ABSTRACT
Despite his extensive writings about politics, Rousseau is generally not viewed as having made any particular contribution to political science. The idea of a branch of learning devoted to the systematic study of politics, though not the term ‘political science,’ appears in Emile, but Rousseau appears to be sceptical and even critical of the notion. Nevertheless, Emile’s two years of foreign travel are dedicated to something very much like political science – to the discovery of sound principles of right and to the methodical examination of the peoples and the political systems of European states. This chapter argues that Rousseau articulates a conception of what a comprehensive science of politics would look like and presents its principal elements in Emile. It examines the portion of political science that Emile studies and examines Rousseau’s reasons for claiming that the science of political right does not yet exist and is not likely to exist. Lastly, it concludes with a conjecture about what a Rousseauian political science would look like.
