Critical Political Studies

Written as a tribute to the remarkable intellectual career of Colin Leys, the debates in this book deal with some of the most pressing problems confronting the majority of citizens in both first world and third world contexts. Their contributions provide the confidence to pursue new possibilities that permit a more optimistic, if critical, outlook. Topics covered include contemporary debates about globalization and the nation state, African development, prospects for British socialism after Blair, social movements, and current issues in political and social theory. Contributors include Laurie Adkin (University of Alberta), Abigail Bakan, Bruce Berman (Queen's University), Manfred Bienefeld (Carleton University), Alex Callinicos (University of York, UK), Bonnie Campbell (University of Quebec at Montreal), Michael Chege (University of Florida), Radhika Desai (University of Victoria), Lauren Dobell (PhD candidate, Oxford University), Phil Goldman (Queen's University), Banu Helvacioglu (Bilkent University, Turkey), Robert Jessop (University of Lancaster, UK), Colin Leys (emeritus, Queen's University), Eleanor MacDonald, Marguerite Mendell (Concordia University), Leo Panitch (York University), Anne Phillips (London School of Economics and Political Science), and John Saul (Atkinson College, York University).

Traditional definitions of public policy in Canada have been challenged in recent years by globalization, the transition to a knowledge-based economy, and the rise of new technologies. Critical Policy Studies describes how new policy problems such as border screening and global warming have been catapulted onto the agenda in the neo-liberal era. The book also surveys the recent evolution of critical approaches to policy studies, which have transformed decades-old issues. Contributors conceptualize the ways in which public policy questions cut across the traditional fields of policy. They cover both topical approaches such as Foucauldian and post-empiricist analysis and new applications of established perspectives, such as political economy. Conventional methodologies reveal new connotations when used to explore such topics as security issues, Canadian sovereignty, welfare reform, environmental protocol, Aboriginal policy, and reproductive technologies. Critical Policy Studies provides an alternative to existing approaches to policy studies, and will be welcomed by scholars, students, and practitioners of political science and public policy.

A collective picture of modern capitalism suggests that economic prospects, political costs, and implications for human development and freedom under this system are grim indeed. However the possibility of an alternative viewpoint, and an alternative system, provide grounds for optimism. The authors in Critical Political Studies challenge the neo-liberal, pro-market ideology that has arisen in the age of the so-called "post-communist" new world order, wrestling with the implications of globalization, democratization, and the politics of radical social change Written as a tribute to the remarkable intellectual career of Colin Leys, the debates in this book deal with some of the most pressing problems confronting the majority of citizens in both first world and third world contexts. Their contributions provide the confidence to pursue new possibilities that permit a more optimistic, if critical, outlook. Topics covered include contemporary debates about globalization and the nation state, African development, prospects for British socialism after Blair, social movements, and current issues in political and social theory. Contributors include Laurie Adkin (University of Alberta), Abigail Bakan, Bruce Berman (Queen's University), Manfred Bienefeld (Carleton University), Alex Callinicos (University of York, UK), Bonnie Campbell (University of Quebec at Montreal), Michael Chege (University of Florida), Radhika Desai (University of Victoria), Lauren Dobell (PhD candidate, Oxford University), Phil Goldman (Queen's University), Banu Helvacioglu (Bilkent University, Turkey), Robert Jessop (University of Lancaster, UK), Colin Leys (emeritus, Queen's University), Eleanor MacDonald, Marguerite Mendell (Concordia University), Leo Panitch (York University), Anne Phillips (London School of Economics and Political Science), and John Saul (Atkinson College, York University).

Critical policy studies, as illustrated in this Handbook, challenges the conventional approaches public policy inquiry. But it offers important innovations as well, in particular its focus on discursive politics, policy argumentation and deliberation, and interpretive modes of analysis.

Critical Political Ecology brings political debate to the science of ecology. As political controversies multiply over the science underlying environmental debates, there is an increasing need to understand the relationship between environmental science and politics. In this timely and wide-ranging volume, Tim Forsyth uses an innovative approach to apply political analysis to ecology, and demonstrates how more politicised approaches to science can be used in environmental decision-making. Critical Political Ecology examines: *how social and political factors frame environmental science, and how science in turn shapes politics *how new thinking in philosophy and sociology of science can provide fresh insights into the biophysical causes and impacts of environmental problems *how policy and decision-makers can acknowledge the political influences on science and achieve more effective public participation and governance.

Forward thinking and provocative, this Research Agenda demonstrates different approaches to the field from experts focusing on global and local, and historical and contemporary issues. Eminent global scholars examine a diverse selection of interdisciplinary themes, raising questions surrounding future research, offering examples and linking the theory to its implications for practice and policy.

Rational Choice Theory claims to be able to explain how all individuals make not just some of their choices, but all of their choices, all of the time. According to the theory, there is no difference in principle between choosing whether to buy apples rather than bananas or choosing whether to join a political revolution instead of staying at home and watching television. Given these claims to universal applicability, it is perhaps not surprising to find that over the last three or four decades Rational Choice Theory has become increasingly influential as a means of providing explanations in politics. The textbook introduces the premises of Rational Choice Theory and illustrates how this theory can be applied to political studies. The book concludes with an assessment of the usefulness of the model in the light of the problems highlighted. -"Parson's book provides a lucid presentation and a cogent critique of Rational Choice Theory in economics and politics." Professor Steve Pressman, Department of Economics and Finance, Monmouth University, USA

Critical Methods in Political and Cultural Economy offers students and scholars the first methods book for the critical school of International Political Economy (IPE). What does it mean to ‘do’ critical research? How do we write about the evidence we present? This volume explores our shared critical ethic to demonstrate how methods are transformative and reimagines research strategies as both an embodied practice and a social process. By presenting methodologically informed ways of researching, enriched by real-life accounts from academics doing empirical research, the volume seeks to forge a new collaborative path that builds a critical ethic and modes of inquiry within International Political Economy. Substantive chapters advance the pluralism of the critical school of cultural political economy and seek to articulate its nascent research ethic. Short autobiographical vignettes articulate the professional journeys of contributors who ‘do’ critical political economy. There is practical advice on how to develop evidence from an iterative reflexive research strategy. Using this innovative format offers a guide to methods in critical political economy by engaging directly with the people doing research, not only as technical practice but also as lived experience. The combination of research and practice presented throughout the book offers an extensive and authoritative framework for evaluating how methods are part of critical research and will be essential reading for all students and scholars of IPE.