Swift rose from obscurity to become not only one of the greatest satirists in English, but also one of the most influential foreign policy writers in Europe during the early eighteenth century. Yet his extensive engagement with the international sphere – war, peace, alliances, trade, and international law – is a neglected aspect of both his literary legacy and modern international thought. This is the first comprehensive study of his international politics in theory and practice. Drawing on the work of Swift and his contemporaries, and scholarship across literature, history, politics, international relations, theology, law, and economics, Matthew Gertken vindicates Swift's self-definition as a political independent, neither Whig nor Tory, neither libertarian nor authoritarian. His international perspective rescues Swift from the critical but overdone Hobbes-Locke dichotomy and reveals him to be an ally of Aristotle and Grotius, father of international law – and a champion of right over might.
Few readers know that Jonathan Swift, one of the greatest satirists in English, was also one of the most influential foreign policy writers in modern history. This original study examines his international politics, how he helped clinch a major European peace treaty – and how the aftermath inspired Gulliver's Travels.
