Perspectives in Ancient, Modern, and Postmodern Political Theory
The second edition of this intellectually and practically engaging book, includes a valuable new section on justice and updated material throughout. While integrating the insights of ancient, modern and postmodern political thought, Thiele offers a thorough exploration of the art and craft of political theory.
This book collects the finest writings of one of Northern Ireland's men of principle reflecting on liberty, Union, North-South relations and the nature of political integration and alienation. These studies on political liberty and the future of Ireland have never been published before in a single volume. Several of those dealing with the IRA have ......
The author of this treatise identifies three broad types of power: threat power, economic power and integrative power. Threat power is defined as based on the power to destroy, and particularly important in political life. Economic power, the author believes, derives from the power to produce and exchange goods, and depends on the changing distribution of property ownership. The third concept, integrative power, is shown as resting on relationships such as love, respect, community and identity. The text argues that threat power should not be seen as fundamental, since it is not effective unless reinforced by economic and integrative power. The author provides a challenging perspective to the concept of power, and lays the groundwork for future debates.
The McDonaldization thesis argued that contemporary life is succumbing to the standardisation, flexibility and predictability of fast-food service. Restisting McDonaldization engages in a critical appraisal of this thesis. Among the topics discusses are: the rationalization of modern life - the effects of increasing cultural commodification - the ......
Sidney Hook is arguably America's most controversial intellectual. This volume collects twenty-five of Hook's essays in political philosophy. Clustered into five main sections, the essays discuss pragmatism and naturalism, Marx and Marxism, Democratic theory and practice, and the defence of a free society.
This text explores a variety of multidisciplinary discourses for representing the contemporary city. It considers the city''s social and physical articulations and the different interpretations of a good city.'
Offers a defense of incrementalism: the theory that the policymaking process typically should involve bargaining, delay, compromise, and, therefore, incremental change. This title argues that incrementalism is one result of a checks-and-balances system in which politicians may disagree over what we want to achieve as a nation.
Introduction to Politics and Society provides an accessible, up-to-date introduction to, and evaluation of, the contribution of key social theorists to our understanding of power and politics. Shaun Best works through the key concepts and theoretical contributions in the study of politics, dealing with such topics as: power, authority, coercion, surveillance and legitimacy. He: * explains the ideas of Weber, Marx, Foucault, Bauman, Sennett, Habermas, Baudrillard and Giddens with outstanding clarity and precision * traces the central tendencies in the movement from modern to post-modern society * details the significance of 'Third Way' politics and its strengths and weaknesses * places the decline of organized politics and the development of new social movements in the proper historical and theoretical context Unfussy and unpretentious, the book draws on examples from popular political culture in order to convey how politics operates in the contemporary world. Well chosen examples illustrate the meaning of theories and show the relevance of central theoretical debates.
This major textbook provides a clear and comprehensive introduction to the main analytical approaches and their use in the study of third world politics and development. The author outlines the difficulties in the various analytical approaches to the study of development within political science; presents a critical overview of each of the main ......
