Herder and Enlightenment Politics

Eva Piirimäe is Associate Professor of Political Theory at the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, University of Tartu. She has published widely on Enlightenment moral philosophy and political thought. Her research has appeared in journals such as History of Political Thought, European History of Ideas, Eighteenth-Century Studies and Global Responsibility to Protect. Her recent publications include a co-edited History of European Ideas special issue “Sociability in Enlightenment Thought” (2015) and the co-edited volume Herder on Empathy and Sympathy (2020).

'… a concise, erudite, and well-written study … Eva Piirimäe's study masterfully fulfills the goals it sets itself, namely “to provide a full-bodied and nuanced historical reconstruction” of Herder's evolving political thought.' Kirill Ospovat, Monatshefte

• Preface; Introduction; 1. Republics, monarchies and the philosophy of human society; 2. Rousseau and the origins of the 'current malaise of the world'; 3. Montesquieu's system and reforms in Russia; 4. The Bildung of humanity and modern virtue; 5. German freedom and modern liberty; 6. The vocation of poets, pastors and philosophers; 7. State-Machines, commerce and the progress of Humanität in Europe; 8. Perpetual peace and purified patriotism; Conclusion.