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I am a political philosopher. My interests include ancient concepts of honorable (and dishonorable) political arrangements, the connections between politics and literature, the history of science, and contemporary concerns over the latitude afforded executive power in today's so called "war on terror."

These may seem disparate, but there are some unifying threads. Most of my work has been rooted in the study of the 17th Century political philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, and the politics, culture and science that accompanied Great Britain's flirtation with absolutism.

Among contemporary political theorists, Hobbes is very often close at hand. For some he is an object of scorn, for others an admirable pioneer of social science, and many other things besides. I describe what he is for me in this website's Research tab.

Political philosophers often return to Hobbes, willingly or otherwise. His writings open a conceptual space where diverse points of view sometimes come to argue or find common ground. What you have to say about Hobbes may stand as an index of what you have to say about other topics. He may not be everywhere, but he lurks in the footnotes, paragraphs, chapters and books concerned with no small collection of questions. These include: our understanding of state sovereignty, human rights, the struggles of "post-moderns," anti-modern conservatives, liberals, and all of their opponents. Hobbes speaks to what may -- or may not -- hold us obliged to one another and our political communities. Hobbes scholarship sometimes hugs the shores of his texts and leaves these topics alone, but in political theory we sometimes speak out on these matters.

My present interests include concepts of sovereignty. I'm particularly interested in the sovereign's capacity to grant favor and the extension of sovereign immunity to others.

For a discussion of the book and Hobbes's legacy today, see this interview with Scott Horton of Harper's

A recent review in the Journal of British Studies.

Mortal Gods was also recently reviewed in History of Political Thought

and in the APSA/ APSR's

Perspectives on Politics

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