Using extensive quotations from [the Doctrinaires'] writings and speeches, most of which are unavailable in English, and organizing them in a topic-by-topic analysis, Craiutu easily shows that we have been kept from a veritable treasure trove of profound political thought. . . . although Liberalism under Siege is essential for scholars of Tocqueville or French political history, it also should interest all concerned with the proper theoretical basis of liberalism.

Perspectives on Political Science

Professor Craiutu rescues from oblivion a worthy school of European liberalism, and opens therewith new perspectives on our discontents. His book will accomplish an act of justice which, under the current circumstances of the world, is even more courageous and pertinent.

Pierre Manent, Centre de Recherches Politiques Raymond Aron (EHESS, Paris)

The French nineteenth century is a vast, unexplored territory in the history of modern political thought. Apart from Tocqueville and, more recently, Constant, the authors of the period are little read, even though their central concerns - the nature of modern liberty, the challenge of moderating democracy, the paradoxes of secularization - are as important today as when they wrote. Professor Craiutu has performed a great service in publishing such a lucid account of the thinking of the French 'Doctrinaires,' one of the period's most important schools of thought. This book will be of interest to anyone concerned with modern intellectual history and political theory .

Mark Lilla, University of Chicago

Aurelian Craiutu's Liberalism Under Siege lets his readers hear the voices of the French Doctrinaires-and especially, of François Guizot-too long muted in the tradition of liberalism. Craiutu's work is a triumph of scholarship, faithful to text and context, weaving Craiutu's mastery of detail into a grander narrative. And in letting his subjects speak for themselves, Craiutu also lets them speak to our time.

Wilson Carey McWilliams, Rutgers University

With wonderful clarity, sure-footedness, and even exuberance, Aurelian Craiutu guides us through the thinking of the Doctrinaires and reveals their surprising relevance to some of the deepest problems of political theory today.

Stephen Holmes, New York University School of Law

In Liberalism under Siege, Craiutu reminds us that, despite Tocqueville's efforts, it was not his liberalism that reshaped postrevolutionary discourse in France but rather the poltiical theory and practice of the French Doctrinaires. Craiutu wants to raise our estimation of these thinkers. ... This revival for English readers is both long overdue and accomplished with intellectual and styllistic panache. Indeed, since the conventional bias against the Doctrinaires is real, and the scholarship with which Craiutu redresses the balance is both broad and deep, this pesonal engagement serves only to enliven the narrative.

Political Theory