Key Concepts in Politics

by Heywood, Andrew

• ISBN13: 9780312233815
• ISBN10: 0312233817
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-11-04
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Concepts are the "tools" with which we think, criticize, argue, explain, and analyze. Political concepts are nothing less than building-blocks of political understanding: the political world means what our concepts tell us it means. But political concepts are notoriously slippery and subject to controversy. Indeed, political debate is often a debate about the correct use of political terms. This book provides an accessible and comprehensive guide to the major concepts encountered in political analysis. Each is defined clearly and fully, and its significance for political argument and practice is explored. The introduction explains how political concepts are used and why they are so often abused. The book is arranged thematically, in an easy to use way, to be a vital companion for students throughout their course of study, and especially useful as a revision aid.

Author Biography

Andrew Heywood is Director of Studies and Course Director for Politics at Orpington College. He is also a Level Chief Examiner in Government and Politics and the author of Politics (Macmillan Foundations Series) and Political Ideologies.

Table of Contents

Uses and Abuses of Political Concepts	1	(12)
Introduction	3	(1)
What is a concept?	4	(1)
Normative and descriptive concepts	5	(1)
Contested concepts	6	(1)
Words and things	7	(1)
How to use this book	8	(5)
Further reading	10	(3)
Basic Concepts	13	(30)
Authority	15	(2)
Civil society	17	(1)
Consensus	18	(1)
Government/Governance	19	(2)
Human nature	21	(1)
Ideology	22	(2)
Law	24	(3)
Left/Right	27	(2)
Legitimacy	29	(1)
Order	30	(1)
Policy	31	(2)
Politics	33	(2)
Power	35	(2)
Sovereignty	37	(2)
State	39	(4)
Further reading	42	(1)
Ideologies	43	(40)
Anarchism	45	(2)
Christian democracy	47	(1)
Communism	48	(3)
Communitarianism	51	(1)
Conservatism	52	(3)
Ecologism	55	(1)
Fascism	56	(2)
Feminism	58	(2)
Liberalism	60	(2)
Libertarianism	62	(1)
Marxism	63	(2)
Nazism	65	(2)
New Left	67	(1)
New Right	68	(2)
Racialism/Racism	70	(1)
Religious fundamentalism	71	(2)
Social democracy	73	(2)
Socialism	75	(3)
Third way	78	(1)
Toryism	79	(4)
Further reading	80	(3)
Approaches	83	(32)
Behaviouralism	85	(1)
Dialectic	86	(1)
Discourse	87	(1)
Empiricism	88	(1)
Functionalism	89	(1)
Historical materialism	90	(1)
Idealism	91	(2)
Institutionalism	93	(1)
Political philosophy	94	(2)
Political science	96	(2)
Political theory	98	(2)
Positivism	100	(1)
Postmodernism	101	(1)
Rational choice	102	(2)
Rationalism	104	(1)
Realism	105	(2)
Systems theory	107	(2)
Utilitarianism	109	(1)
Utopianism	110	(5)
Further reading	112	(3)
Values	115	(40)
Accountability	117	(1)
Autonomy	118	(1)
Citizenship	119	(1)
Civil liberty	120	(1)
Collectivism	121	(1)
Community	122	(1)
Consent	123	(1)
Constitutionalism	124	(1)
Democracy	125	(3)
Equality	128	(1)
Freedom	129	(2)
Human rights	131	(2)
Individualism	133	(1)
Justice	134	(2)
Leadership	136	(2)
Meritocracy	138	(1)
Neutrality	139	(1)
Obligation	140	(1)
Property	141	(2)
Representation	143	(2)
Responsibility	145	(2)
Rights	147	(2)
Toleration	149	(1)
Tradition	150	(1)
Welfare	151	(4)
Further reading	153	(2)
Systems	155	(32)
Absolutism	157	(1)
Authoritarianism	158	(1)
Capitalism	159	(3)
Collectivisation	162	(1)
Consociationalism	162	(2)
Corporatism	164	(2)
Dictatorship	166	(1)
Elitism	167	(2)
Liberal democracy	169	(1)
Militarism	170	(2)
Parliamentary government	172	(2)
Patriarchy	174	(1)
Pluralism	175	(3)
Populism	178	(1)
Presidential government	179	(2)
Republicanism	181	(1)
Revolution	182	(2)
Totalitarianism	184	(3)
Further reading	185	(2)
Structures	187	(48)
Bicameralism	189	(1)
Bill of rights	190	(1)
Bureaucracy	191	(2)
Cabinet	193	(1)
Coalition	194	(1)
Committee	195	(1)
Constitution	196	(3)
Election	199	(2)
Executive	201	(3)
Gender	204	(1)
Hegemony	205	(1)
Judiciary	206	(2)
Mandate	208	(1)
Market	209	(1)
Mass media	210	(1)
Monarchy	211	(2)
Opposition	213	(1)
Parliament	214	(2)
Political culture	216	(2)
Political party	218	(2)
President	220	(2)
Pressure group	222	(2)
Prime minister	224	(2)
Race/Ethnicity	226	(1)
Referendum	227	(2)
Separation of powers	229	(1)
Social class	230	(2)
Social movement	232	(3)
Further reading	234	(1)
Levels	235	(27)
Centralisation/Decentralisation	237	(1)
Devolution	238	(2)
Federalism	240	(3)
Globalisation	243	(2)
Imperialism	245	(1)
Intergovernmentalism	246	(2)
Internationalism	248	(1)
Local government	249	(2)
Nation	251	(1)
Nation-state	252	(2)
Nationalism	254	(2)
Patriotism	256	(1)
Regionalism	257	(1)
Subsidiarity	258	(1)
Supranationalism	259	(3)
Further reading	261	(1)
Glossary of Key Political Thinkers	262	(7)
Bibliography	269	(7)
Index	276