Abstract

Liberalism is usually studied in Western settings, especially England, France and the United States, yet the concept has taken on different historical meanings in other parts of Europe and around the world. Early nineteenth-century liberal movements in Italy and Spain stimulated global enthusiasm and transnational networks. German liberals exemplified how reform could take place in cooperation with rather than opposition to the state, and in doing so impressed late nineteenth-century American reformers. From the 1820s, Indians in Bengal and elsewhere debated how to reconcile greater personal autonomy with historic communities of caste and religion. And rejecting the revolutionary ambitions of radical socialists and nationalists, Chinese reformers after 1900 sought an evolutionary path to a stable liberal republic. Histories from different global contexts demonstrate how our understanding of liberalism can be broadened to include experimentation, institutional pragmatism, a positive relationship to the state, and popular voices.