Seminar: The Political Thought of Montesquieu

Examination of Montesquieu's political thought through his comparative analysis of political regimes in his major work, Spirit of Laws. Topics include the principles that guide tyranny, monarchy, and republican government, the principle of separation of powers, the meaning of political liberty, the impact of commerce on political life, the relation of mores to laws, and the character of Montesquieu's liberalism. His other works, The Persian Letters or Considerations on the Greatness of the Romans and Their Decline, will also be considered.