I'm looking at why people thought it rational and reasonable to form collaborations like states," says Richard Tuck, professor of government.

If there's one thing Government Professor Richard Tuck knows, it's the history of political theory. If there's another, it's universities.

Tuck, one of the world's foremost authorities on political philosopher Thomas Hobbes, was born the son of a graduate school dean at the University of Newcastle in England.

Tuck said he didn't actually "grow up" at the University, but would occasionally visit his father's office, where he was treated to a cookie. When it came time for him to choose his own university education, he chose Jesus College, one of the many colleges that make up Cambridge University. He received bachelor's and doctorate degrees there and stayed on to teach, becoming the director of Studies in History in 1977, a post he held until 1990. He came to Harvard as a professor of government in 1995.

The "free-rider problem"

One of Tuck's current projects is a book on the history of political thought through the ages, a project of such enormous scope that Tuck himself calls it "slightly foolhardy."

"I'm still trying to make sense of the Greeks, which can take a lifetime," Tuck said. "Still, once you have the Greeks, the rest follows."

Tuck's other research involves something called the "free-rider problem," found in modern economics. The free-rider problem deals with the willingness of parties to innovate and cooperate for the greater good when faced with others looking for a "free ride" who will pirate or copy innovations for their own advancement.

A century or more ago, people thought it natural that they should collaborate for the common good, an attitude which helped spur the growth and success of collaborative processes such as democracy. Today, Tuck said, people are more likely to believe that collaborations are relatively loose associations that have a tendency to fall apart because individuals will seek their own interests rather than those of the group.

"Now I'm looking at why people thought it rational and reasonable to form collaborations like states -- and also, were they right in thinking this," Tuck said.

With centuries of democracy under their belts, some of today's political institutions are moving away from democracy, Tuck said. For example, central banks -- which are decidedly undemocratic institutions -- are growing more common and gaining influence in the economic world.

People today are realizing that democracy is not necessarily the most efficient -- or even the best -- way to get certain things done. Democracy also has its dangers, Tuck said. Two of the century's most infamous dictators, Germany's Adolf Hitler and Italy's Benito Mussolini, were both democratically elected.

"One hundred years ago, it wouldn't have occurred to people that could be true," Tuck said.

Hadrian's Wall

Teaching runs in Tuck's blood on both sides of the family. His father was a university dean and his mother a school teacher, before she left work to raise her family. That early influence had an effect not just on Tuck, but also on his brother, who is a professor of medieval history at Bristol University in England.

Tuck grew up in Newcastle, which straddles Hadrian's Wall. The wall, built on the order of Roman Emperor Hadrian in 122 A.D., marks the northern reach of the Roman Empire at that time. Tuck visited the wall and other historical sites when he was growing up.

"It was quite hard not to be gripped by the past, living in a place like that," he said.

Tuck entered Cambridge University in 1967, intent on getting a history degree. The history program at Cambridge is geared toward political history and political thought, what would be called political science elsewhere.

After Tuck completed his bachelor's degree in 1970, he was given a research fellowship at Jesus College. In 1973, he was appointed to a university assistant lectureship in history and named a Class II, or teaching, fellow in history. He was appointed to a university lectureship in 1977. Tuck served as director of studies in history from 1977 to 1990. Since 1995, he's been professor of government here at Harvard. Tuck noted that Harvard and Cambridge students are of equally high quality, making them a pleasure to teach.

About Tuck, Professor of Government Michael Sandel said, "For the Government Department, Richard Tuck has proven to be the greatest British import since the Beatles, along, of course, with our Department Chair, Rod MacFarquhar."

Sandel, who chaired the search committee that hired Tuck, said he was impressed by Tuck's command of the entire history of political thought.

"He has compiled a remarkable scholarly record and is a splendid colleague," Sandel said. "He's the leading interpreter of Thomas Hobbes, who is one of the most important figures in the history of political thought."

Harvey Mansfield, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Government, echoed Sandel's high opinion, pointing out that Tuck has a rare combination of talents.

"He has an immense knowledge of history and a sharp intellect, giving him two things that rarely go together -- knowledge of what others have known and an ability to theorize on his own." Mansfield said.

The author of several books, including Natural Rights Theories in 1979, Hobbes in 1989, and Philosophy and Government in 1993, Tuck has also edited several versions of Hobbes' works, including The Citizen in 1998 and Leviathan in 1996.

Tuck has received several honors and awards, including election as a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1992 and as a fellow of the British Academy in 1994. In 1989, Tuck was a visiting fellow of the Council of Humanities at Princeton University. In 1991, he delivered the Carlyle Lectures in Oxford. He is on the editorial board of Grotiana and was a founding editor of Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought. He has been on the board of electors to the Sir Isaiah Berlin Chair at Oxford since 1995.