The 1848 Revolutions and European Political Thought

The revolutions that swept across Europe in 1848marked a turning point
in the history of political and social thought. They raised questions of
democracy, nationhood, freedom, and social cohesion that have remained
among the key issues ofmodern politics, and still help to define themajor
ideological currents – liberalism, socialism, republicanism, anarchism,
conservatism – in which these questions continue to be debated today.
This collection of essays by internationally prominent historians of
political thought examines the 1848 Revolutions from a pan-European
perspective and offers research on questions of state power, nationality,
religion, the economy, poverty, labour, and freedom. Even where the
revolutionary movements failed to achieve their explicit objectives of
transforming the state and social relations, they set the agenda for
subsequent regimes and contributed to the shaping of modern
European thought and institutions.