Contemporary Political Concepts

An introduction and conclusion bracket 11 papers from a November 1999 conference at the University of Huddersfield in which British scholars of politics consider fundamental concepts underlying the field. Among them are globalization, postmodernism, gender, empowerment, and social capital. Distributed in the US by Stylus. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

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.

`This text provides an up to date account of how things currently stand in political philosophy, and will provide an excellent introduction for students from any background. It gives a lucid and careful account of the central controversies and sites of disagreement in political theory over the last thirty years and rather than sacrifice theoretical sophistication and nuance for the sake of clarity and accessibility, it admirably achieves both′ - Catriona McKinnon, University of York This comprehensive textbook provides a complete and accessible introduction to the main theorists and issues in contemporary political theory today. The text is organized into two major parts. The first, Contemporary Liberal Theory, outlines four distinct liberal theories of justice to introduce the work of Rawls, Nozick, Gauthier and Dworkin. The second, Alternative Traditions, introduces the theorists and themes associated with four key areas of contemporary debate: communitarianism, multiculturalism, deliberative democracy and feminism. By giving students questions for consideration and using applied examples throughout, the text illustrates the practical relevance of contemporary theoretical debates to everyday issues in policy and politics. The result is an essential overview of all the main traditions, issues and positions in political theory today that will serve as an invaluable resource for all students of contemporary political theory, political ideas and political philosophy. Colin Farrelly is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Waterloo, Canada. Introduction to Contemporary Political Theory will complement Contemporary Political Theory: A Reader edited by Colin Farrelly and also published by SAGE Publications.

This textbook offers both an introduction to and key readings in political concepts. Organised to reflect the broad nature of politics, there are parts on normative political philosophy, democratic theory, political sociology and emergent paradigms such as poststructuralism and feminism.

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.