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The article gives an account of Oliver O’Donovan’s political theology, situating the articles in this special edition of Political Theology within this account. A central thesis of the article is that O’Donovan is seeking to defend a particular, theologically grounded understanding of the liberal polity. It begins by contrasting O’Donovan’s conception of liberalism with that of other conceptions such as Rawls. The article goes on to identify the roots and architecture of O’Donovan’s political theology in the work of Augustine, Grant and Barth and contrasts his approach with other, contemporary political theologies such as those of Yoder and Hauerwas. After summarizing the central arguments of Desire of the Nations, the article locates O’Donovan’s political theology within two wider dynamics identified as the ecclesial-turn and the shift towards a post-secular, agonistic conception of politics. It is within the context of these wider dynamics that the responses to O’Donovan’s work in this edition of Political Theology are best understood.