The 1848 Revolutions and European Political Thought

The revolutions that swept across Europe in 1848 marked a turning-point in the history of political and social thought. They raised questions of democracy, nationhood, freedom and social cohesion that have remained among the key issues of modern politics, and still help to define the major ideological currents - liberalism, socialism, republicanism, anarchism, conservatism - in which these questions continue to be debated today. This collection of essays by internationally prominent historians of political thought examines the 1848 Revolutions in a pan-European perspective, and offers research on questions of state power, nationality, religion, the economy, poverty, labour, and freedom. Even where the revolutionary movements failed to achieve their explicit objectives of transforming the state and social relations, they set the agenda for subsequent regimes, and contributed to the shaping of modern European thought and institutions.

Offers a comparative and comprehensive examination of the 1848 Revolutions in pan-European perspective
Includes essays from international experts from five countries to highlight various national and disciplinary angles
Studies the emergence of essential modern issues, such as democracy, nationalism, religion, and the economy

Reviews & endorsements

'This is an immensely valuable and timely reappraisal of the intellectual imagination, force, and creativity of the 1848 revolutions across Europe. By drawing out both their achievements and limits, the essays allow us to appreciate how these revolutionary movements shaped our democratic modernity, while also illuminating contemporary political challenges.' Karma Nabulsi, University of Oxford

'A profoundly important reappraisal of the revolutions of 1848. In a series of brilliant case-studies, the editors and contributors show that the mid-century insurrections of continental Europe were not a 'failed revolution', but a process of accelerated transformation and differentiation focused around political and social questions that still trouble us today. Essential reading for anyone interested in the history of modern politics and nineteenth-century Europe.' Chris Clark, University of Cambridge

'… this volume provides undeniably new evidence and ideas on numerous topics related to 1848.' Christos Aliprantis, German Historical Institute London Bulletin

'Moggach and Stedman Jones's volume gathers together essays by eminent authorities and highly-credentialed emerging scholars, each one of which makes a substantial contribution, not only to the study of 1848, but to that of revolutions more generally.' Charles Barbour, The European Legacy

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Product details

Published: March 2020
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781108819381
Length: 498 pages
Dimensions: 229 × 150 × 25 mm
Weight: 0.75kg
Availability: Available

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Contents

Introduction
1. Lamartine, the Girondins and 1848 Jonathan Beecher
2. The many revolutions of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Edward Castleton
3. French republicanism after 1848 Thomas C. Jones
4. Socialist visions of direct democracy: the mid-century crisis of popular sovereignty, and the constitutional legacy of the Jacobins Anne-Sophie Chambost
5. Working-class socialism in 1848 in France Samuel Hayat
6. 1848 and British political thought on 'the principle of nationality' Georgios Varouxakis
7. Christian socialism, class collaboration and British public life after 1848 Jonathan Parry
8. On the 'absence of spirit': the legacy of the abstinence from revolution in Belgium Widukind De Ridder
9. German republicans and socialists in the prelude to 1848 Douglas Moggach
10. David Friedrich Strauss in 1848: an analysis of his 'theologico-political' speeches Norbert Waszek
11. 1848 and German socialism Diana Siclovan
12. Post-revolutionary politics: the case of the Prussian Ministry of State Anna Ross
13. 'The goal of that pure and noble yearning': Friedrich Meinecke's visions of 1848 Duncan Kelly
14. The nationality problem in the Habsburg monarchy and the revolutions of 1848: a reassessment Alan Sked
15. National movements against nation states. Bohemia and Lombardy between the Habsburg empire, the German Confederation and Piedmont Axel Körner
16. The political thought of a new constitutional monarchy: Piedmont after 1848 Maurizio Isabella
17. Revolution, socialism, and the Slavic question:
1848 and Michael Bakunin Jean-Christophe Angaut
18. Elusive signifiers:
1848 and the language of 'class struggle' Gareth Stedman Jones.

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Contributors

Jonathan Beecher, Edward Castleton, Thomas C. Jones, Anne-Sophie Chambost, Samuel Hayat, Georgios Varouxakis, Jonathan Parry, Widukind De Ridder, Douglas Moggach, Norbert Waszek, Diana Siclovan, Anna Ross, Duncan Kelly, Alan Sked, Axel Körner, Maurizio Isabella, Jean-Christophe Angaut, Gareth Stedman Jones

Editors

Douglas Moggach , University of Ottawa
Gareth Stedman Jones is Professor of the History of Ideas at Queen Mary University of London. Prior to this he held the post of Professor of Political Science, at the University of Cambridge, from 1997 to 2010. He is Director of the Centre for History and Economics, Cambridge, and a Life Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and of the Royal Historical Society. His publications include Outcast London (1971), An End to Poverty? (2004), Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto (2002), Religion and the Political Imagination, co-edited with Ira Katznelson (2010), and the Cambridge History of Nineteenth-Century Political Thought, co-edited with Gregory Claeys (2011). His most recent work Karl Marx: Greatness and Illusion was published in August 2016.
Gareth Stedman Jones , Queen Mary University of London
Douglas Moggach is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Ottawa, Honorary Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sydney, and a Life Member of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge. He has held the University Research Chair in Political Thought, Ottawa, and visiting appointments in Beijing, Cambridge, London, Münster, and Pisa. The Canada Council for the Arts awarded him a Killam Research Fellowship in 2007. His publications, in seven languages, include Über die Prinzipien des Schönen (1996), The Philosophy and Politics of Bruno Bauer (Cambridge, 2003), The New Hegelians (Cambridge, 2006), Politics, Religion, and Art (2011) and (as co-author), Rethinking German Idealism (2016).

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