks to provide an overview of the works and ideas of the French sociologist, political thinker and commentator Raymond… Continue reading Review of The Companion to Raymond Aron

Political realism and history

Last month I participated in an Italian conference on political realism. A group of fifty-strong Italian academics and researchers, we spent three days, 8 hours per day, in a beautiful monastery in Perugia debating the meaning of political realism. The line-up was ambitious: we were each given 15 minutes to make our original and insightful… Continue reading Political realism and history