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4 figures

Niccolò Machiavelli

1469 – 1527

The Prince separated political analysis from moral instruction.

Italy·Politics · Philosophy

Thomas Hobbes

1588 – 1679

Leviathan founded the modern theory of sovereignty and the social contract.

United Kingdom·Politics · Philosophy

John Locke

1632 – 1704

Consent, property and toleration — the template for liberal constitutions.

United Kingdom·Politics · Philosophy

Montesquieu

1689 – 1755

Separation of powers, copied into nearly every written constitution since.

France·Politics · Law