Mansfield’s genuinely original contribution in political science is to have laid bare many of the fundamental structures of the modern liberal regime, from indirect government to representation to political parties to the executive power. Mansfield has uncovered in the history of political theory the grounds of these forms of liberal democracy that we now take for granted, and he has done so in a way that does full justice to the complexities of history and political practice…. In doing so he has greatly deepened our understanding of our history, our institutions, and our current situation.
— William Kristol
