In Search of European Liberalisms

Michael Freeden is Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. His books explore modern liberal thought, the structure and history of modern ideologies, and the nature of political thinking.

“The essays in this volume, all written by eminent students of European history, demonstrate the great strengths of the conceptual history approach. The book makes an important and illuminating contribution to the history of liberalism in Europe, and its extensive and diverse cases provide much rich material for reflecting on the varied legacies and trajectories of liberalism, both in the past and the present. It will be of tremendous use to scholars and students of European history and the history of liberalism, as well as those wanting to see how the methods of conceptual history can be put to productive use in the exploration of political ideologies.” • History: Review of New Books“The initiative behind the book—to sketch a history of European liberalism using the conceptual history approach—is an important one for the field. Its diverse contributions are extremely valuable, making available research and perspectives not widely known in English-language scholarship.” • Jonathan Kwan, University of Nottingham

• List of FiguresIntroduction: European Liberal Discourses: Conceptual Affinities and DisparitiesMichael Freeden and Javier Fernández-SebastiánChapter 1. Habsburg Liberalisms and the Enlightenment Past, 1790–1848Franz Leander FillaferChapter 2. Formulating and Reformulating ‘Liberalism’: Germany in European ComparisonJörn LeonhardChapter 3. ‘Friends of Freedom.’ First Liberalisms in Spain and BeyondJavier Fernández-SebastiánChapter 4. Liberalism in Portugal in the Nineteenth CenturyNuno Gonçalo Monteiro and Rui RamosChapter 5. The Rise and Fall of ‘Liberalism’ in FranceHelena RosenblattChapter 6. Nordic Liberalisms. Sweden and Denmark in ComparisonJussi Kurunmäki and Jeppe NeversChapter 7. ‘Liberalism’ and ‘Liberality’. The Liberal Tradition in the NetherlandsHenk te VeldeChapter 8. A Conceptual Scheme of Polish Liberalism: Six PillarsMaciej JanowskiChapter 9. Liberal Politics without Liberal Thought? The Strange Career of Italian LiberalismPaolo PombeniChapter 10. Encounters with Liberalism in Post-Soviet RussiaOlga MalinovaChapter 11. Temporal Evolution and Morphological Complexity: The Multiple Layers of British LiberalismMichael FreedenConclusionMichael FreedenIndex