This collection of essays on Montesquieu covers topics from sovereignty and despotic to a citizen's virtues in a republic and his theory of Enlightenment monarchy.

Power must keep power in check to prevent despotism. Bernard Manin revisits Montesquieu's ideas, foundational to modern politics. How does resorting to fixed legislation limit sovereignty from the inside. Why is there only one evil in politics—a despotic government—when the good can take multiple forms? What really constitutes the separation of powers? Are a republic's virtues compatible with commerce? For the first time, this book collects essays on Montesquieu that have previously appeared elsewhere, while also featuring a previously unpublished essay on Montesquieu's theory of monarchy, thus offering a reading of moderate government at once historical and theoretical.