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

莱基（W.E.H. Lecky, 1838-1903）是19世纪最重要的爱尔兰历史学家，他作为知识分子在英国和爱尔兰的影响是相当大的。然而，在欧洲思想史上，他是一个被忽视的人物。本研究的论点是，莱基作品的丰富性和相关性可以通过阅读他的作品来证明，其中两个首要主题是优先考虑的：自由主义和帝国。遵循“剑桥学派”思想史的分析模式，本研究将通过将莱基的思想置于其原始知识背景中，并将他的论点与同时代的英国、爱尔兰和欧洲的观点进行比较，努力说明莱基对19世纪自由主义不可或缺的几场辩论的贡献的重要性。这将揭示莱基是一位具有独创性的思想家，他浸没在欧洲启蒙传统中，这是他的遗产，他应该在自由主义、史学和爱尔兰思想的经典中占据突出地位。此外，从最近强调19世纪自由主义与帝国主义之间联系的学术研究中获得灵感，本研究还将试图证明莱基参与了帝国的论述。这将有助于对知识分子在传播和为帝国辩护中所扮演的角色的新兴论述，并突出爱尔兰知识分子在这一论述中的作用。

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.