Liberalism and Empire in the work of W.E.H. Lecky

W·E·H·莱基(W.E.H.Lecky，1838-1903)是19世纪爱尔兰最重要的历史学家，他作为一名知识分子在英国和爱尔兰产生了相当大的影响。然而，在欧洲思想史上，他是一个被忽视的人物。这项研究的论点是，莱基作品的财富和相关性可以通过他的作品来体现，在他的作品中，有两个最重要的主题被优先考虑：自由主义和帝国。遵循“剑桥学派”的思想史分析模式，本研究试图通过突出莱基的思想在其最初的思想语境中的重要性，并与他在英国、爱尔兰和欧洲同时代人提出的观点进行比较，来说明莱基对19世纪自由主义不可或缺的几场辩论的贡献的意义。这将揭示莱基是一位原创思想家，一个沉浸在欧洲启蒙传统中的人，这是他的遗产，一个应该在自由主义、历史学和爱尔兰思想的正典中突出表现的人物。此外，从最近强调19世纪自由主义和帝国主义之间联系的学术研究中得到启发，本研究还将试图证明莱基参与了帝国话语。这将有助于一种关于知识分子在传播帝国和为帝国辩护中所起作用的萌芽话语，并突出爱尔兰知识分子在这一话语中的作用。

W.E.H. Lecky (1838-1903) was the most significant Irish historian of the nineteenth century, whose influence as anintellectual in Britain and Ireland was considerable. He is, however, a neglected figure in the intellectual history ofEurope. It is the contention of this study that the wealth and relevance of Lecky's oeuvre may be evinced through areading of his work in which two overarching themes are prioritised: liberalism and empire. Following the model ofanalysis prescribed by the 'Cambridge School' of intellectual history, this study will endeavour to illustrate thesignificance of Lecky's contribution to several debates integral to nineteenth-century liberalism by foregrounding histhought in its original intellectual context and measuring his arguments against those advanced by his contemporaries inBritain, Ireland and Europe. This will reveal Lecky as an original thinker, one steeped in the European enlightenmenttradition that was his inheritance, and a figure that ought to feature prominently in the canons of liberalism,historiography, and Irish thought. Moreover, taking inspiration from recent scholarship that has emphasised the linkbetween nineteenth-century liberalism and imperialism, this study will also seek to demonstrate Lecky's participation indiscourses of empire. This will contribute to a bourgeoning discourse on the role played by intellectuals in disseminatingand justifying empire, and highlight the role of Irish intellectuals in this discourse.