John Maynor

This article critically examines liberal accusations that, despite some differences, there are no significant divergences between liberalism and republicanism because both approaches contain instrumental accounts of certain ideals and virtues that have the effect of enhancing the overall system of freedom for individuals. This article will explore this issue by looking at a possible response to the liberal critique by building on the recent work of Philip Pettit on republican liberty as nondomination. By exploring the ideals and institutions which accompany republican liberty, I will argue that within the constitutional and reciprocal power of nondomination reside certain goods and character traits which are not purely instrumental in the way that liberal critics charge. Rather, I believe that these goods and character traits are intrinsically valuable to republican citizens and help to constitute the freedom that they experience. In this article I will explore the types of virtues associated with nondomination and how they can be defended as being intrinsically valuable to republican citizens. Finally, I will also argue that, on this point, republicanism can be significantly differentiated from liberal accounts in a manner that is compelling and attractive

In response to the dominance of liberalism, some theorists have recently embraced the republican model as an attractive alternative. The overriding appeal of these moves seems to be the robust emphasis that forms of republicanism place on citizenship and civic virtue in light of what many commentators see as a decline in the social nature of modern politics. However, many of these discussions about republicanism are inconsistent and fail to capture the essence of a classical republican theory for today's complex modern world. The result is that the ideals and values of classical republicanism have become diluted and misappropriated as they are utilized by both philosophers and politicians without a clear and consistent sense of their historical pedigree and their relevance to the contemporary world. Republicanism in the Modern World develops and extends the theoretical implications of a distinctive republican conception of liberty as non-domination. Building on the recent work of Quentin Skinner and Philip Pettit, Maynor explores the complex interdependent relationship between liberty as non-domination and conflict, citizenship, and civic virtue to develop a modern theory of republicanism. Maynor argues that modern republicanism, inspired and informed by classical versions, can be the basis for a renewed effort to rejuvenate the political ideals and institutions of the modern democratic nation-state. This book will be invaluable to students and scholars in politics, political philosophy and international relations.

This paper critically examines the rising popularity of blogging in the US as a new kind of public space that has the potential to extend and deepen the way in which we interact and engage each other in political discourse. To proponents of deliberative democracy these moves are promising since they seem to point to the development of vibrant online public forums where political issues can be freely and openly debated. In this paper I evaluate this promise and ask whether or not blogging is consistent with the main theoretical tenets of deliberative democracy. My argument is that, despite some shortcomings, there is significant potential for the blogosphere to develop into a meaningful deliberative community.