Leigh K. Jenco (B.A., Bard College; M.A. and Ph.D., University of Chicago) is a lecturer at the London School of Economics. Before moving to the LSE, she taught at the National University of Singapore for four years, and for 2007–8 was appointed Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Political Theory Project, Brown University, Rhode Island. She is winner of the 2008 Strauss Award for Best Dissertation in Political Philosophy, awarded by American Political Science Association, and has published articles in the American Political Science Review, Political Theory and the Journal of Asian Studies.

'The account of political founding in Making the Political is of great significance today: Zhang Shizhao's insights speak to the dilemmas of those faced with collapsing or unstable polities, and lessons from his work challenge fundamental themes in political theory. Equally important, Jenco's method - careful scholarship based on the Chinese sources combined with a dynamic use of contemporary theory to interrogate and amplify Zhang's arguments - make the book a model for future, globally informed theorizing.' Stephen C. Angle, Wesleyan University, Connecticut

• Part I. Introduction: 1. Making the political; 2. Zhang Shizhao and his world; Part II. Founding: 3. The founding paradox; 4. 'Rule by man' and 'rule by law'; 5. Public, private, and the political; Part III. Action: 6. Self-awareness; 7. The self-use of talent; 8. Accommodation; Conclusion: a return to beginnings.

Leigh K. Jenco (B.A., Bard College; M.A. and Ph.D., University of Chicago) is a lecturer at the London School of Economics. Before moving to the LSE, she taught at the National University of Singapore for four years, and for 2007–8 was appointed Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Political Theory Project, Brown University, Rhode Island. She is winner of the 2008 Strauss Award for Best Dissertation in Political Philosophy, awarded by American Political Science Association, and has published articles in the American Political Science Review, Political Theory and the Journal of Asian Studies.

'The account of political founding in Making the Political is of great significance today: Zhang Shizhao's insights speak to the dilemmas of those faced with collapsing or unstable polities, and lessons from his work challenge fundamental themes in political theory. Equally important, Jenco's method - careful scholarship based on the Chinese sources combined with a dynamic use of contemporary theory to interrogate and amplify Zhang's arguments - make the book a model for future, globally informed theorizing.' Stephen C. Angle, Wesleyan University, Connecticut

• Part I. Introduction: 1. Making the political; 2. Zhang Shizhao and his world; Part II. Founding: 3. The founding paradox; 4. 'Rule by man' and 'rule by law'; 5. Public, private, and the political; Part III. Action: 6. Self-awareness; 7. The self-use of talent; 8. Accommodation; Conclusion: a return to beginnings.

Leigh K. Jenco (B.A., Bard College; M.A. and Ph.D., University of Chicago) is a lecturer at the London School of Economics. Before moving to the LSE, she taught at the National University of Singapore for four years, and for 2007–8 was appointed Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Political Theory Project, Brown University, Rhode Island. She is winner of the 2008 Strauss Award for Best Dissertation in Political Philosophy, awarded by American Political Science Association, and has published articles in the American Political Science Review, Political Theory and the Journal of Asian Studies.

'The account of political founding in Making the Political is of great significance today: Zhang Shizhao's insights speak to the dilemmas of those faced with collapsing or unstable polities, and lessons from his work challenge fundamental themes in political theory. Equally important, Jenco's method - careful scholarship based on the Chinese sources combined with a dynamic use of contemporary theory to interrogate and amplify Zhang's arguments - make the book a model for future, globally informed theorizing.' Stephen C. Angle, Wesleyan University, Connecticut

• Part I. Introduction: 1. Making the political; 2. Zhang Shizhao and his world; Part II. Founding: 3. The founding paradox; 4. 'Rule by man' and 'rule by law'; 5. Public, private, and the political; Part III. Action: 6. Self-awareness; 7. The self-use of talent; 8. Accommodation; Conclusion: a return to beginnings.