Hobbes's Behemoth

<p><Hobbes's <em>Behemoth</em> has always been overshadowed by his more famous <em>Leviathan</em> which is arguably his masterpiece and is one of the greatest works of political philosophy. <em>Behemoth</em> Hobbes's "booke of the Civill Warr" on the other hand is most often seen as little more than a history of the English Civil War and Interregnum. This volume contains analyses and interpretations of the <em>Behemoth</em>: the structure of its argument its relation to Hobbes's other writings and its place in its philosophical theological political and religious historical context. It also explores the implications of Hobbes's analysis of the "causes of the civil-wars of England and of the councels and artifices by which they were carried on". The contributions show Hobbes's relevance for today's debates about the decline of sovereignty and the state and the rise of religious and democratic fundamentalisms.</p>