Lecture 14 - The Sovereign State: Hobbes, Leviathan

author: Steven B. Smith, Department of Political Science, Yale University
recorded by: Yale University
published: Jan. 4, 2010,   recorded: October 2006,   views: 3423
released under terms of: Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives (CC-BY-ND)
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The concept of sovereignty is discussed in Hobbesian terms. For Hobbes, "the sovereign" is an office rather than a person, and can be characterized by what we have come to associate with executive power and executive authority. Hobbes' theories of laws are also addressed and the distinction he makes between "just laws" and "good laws." The lecture ends with a discussion of Hobbes' ideas in the context of the modern state.

Reading assignment:

Hobbes, Leviathan

Resources: Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan Courtesy of the University of Adelaide Library Electronic Texts Collection

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