John Petrov Plamenatz (born as Jovan Petrov Plamenac; sr-cyrl, Јован Петров Пламенац; 16 May 1912 – 19 February 1975) was a Montenegrin political philosopher, who spent most of his academic life at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. He is best known for his analysis of political obligation and his theory of democracy.

Biography

Born to an upper-class family that had to flee

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

after the German and Austro-Hungarian occupation in 1916, Plamenatz came to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

as a boy and was raised there. His father Peter was a politician active in True People's Party and served for one term as a Foreign Minister for Montenegro, while his mother was of aristocratic background. Peter Plamenatz was forced to leave Montenegro in 1917, and John was sent to England. He was educated at

Clayesmore School Clayesmore School is an independent school for boys and girls, aged 2 – 18 years, in the village of Iwerne Minster, Dorset, England. It is both a day and boarding school and is a member of The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (H ...

, whose head master and founder,

Alexander Devine Alexander Devine (19 December 1865 — 26 December 1930), often known as Lex Devine, was a British educator and activist for Montenegrin independence. He became involved in social work at an early point, founding the Lads' Club Movement in 188 ...

, was an activist for the Montenegrin cause, and at

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...

, where he read history. Plamenatz's speciality was political theory, which he spent most of his academic life teaching at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. When

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

broke out, he joined an anti-aircraft battery, and he was naturalized in 1941. At the end of the war, he returned to All Souls, and he spent the rest of his life at Oxford. From 1951 to 1967 he was a research fellow at

Nuffield College Nuffield College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college and specialises in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. Nuffield is one of Oxford's newer c ...

, before returning to All Souls as Chichele Professor. He was a Fellow of

All Souls College All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of ...

, 1936–51, and from 1951 to 1967 a Fellow of

. He returned to All Souls as a professorial Fellow in 1967 when he succeeded

Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...

Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory Chichele is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Henry Chichele ( 1364–1443), English religious leader **Chichele Professorship *Thomas Chichele Sir Thomas Chicheley (25 March 1614 – 1 February 1699) of Wimpole Hall, Cambridge ...

. He was a member of the

government in exile A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile ...

of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 191 ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. During this period he wrote "The Case of General Mihailovic". In 1943 he married Marjorie Hunter, one of his students; there were no children. He lived at All Souls and at Scotland Mount, Hook Norton,

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshir ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primaril ...

. His principal recreation was walking.

Works

* ''Consent, Freedom and Political Obligation'' (1938) * ''What is Communism?'' (1947) with

Stephen King-Hall William Stephen Richard King-Hall, Baron King-Hall of Headley (21 January 1893 – 2 June 1966) was a British naval officer, writer, politician and playwright who served as the member of parliament for Ormskirk from 1939 to 1945. Early life and ...

* ''The English Utilitarians, with a reprint of Mill's Utilitarianism'' (1949) and later editions * ''The Revolutionary Movement in France 1815 to 1871'' (1952) * ''From Marx to Stalin'' (1953) * ''German Marxism and Russian Communism'' (1954) * ''On Alien Rule and Self-Government'' (1960) * '' Man & Society. A Critical Examination of Some Important Social & Political Theories from Machiavelli to Marx'' (2 vols, 1963) and later editions * ''Readings from Liberal Writers, English and French'' (1965) editor * ''Leviathan'', edited & abridged by John Plamenatz. Thomas Hobbes (Author). Publisher: London: Fontana (1969) * ''Ideology'' (1970) * ''Democracy and Illusion: An Examination of Certain Aspects of Modern Democratic Theory'' (1973) * ''Karl Marx's Philosophy of Man'' (1975) * ''Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Rousseau'' (2012)

References

*
Lecture referencing Plamenatz from the BBC
*''Who was Who, 1971-80'', London : A. & C. Black, 1981 *, a collection of essays by and about Plamenatz.
Pierre_Birnbaum
,_Geography_of_Hope:_Exile,_the_Enlightenment,_Disassimilation,_pp. 248–249.html" ;"title="Pierre Birnbaum"> Pierre_Birnbaum">Pierre_Birnbaum
,_Geography_of_Hope:_Exile,_the_Enlightenment,_Disassimilation,_pp. 248–249

__External_links_

*
Plamenatz,_John_Petrov,_1912-1975
'_Geoffrey_Marshall_(constitutionalist).html" ;"title="Pierre Birnbaum
, Geography of Hope: Exile, the Enlightenment, Disassimilation, pp. 248–249">Pierre Birnbaum">Pierre Birnbaum
, Geography of Hope: Exile, the Enlightenment, Disassimilation, pp. 248–249

External links

*
Plamenatz, John Petrov, 1912-1975
' Geoffrey Marshall (constitutionalist)">Geoffrey Marshall, ''Proceedings Of The British Academy'' v.62, 1977 {{DEFAULTSORT:Plamenatz, John 1912 births 1975 deaths Political philosophers People educated at Clayesmore School Chichele Professors of Social and Political Theory Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Fellows of Nuffield College, Oxford Montenegrin people of Jewish descent Fellows of the British Academy Montenegrin emigrants to the United Kingdom Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom