Description
Book SynopsisProfessor Hinsley's book, first published in 1966, offers a general survey of the history of the theory of sovereignty, which seeks to illuminate the theory's character and function by stressing the changing social, political and economic frameworks within and between the political societies in which it has developed. It also spans and connects the different intellectual aspects of the concept of sovereignty: philosophical, legal, historical and political. For this new edition Professor Hinsley has wholly rewritten the last chapter to bring the history up to date, and to make some new concluding remarks.
Trade Review'Mr Hinsley displays a rare mastery in weaving together the separate strands of the evolution of political ideas and of political organisation … learned, stimulated, and elegantly expressed analysis of one of the most obscure central political concepts.' History
'His argument is always elegant and never diffuse: there is not a wasted sentence in the book.' The Times Literary Supplement
Table of ContentsPreface; 1. Sovereignty, society and the state; 2. The concept of sovereignty in the ancient world; 3. The emergence of the modern theory of sovereignty; 4. The modern history of the concept of sovereignty within the community; 5. The concept of sovereignty in the history of relations between states; 6. The concept of sovereignty in the modern world; Index.
