
Disorderly Liberty
The Political Culture of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Eighteenth Century
Jerzy Lukowski(Author)
Continuum Publishing Corporation
Published on 5. August 2010
Book
Hardback
368 pages
978-1-4411-4812-4 (ISBN)
Description
During the eighteenth century EuropeaaC--s republics may have been an integral part of the international scene, but they were marginalised or in decline. When, in 1772, the Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania suffered a massive loss of territory to its three more powerful neighbours, Russia, Prussia and Austria, Edmund BurkeaaC--s question Poland was but a breakfast where will they dine?aaC-- was asked across the continentaaC--s lesser states, republics and non-republics alike. The slow, almost inevitable, process of PolandaaC--s digestion may have contributed to the relative ease with which that process was accepted in European chanceries. Poland was not a state which was a shaper of history, but was on the receiving end of the attentions of more dynamic neighbours. Yet it was, until the process of its disposal got under way, the largest state in Europe after Russia. Lukowski considers how the republican ideals and the political culture of its ruling class and nobility remain part of the historical legacy not only of what is today Poland, but also of the successor states: Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus.
Reviews / Votes
Disorderly Liberty is a major, original and lucidly written work of scholarship and it deserves the widest possible readership. -- Slavonic and East European Review (vol. 89, no. 3) Disorderly Liberty, seeks to acquaint English speakers with the enormous breadth of Polish political literature in the eighteenth century... Anyone interested in Poland, the age of Enlightenment, or European political philosophy should read this book... English speakers will find in Lukowski's book a long-needed, erudite introduction to the commanding heights of Poland-Lithuania's political culture. -- Curtis Murphy, Georgetown University * Slavonica *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
716 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4411-4812-4 (9781441148124)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Dr Jerzy Lukowski is Head of Department of Modern History at the University of Birmingham and an expert in Polish History, in particular the 18th Century.
Content
Preface; Chapter 1. The Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania: an introductory survey; Chapter 2. Ancestral legacies; Chapter 3. Keeping the Faith; Chapter 4. The search for harmony; Chapter 5. Towards successful counsels; Chapter 6. Confrontations with the Enlightenment.; Chapter 7. Reality shock; Chapter 8. Foreign aid: Montesquieu, Rousseau and others; Chapter 9. Ferment; Chapter 10. Judaica; Chapter 11. New Utopias; Epilogue; Bibliography; Index.