Montesquieu's 'The Spirit of the Laws'

A Critical Edition

Edited and translated by W. B. Allen

Publication date:

06 February 2024

Publisher

Anthem Press

Dimensions:

245x170mm
7x10"

ISBN-13: 9781839982941

The Spirit of the Laws not only systematizes the foundational ideas of “separation of powers” and “balances and checks,” it provides the decisive response to the question of whether power in the nation-state can be limited in the aftermath of the Westphalian settlement of 1648. It describes a civilizational change through which power becomes domesticated, with built-in resistance to attempts to absolutize (or make total) political power. As such, it is the Bible of modern politics, now made more accessible to English readers than it ever has been.