Browse Hierarchy HST7712: Theories of the State

Some political theorists locate the authority to make laws and exercise political control in the figure of the ruler or prince. The seminar will begin by examining the most celebrated example, Machiavelli's The Prince (1513). Others locate these powers in the body of the republic or people. Thomas More's Utopia (1516) and Machiavelli's Discourses (c1519) offer contrasting examples. After examining these texts, the course will then turn to Bodin's theory of sovereignty and Hobbes's claim in Leviathan (1651) that power lies with the fictional person of the state. The module will also examine rival theories of bodies politic and political authority, notably in the corporation, and in the theories of the nineteenth century pluralists.