Political Concepts And Political Theories

This book presents an analysis of the political concepts. It focuses on enduring disputes about the nature of freedom, power, equality, justice, democracy, and authority. The book is useful for both first year and advanced students who seek to learn more about political theory.

This book offers a sophisticated analysis of central political concepts in the light of recent debates in political theory. It introduces readers to some of the main interpretations, pointing out their strengths and weaknesses, including a broad range of the main concepts used in contemporary debates on political theory. It tackles the principle concepts employed to justify any policy or institution and examines the main domestic purposes and functions of the state. It goes on to study the relationship between state and civil society and finally looks beyond the state to issues of global concern and inter-state relations.

An introduction to social and political theory, discussing such topics as freedom, citizenship and rights; social justice and equality; and constitutionalism and democracy. The authors show how people view these concepts in different ways. They also offer solutions for resolving disputes.

This essential reference covers alphabetically both the major concepts in political theory and the key writers in the field. While ensuring accuracy and objectivity, the entries represent interpretations that are both challenging and interesting. The premise underlying the book is that politics cannot be studied without theory, and for students, the more concrete and relevant the theory, the better. Presenting theory in an abstract fashion makes it daunting for students who can find it difficult to see the links between theory and practice. The definitions in this glossary therefore relate political ideas to political realities (i.e. everyday controversies) in an attempt to make them as lively, stimulating, and accessible as possible. Terms have been selected based upon the concepts most regularly used in teaching.

This student friendly introduction to contemporary concepts and ideas will show why an understanding of political concepts is crucial to an understanding of political issues. By using real-life examples to relate political ideas to political realities, the hugely experienced author team make the subject lively and contentious in order to stimulate students to think about political theories in a new and refreshing way. Introduction to Political Concepts discusses traditional concepts such as state, liberty and justice. Using exposition and argument, the book enables readers to understand these traditional concepts and to develop a position on them. It also covers contemporary concepts, such as difference, human rights and terrorism, where the problems that these concepts address have either developed recently or have been given a new urgency by contemporary events. Suitable for 1st and 2nd year undergraduates studying political theory.

Deciding what is and what is not political is a fraught, perhaps intractably opaque matter. Just who decides the question; on what grounds; to what ends—these seem like properly political questions themselves. Deciding what is political and what is not can serve to contain and restrain struggles, make existing power relations at once self-evident and opaque, and blur the possibility of reimagining them differently. Political Concepts seeks to revive our common political vocabulary—both everyday and academic—and to do so critically. Its entries take the form of essays in which each contributor presents her or his own original reflection on a concept posed in the traditional Socratic question format “What is X?” and asks what sort of work a rethinking of that concept can do for us now. The explicitness of a radical questioning of this kind gives authors both the freedom and the authority to engage, intervene in, critique, and transform the conceptual terrain they have inherited. Each entry, either implicitly or explicitly, attempts to re-open the question “What is political thinking?” Each is an effort to reinvent political writing. In this setting the political as such may be understood as a property, a field of interest, a dimension of human existence, a set of practices, or a kind of event. Political Concepts does not stand upon a decided concept of the political but returns in practice and in concern to the question “What is the political?” by submitting the question to a field of plural contention. The concepts collected in Political Concepts are “Arche” (Stathis Gourgouris), “Blood” (Gil Anidjar), “Colony” (Ann Laura Stoler), “Concept” (Adi Ophir), “Constituent Power” (Andreas Kalyvas), “Development” (Gayatri Spivak), “Exploitation” (Étienne Balibar), “Federation” (Jean Cohen), “Identity” (Akeel Bilgrami), “Rule of Law” (J. M. Bernstein), “Sexual Difference” (Joan Copjec), and “Translation” (Jacques Lezra)

First published in 1956, Political Theory explores the historical development of political ideas and analyses some basic concepts of contemporary political theory, including the notions of the State, of Sovereignty and the Law. The book is based on lectures in Political Theory given by the author, G. C. Field, in the universities at which he taught. It opens by considering the development of political ideas by providing an overview of the ideas current at the time of original publication in comparison to the ideas of earlier ages. It then progresses into a more detailed discussion of specific political theories. It will appeal to those with an interest in the history of political thought and developments in political theory.

This vibrant and significantly revised new edition is a comprehensive and accessible text for studying political theory in a changing world. Bringing together classic and contemporary political concepts and ideologies into one book, it introduces the major approaches to political issues that have shaped our world, and the ideas that form the currency of political debate. Consistently, it relates political ideas to political realities through effective use of examples and case studies making theory lively, contentious, and relevant. With significant revisions which reflect the latest questions facing political theory in an increasingly international context, key features and updates include: Two brand new chapters on Migration and Freedom of Speech and a significant new section on the radical right; Thought-provoking case studies to bring the theory to life including social media and internet regulation, Brexit and the EU, anti-vaxxer campaigns, surrogacy tourism, and autonomous anarchist zones; A revamped website, including podcasts, to aid study of, and reading around, the subject. Introduction to Political Theory, Fourth Edition is the perfect accompaniment to undergraduate study in political theory, political philosophy, concepts and ideologies, and more broadly to the social sciences and philosophy.

Looking at the roots of contemporary political theory, this three-volume set examines the global landscape of all the key theories and the theorists behind them, and provides concise, to-the-point definitions of key concepts, ideas, schools and figures.

This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. Offers a sophisticated analysis of central political concepts in the light of recent debates in political theory. Introduces students to some of the main interpretations of key political conceps highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. Tackles the principle concepts employed to justify any policy or institution and examines the main domestic purposes and functions of the state. Examines the relationship between state and civil society and finally looks beyond the state to issues of global concern and inter-state relations. Studies the relationship between state and civil society and finally looks beyond the state to issues of global concern and inter-state relations.