This exploration of the Jewish political tradition elucidates a long, rich and diverse experience of both sovereignty and dispersed statelessness, holding insights for anyone interested in comparative and ethnic politics, Jewish history, and the prehistory of contemporary Israeli politics.

Introduction, Comparative Politics and the Jewish Political Experience, Kings, Priests, and Prophets, Patterns of Constitutional Discourse and Constitutional Conflict in Ancient Israel, "Ideal" and "Real" in Classical Jewish Political Theory, From the Talmud to Abrabanel, Medieval Jewish Political Institutions, The Foundations of Their Authority, Modern Jewish Politics East and West (1840-1939), Utopia, Myth, Reality, Was There a "Jewish Politics" in Western and Central Europe? The "New Jewish Politics" in the United States

Zvi Gitelman is professor of political science and Tisch Professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.