Research
In the last few decades, scholarship in political theory as well as in the history of ideas has shown significant interest in civic republicanism, a theory of political liberty with ancient lineages. Some modern scholars attempt to trace the evolution of such ideas. Others draw upon republican concepts to advocate a neo-republicanism emphasizing civic consciousness, the common liberty of a people, and freedom as non-domination. Many have seen republicanism as offering an alternative to the limited conceptions of political life seemingly given by liberal-capitalist and Marxist approaches. The ideas and concepts of republicanism have been invoked by scholars and even by political actors in search of solutions for the perceived social ills and declining civic capacities of modern liberal democracies.
In many respects, however, the idea of there being a republican tradition remains underdeveloped. There is little scholarly agreement regarding the fundamental nature of republicanism and who qualifies as a republican thinker. In my current book project, I examine a unique contribution to the republican tradition found in the works of one figure few have studied through the lens of civic republicanism: Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Although scholars generally recognize that Rousseau’s works exhibit some of the common hallmarks of republican thought, the Genevan’s relationship to republican tradition is ambiguous. Indeed, some scholars have cast such elements of his thought as attributes of a populist, transformative politics or even an account of totalitarian democracy. Others who downplay these potentially dangerous features are more likely to emphasize man’s alienation from society and from political life. Against both, I argue that reclaiming Rousseau’s republicanism not only acknowledges a more subtle approach to the virtuous society but can offer resources to address some of the more troubling elements of republican thought. For the very reason that he contravenes many of the key distinctions often associated with republicanism, I claim Rousseau’s republicanism has much to offer in organizing an understanding of political life.
In the project, I illustrate the ways in which Rousseau engages various republican traditions and their organizing problems by exploring his political thought alongside ideas of liberty and order put forth by three lineages of early modern republicanism: a traditional, classical and Christian, idea of the republic; an imperial republicanism of Machiavellian provenance; and the then-burgeoning idea of the commercial republic. This work demonstrates that Rousseau offers a more circumspect theory: an idea of the republic appreciative of the tenuous nature of political community and attentive to the intimacy of religion and politics, the militarism and imperialism, and the closeness of money and power that can feature in republican thought. Throughout the project, I demonstrate that Rousseau offers a surprisingly robust grounding for a political community wherein human beings can realize the rightful social and political consequences of their shared nature. I claim that Rousseau’s more judicious republicanism is comparatively attractive because it is attentive to the tenuous nature of political community and to man’s limited ability to realize the promise of social life.
This work challenges the ways in which republicanism has been understood and helps develop a more nuanced and less essentialist account attentive to some of its central tensions. My project thus contributes to an important disciplinary debate about the character of republicanism, but it also informs a broader intellectual discussion about citizenship and civic capacities. The study of civic republicanism in political theory is both dynamic and growing, and thus this research contributes both to the history of political thought and contemporary normative debates.