John Stuart Mill (1806–73) is widely regarded as the pre-eminent thinker of the liberal tradition; and yet because his views on international relations cannot be traced in any particular book or essay, his political thought remains largely misunderstood. Liberty Abroad is the first comprehensive, critical study which brings together all of John Stuart Mill's extensive contributions with particular attention to the historical contexts in which they were produced, as well as the political and philosophical preoccupations that prompted them, and how they were received among his contemporaries. A leading Mill scholar, Dr Georgios Varouxakis combines an extraordinary command of Mill's varied and extensive writings with a meticulous mastery of a range of Victorian controversies and thinkers to give a full, subtle evaluation of a major aspect of Mill's thought. This definitive study offers a major contribution to an area of increasing scholarly interest: the history of international political thought.

'Varouxakis’s book is now the best place to go for a sustained treatment of the relationship between Mill’s idea of liberty and international relations broadly construed, and puts another nail in the coffin of unhistorical treatments of Mill by international relations theorists.'

Duncan Kelly Source: Political Quarterly

'[An] excellent study of how Mill reacted to the foreign policy crises of mid-Victorian Britain.'

Source: Standpoint

'Liberty Abroad does what a truly successful scholarly work ought to: it shows us a Mill that we simply didn’t know before … an excellent, meticulous, timely and important book. Liberty Abroad is, without a doubt, the authoritative account of Mill’s international thought, and as such, is a very welcome addition to the scholarship on him.'

Inder S. Marwah Source: Utilitas

'One striking aspect of this book is how many of the issues raised by Mill still remain significant today. For example, Mill wrote some particularly interesting comments on international law, a term still now used rather imprecisely and often according to political convenience.'

Michael Levin Source: The European Legacy: Toward New Paradigms