Book excerpt: In this collection of writings, leading historians of political thought and political theorists provide an overview of traditional and contemporary republicanism. The first part of the book presents studies of ancient and modern versions of republicanism in Athenian and Roman political thought, as well as in Machiavelli and Montesquieu. The second part focuses on some of the key questions that confront contemporary thinkers, such as: * What ought one to expect of a good state and civil society? * What are the conditions for deliberative democracy? * What are the theoretical implications of a republican conception of political liberty? The essays in this volume advance the debate over republicanism, through both a rigorous philosophical investigation of republicanism's main sources and careful analysis of its meaning.