This book covers modern legal and political thought from roughly 1450 to 1950, from the beginning of the Renaissance, with a unique turn to secularism, until the end of World War II with the Nuremberg Trial and the founding of the United Nations. It argues that there is not a sharp break between the end of the Medieval period and the Renaissance, at least in terms of humaneness. In addition to the canonical works of political philosophy, it also looks at certain non-Western societies, including the Ottoman Empire, India, Japan, Yoruba, and the Cherokee Nation, noting various forms of liberalism and conservativism, socialism and communism, fascism and anti-colonialism, all having distinct influences on how law and justice are understood. This work will appeal to all students and educated adults who are interested in how politics and law are intertwined in the Modern Age.
