Can there ever be trust between states? This study explores the concept of trust across different and sometimes antagonistic genres of international political thought during the seventeenth century. The natural law and reason of state traditions worked on different assumptions, but they mutually influenced each other. How have these traditions influenced the different concepts and discussions of trust-building? Bringing together international political thought and international law, Schroeder analyses to what extent trust can be seen as one of the foundational concepts in the theorising of interstate relations in this decisive period. Despite the ongoing search for conditions of trust between states, we are still faced with the same structural problems. This study is therefore of interest not only to specialists and students of the early modern period, but also to everyone thinking about ways of overcoming conflicts which are aggravated by a lack of mutual trust.

This book examines how trust relates to the main political concepts - sovereignty, reason of state, and natural law - of seventeenth-century discourse.

About the Author
Peter Schroeder is Senior Lecturer in Early Modem History at University College London. He has published widely on the history of political thought, including recent works on Hobbes, the Thirty Years War and international relations, and has also written for a number of journals including the History of Political Thought and German History.


Book Information
ISBN 9781316627488
Author Peter Schroeder
Format Paperback
Page Count 292
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 440g
Dimensions(mm) 150mm * 230mm * 15mm