History of Political Thought (HPT) is a quarterly journal which was launched in 1980 to fill a genuine academic need for a forum for work in this multi-disciplinary area. Although a subject central to the study of politics and history, researchers in this field had previously to compete for publication space in journals whose intellectual centres of gravity were located in other disciplines. The journal is devoted exclusively to the historical study of political ideas and associated methodological problems. The primary focus is on research papers, with extensive book reviews and bibliographic surveys also included. All articles are refereed.