Political Theory and Social Customs: Montesquieu, Rousseau, Volney, and Constant #330415

Political Theory and Social Customs: Montesquieu, Rousseau, Volney, and Constant provides novel insights on how these authors’ reflections on social customs influenced their contributions to political theory. Through his journey to Italy, Montesquieu developed a theoretical model on social customs and their relation to political systems. In the Constitutional Project for Corsica, Rousseau inserted his discussion of Corsican mores within an analysis of the power dynamics between centre and periphery. Volney’s evaluations of customs in the Middle East and the United States show how the French revolution impacted his conceptualization of politics and cultural difference. Constant based his political theory on the different societal mores of the ancients and the moderns.