Mikko Lahtinen, Soc.Sc.D. (1997) in Political Science, University of Tampere (Finland), Ph.D. (2006) in History of Ideas, University of Oulu (Finland), is senior lecturer of Political Science at University of Tampere. He has published widely on the political theory, history of political philosophy from Antiquity to contemporary thought, Niccolò Machiavelli and Renaissance thought, Montesquieu and Enlightenment, and the Marxist theory from Marx to Gramsci and Althusser. His theoretical-methodological work focuses on the development of the 'conjunctural' theory of history and politics. His forthcoming book The Land of Libries (in Finnish) concerns public library as a strong democratic element in Finnish society.