Summary: Publisher Summary 1 While Giuseppe Mazzini (1895-72) is well remembered as a leading figure of the Italian Risorgimento (the political consolidation of the modern Italian state), the importance and influence of his political writings on democracy, national self-determination, and other issues has been not as well understood in the Anglo-American world, perhaps because many of his most seminal writings have never been translated into English. Rechhia (a doctoral candidate in political science at Columbia U.) and Urbinati (contemporary civilization and political theory, Columbia U.) here encourage the rediscovery of Mazzini's political thought by presenting 22 of his most significant essays, about half of which are newly translated from the original Italian or French (the others were originally written in English by Mazzini himself or originally translated under his supervision and are presented with only minor editorial interventions concerning sentence structure or spelling). The writings, spanning the years 1831 to 1871, address Mazzini's conceptions of republican democracy, national revolutions, international politics, and war. Recchia and Urbinati also include an introductory essay introducing the facts of Mazzini's life and providing an analytic overview of his political thought. Annotation 漏2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)   Publisher Summary 2 This anthology gathers Giuseppe Mazzini's most important essays on democracy, nation building, and international relations, including some that have never before been translated into English. These neglected writings remind us why Mazzini was one of the most influential political thinkers of the nineteenth century--and why there is still great benefit to be derived from a careful analysis of what he had to say. Mazzini (1805-1872) is best known today as the inspirational leader of the Italian Risorgimento. But, as this book demonstrates, he also made a vital contribution to the development of modern democratic and liberal internationalist thought. In fact, Stefano Recchia and Nadia Urbinati make the case that Mazzini ought to be recognized as the founding figure of what has come to be known as liberal Wilsonianism.The writings collected here show how Mazzini developed a sophisticated theory of democratic nation building--one that illustrates why democracy cannot be successfully imposed through military intervention from the outside. He also speculated, much more explicitly than Immanuel Kant, about how popular participation and self-rule within independent nation-states might result in lasting peace among democracies. In short, Mazzini believed that universal aspirations toward human freedom, equality, and international peace could best be realized through independent nation-states with homegrown democratic institutions. He thus envisioned what one might today call a genuine cosmopolitanism of nations.