A Turn to Empire: The Rise of Imperial Liberalism in Britain and France » (1st Edition)

Jennifer Pitts is Assistant Professor of Politics at Princeton University. She is the editor and translator of "Alexis de Tocqueville: Writings on Empire and Slavery".

"Exhibiting depth of research, jargon-free prose, and intellectual acumen on every page, this book is a well-balanced, seamless whole that reveals the impact of empire on the genesis of modern liberalism. It is a work of first importance not only for political theorists but also for readers in philosophy, history, and literature."--David Armitage, Harvard University, author of The Ideological Origins of the British Empire

"This rich and provocative book examines a subject of great current interest in fields from political theory to international relations to European history. It deserves and should receive a broad audience. The scholarship is both careful and persuasive, and Pitts has an appealing authorial voice. The passion to understand what makes a theorist reject or support foreign conquest drives her narrative and holds the reader's attention as the analysis unfolds."--Cheryl Welch, Simmons College, author of Liberty and Utility

Anthony Howe - European History Quarterly

Jennifer Pitts . . . undermines the case for the reality of anti-imperialism by depicting the rise of 'imperial liberalism' as a major intellectual trend in both Britain and France between c. 1780 and 1850. She does so in a careful, acute and lucid account of the ideas on empire of Adam Smith, Burke, Bentham, the Mills, and de Tocqueville.