"Seventeenth-century Dutch political practice and thought, and in particular Dutch republicanism, set against the background of its history and political traditions, represents a crucially important context within which to discuss Spinoza's political theory and his conception of politics. The meaning of Spinoza's republicanism in the context of his engagement with political debate in the United Provinces has not previously been so fully analysed. Geared towards an English-speaking audience for whom Spinoza's political theory is not widely known, Spinoza and Republicanism provides an important account of his key political concepts, as well as a fresh and stimulating perspective on the links between Spinoza's two political works and contemporaneous debate and traditions. By identifying the distinctiveness of Dutch republicanism and Spinoza's contribution to it, Raia Prokhovnik also throws new light on recent discussions of republicanism and its history."--Jacket.