My long life in the Department has been devoted to teaching the political science of the best regime: originating in Plato and Aristotle and reformed by the modern political science of Machiavelli and liberal constitutionalism. The best resources of political science are its great books, where doctrines we take for granted are questioned. My books have been on Machiavelli, executive power, party government, American constitutionalism, Burke, Tocqueville, manliness, plus reliable translations of Machiavelli and Tocqueville. Though known as conservative, I would say my gods are higher in the sky than conservatism.
Contact
617/495-3333
hmansfield@gov.harvard.edu
My Website
1737 Cambridge Street
CGIS Knafel Building, Room 417
Subfields
Political Thought and its History
Academic Interests
Ancient and Medieval Political Thought | Civil Society and Social Movements | Democracy | Ethics | Gender | Human Rights | Institutions | Modern and Contemporary Political Thought | Parties, Campaigns & Elections | Public Opinion | Public Policy | Race & Ethnicity | Religion in Politics | Voter Behavior
Research Methods
Experiments
Geographic Regions of Study
United States