New Books in Political Science Philip Pettit, "The State" (Princeton UP, 2023)
Dec 1, 2025
Philip Pettit, a renowned philosopher and L.S. Rockefeller University Professor at Princeton, explores the foundations of the state and justice in his latest work, The State. He discusses his neo-republican view of freedom as non-domination, distinguishing it from mere non-interference. Pettit argues for the state as an instrument of justice, emphasizing democratic legitimacy, checks on sovereignty, and the role of states as corporate agents. He also reflects on the implications of group agency and innovative citizen assemblies for future governance.
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Freedom As Non-Domination
- Republican freedom is non-domination, not merely non-interference.
- Freedom requires protection against others' power, even unexercised power.
State As The Necessary Means
- The state is the primary means to achieve domestic social and political justice.
- We must therefore understand the state's potential and limits rather than invent hypothetical means.
Genealogy Of The State
- Pettit offers an emergent genealogy of the state rather than a social-contract origin.
- A state predictably emerges to establish and defend a coercive, territorial regime of law.
