Political Theory

Political Theory PDF Author: David Leopold
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199230080
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 236

Book Description
Political Theory: Methods and Approaches is one of the first books to analyze research methods in political theory and political philosophy. Drawing together a distinguished set of contributors, the book asks how political theory should be conducted today and examines the connections between political theory and a range of adjacent disciplines - including moral philosophy, the empirical social sciences, the history of political thought, the world of 'real' politics, critical social theory, and ideology.

Methods in Analytical Political Theory

Methods in Analytical Political Theory PDF Author: Adrian Blau
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107098793
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 347

Book Description
A guide to methods in analytical political theory, offering concrete advice and clear examples of good and bad practice.

An Approach to Political Philosophy

An Approach to Political Philosophy PDF Author: James Tully
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521436380
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 354

Book Description
An Approach to Political Philosophy: Locke in Context brings together Professor Tully's most important and innovative statements on Locke in a systematic treatment of the latter's thought that is at once contextual and critical. Each essay has been rewritten and expanded for this volume, and each seeks to understand a theme of Locke's political philosophy by interpreting it in light of the complex contexts of early modern European political thought and practice. These historical studies are then used in a variety of ways to gain critical perspectives on the assumptions underlying current debates in political philosophy and the history of political thought. The themes treated include government, toleration, discipline, property, aboriginal rights, individualism, power, labour, self-ownership, community, progress, liberty, participation, and revolution.

The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory

The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory PDF Author: John S. Dryzek
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199548439
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 898

Book Description
Oxford Handbooks of Political Science are the essential guide to the state of political science today. With engaging contributions from 51 major international scholars, the Oxford Handbook of Political Theory provides the key point of reference for anyone working in political theory and beyond.

Approaches to Political Thought

Approaches to Political Thought PDF Author: William L. Richter
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742564336
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 348

Book Description
Approaches to Political Thought raises three important questions concerning traditional political thought: (1) Why study the political writings and ideas of Plato, Machiavelli, and other long-dead writers? (2) Who among the writers, and which of their works, are worth studying? (3) How should they be studied? The book then explores ten contemporary approaches to understanding political thought and the diverse answers to these questions. The approaches covered include those of Leo Strauss, Hannah Arendt, Eric Voegelin, Sheldon Wolin, the Cambridge School (Quentin Skinner and J.G.A. Pocock), Psychobiography, Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School (Herbert Marcuse and JYrgen Habermas), Hermeneutics (Paul Ricoeur and Hans-Georg Gadamer), Michel Foucault, and Feminist Criticism (Susan Moller Okin and Jean Elshtain). Each chapter includes an introductory essay and edited selections that illustrate or discuss that approach. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions and suggestions for further exploration, including books, articles, and web sites. This exploration of contending contemporary approaches to political thought touches upon ongoing methodological and philosophical issues that are relevant to several academic disciplines, including political science, history, philosophy, and psychology.

The Philosophy and Methods of Political Science

The Philosophy and Methods of Political Science PDF Author: Keith Dowding
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1137572701
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Book Description
This original account of the role of philosophy and methodology in political science gets back to the basics of studying politics. Cutting through long-standing controversies across different theoretical camps within the discipline, Dowding provides an innovative and pluralistic argument for the benefits and drawbacks of different approaches. He offers an analysis of, and a counterbalance to, debates over causal explanation, defending a scientific realist perspective that is open to entirely different methods. Following an introduction to the major 'isms' of modern political science and international relations, the book takes an incisive look at the nature of explanations and generalizations, theory testing, mechanisms, causation, process tracing, interpretation and conceptual analysis. It enables students of political science methodologies and related disciplines to apply sharp analysis and in-depth philosophical understanding to their study of political events and structures. Concluding with chapters on normative political philosophy and the vocation of the political scientist, this is a thought-provoking and wide-ranging text that will make essential reading and will undoubtedly shape the field.

Introduction to Political Thought

Introduction to Political Thought PDF Author: Peri Roberts
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 0748664823
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 352

Book Description
This textbook, now in itsa second edition, is designed to equip students with a basic 'conceptual toolkit' for the study of political thought: (i) a basic political vocabulary, (ii) a conceptual vocabulary and (iii) an historical vocabulary.

Interpretation in Political Theory

Interpretation in Political Theory PDF Author: Clement Fatovic
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315506033
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 234

Book Description
Theorists interested in learning more about any given interpretive approach are often required to navigate a dizzying array of sources, with no clear sense of where to begin. The prose of many primary sources is often steeped in dense and technical argot that novices find intimidating or even impenetrable. Interpretation in Political Theory provide students of political theory a single introductory reference guide to major approaches to interpretation available in the field today. Comprehensive and clearly written, the book includes: A historical and theoretical overview that situates the practice of interpretation within the development of political theory in the twentieth century. Chapters on Straussian esotericism, historical approaches within the Cambridge School of interpretation, materialist approaches associated with Marxism, the critical approaches associated with varieties of feminism, Greimassian semiotics, Foucaultian genealogy, the negative dialectics of Theodor Adorno, deconstruction as exemplified by Jacques Derrida and Paul de Man, and Lacanian psychoanalysis. An exposition of the theoretical and disciplinary background of each approach, the tools and techniques of interpretation it uses, its assumptions about what counts as a relevant text in political theory, and what it considers to be the purpose or objective of reading in political theory. A reading of Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan to illustrate how each approach can be applied in practice. A list of suggestions for further reading that will guide those interested in pursuing more advanced study. An invaluable textbook for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and even seasoned scholars of political theory interested in learning more about different interpretive approaches.

Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science

Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science PDF Author: Stephen Van Evera
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 0801454441
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 144

Book Description
"Stephen Van Evera's Guide to Methods makes an important contribution toward improving the use of case studies for theory development and testing in the social sciences. His trenchant and concise views on issues ranging from epistemology to specific research techniques manage to convey not only the methods but the ethos of research. This book is essential reading for social science students at all levels who aspire to conduct rigorous research."—Alexander L. George, Stanford University, and Andrew Bennett, Georgetown University "Van Evera has a keen awareness of the questions that arise in every phase of the political science research project—from initial conception to final presentation. Although others may not agree with all of his specific advice, all will appreciate his user-friendly introduction to what is sometimes seen as an abstract and difficult topic."—Timothy J. McKeown, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill For the last few years, Stephen Van Evera has greeted new graduate students at MIT with a commonsense introduction to qualitative methods in the social sciences. His helpful hints, always warmly received, grew from a handful of memos to an underground classic primer. That primer has now evolved into a book of how-to information about graduate study, which is essential reading for graduate students and undergraduates in political science, sociology, anthropology, economics, and history—and for their advisers.

Radical Approaches to Political Science

Radical Approaches to Political Science PDF Author: Rainer Eisfeld
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Book Description
"In this comprehensive volume, Rainer Eisfeld draws judicious lessons from his long-time involvement in international debated about what political science does - and what it should be able to achieve. Highlighting problems too rarely confronted by "mainstream" political scientists, the book's innovative chapters explore salient contemporary issues in a manner apt to stir up conventional thinking: the non-relevance of political science research for improving the human condition; today's deficient political pluralism; the susceptibility of political science to authoritarian temptations; the fatal extent of American 'Gun-mindedness'; the discipline's development in post-communist countries, overshadowed by the emergence of hybrid regimes. Tying together a dozen original contributions with a determined emphasis on participatory politics, Eisfeld demonstrates how 'radical' approaches promote the sort of political science that does not shy away from incorporating historical dynamics, societal conflicts, and embedded power relations."--P. [4] of cover.