Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgments A Brief Chronology of French Political Regimes 1. Republiccanism and/or Liberalism? Past and Present Republics Ancient and Modern Tocqueville's Return Trip 2. "Rights Talk" in American and French Accents The Presistence of "Rights Talk" in America From the Old "Rights Talk" to the New The General Will and Individual Rights Rights in France: Liberals vs. Republicans Atlantic Crossings 3. The Institutions and Ethos of Freedom Political Institutions, Liberal and Republican Mainstream vs. Backwater Republicanism France: the Search for a Liberal Ethos America: the Search for a Civic Ethos 4. The Uses of Republican Rhetoric in America Down with the Monarchists Down with the Aristocrats Republics and Democracies Corruption and Conspiracy 5. The Strange Career of Liberalism in France From Liberal to Conservative From Solidarist to Conservative From Politique to Mystique 6. Liberal, Illiberal, and Antiliberal Republics The Illiberal Republic The Antiliberal Republic The Liberal Republic Notes Index

Promotional Information

A superb work--well-written, pungent, and exemplary as a comparative study. Mark Hulliung shows in an erudite and convincing way that the same concepts--liberalism and republicanism, as well as rights--have had very different meanings and uses in America and France. -- Stanley Hoffmann, Harvard University In this tour de force of comparative intellectual history of the United States and France, Hulliung offers a provocative reading and reinterpretation of the liberal and republican traditions in France and the United States. This is a well-timed book that seeks a new synthesis of liberal and republican thought--a master work, brilliantly written by one of the finest minds in political theory today. -- James F. Hollifield, Southern Methodist University Hulliung means to contribute to the recent debate about liberalism and republicanism in the making of modernity. He adds a very welcome new dimension to the discussion by developing a comparison of the two "sister republics," the U.S. and France. He shows, persuasively, that the so-called great divide between these two traditions in America never existed (except in a few marginal places), but that it has been a real feature of French political culture. If you thought this debate had grown old and stale, think again. Hulliung tells us both much that is new and much that is true, and his readers are the beneficiaries. -- Michael P. Zuckert, University of Notre Dame

About the Author

Mark Hulliung is Richard Koret Professor of the History of Ideas, Brandeis University.

Reviews

A superb work--well-written, pungent, and exemplary as a comparative study. Mark Hulliung shows in an erudite and convincing way that the same concepts--liberalism and republicanism, as well as rights--have had very different meanings and uses in America and France. -- Stanley Hoffmann, Harvard University
In this tour de force of comparative intellectual history of the United States and France, Hulliung offers a provocative reading and reinterpretation of the liberal and republican traditions in France and the United States. This is a well-timed book that seeks a new synthesis of liberal and republican thought--a master work, brilliantly written by one of the finest minds in political theory today. -- James F. Hollifield, Southern Methodist University
Hulliung means to contribute to the recent debate about liberalism and republicanism in the making of modernity. He adds a very welcome new dimension to the discussion by developing a comparison of the two "sister republics," the U.S. and France. He shows, persuasively, that the so-called great divide between these two traditions in America never existed (except in a few marginal places), but that it has been a real feature of French political culture. If you thought this debate had grown old and stale, think again. Hulliung tells us both much that is new and much that is true, and his readers are the beneficiaries. -- Michael P. Zuckert, University of Notre Dame