Politics: An Introduction

by Axford; Barrie

• ISBN13: 9780415226424
• ISBN10: 0415226422
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2002-12-20
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This stimulating and user-friendly text is designed to meet the needs of students taking introductory courses in politics and the social sciences. By taking the widest definition of what is political it offers unrivalled coverage of the subject including chapters on political sociology, political institutions, the state, political parties and associations, political thinkers, political ideologies and international and global politics.

Table of Contents

List of figures and tables	x
List of biographies	xii
Notes on the authors	xiii
Preface	xv
Acknowledgements	xviii
Introduction	1	(14)
Barrie Axford
Gary K. Browning
Part 1 People and politics	15	(178)
Individuals: Is Politics Really About People?	17	(40)
Barrie Axford
Introduction	17	(6)
Three questions for analysis	18	(2)
Parts or wholes: should we study individuals or structures?	20	(1)
Forms of individualist analysis	21	(1)
Forms of functional and structural analysis	22	(1)
The modern individual	23	(31)
Individuals as utility maximisers: the myth of `economic' man	28	(6)
Individualism in action	34	(3)
Individuals and rights	37	(7)
Individualism and collectivism	44	(7)
Beyond individualism and collectivism: the postmodern condition	51	(1)
Individuals and the capacity for meaningful political action	52	(2)
Conclusion	54	(3)
Political Socialisation	57	(25)
Ben Rosamond
Introduction	57	(1)
Political socialisation	58	(1)
What is political socialisation for?	59	(7)
The processes of political socialisation	66	(9)
When?	66	(6)
How?	72	(3)
The importance of political socialisation	75	(4)
What does political socialisation tell us about political science?	75	(3)
What does political socialisation tell us about politics?	78	(1)
What does political socialisation tell us about the political system?	79	(1)
Conclusion	79	(3)
Political Culture	82	(38)
Ben Rosamond
Introduction	82	(2)
The uses of political culture	84	(2)
The civic culture	86	(5)
Criticisms of The Civic Culture	88	(3)
An alternative approach: political culture and ideology	91	(3)
Subcultures	94	(4)
Culture and political identity	98	(2)
Three case studies of political culture	100	(16)
The rise and fall of the `Asian Tigers': a cultural phenomenon?	101	(6)
The European Union: creating a new political culture	107	(5)
After 11 September 2001: a clash of civilisations?	112	(4)
Conclusion	116	(4)
Political Participation	120	(39)
Barrie Axford
Introduction: what is political participation?	120	(5)
Who participates? Some individual and social correlates of political participation	125	(9)
Selected variables and political participation: a brief inventory	129	(5)
Social capital and political participation	134	(9)
Why do some people participate in politics and others abstain?	143	(9)
Agency: political efficacy and trust	145	(2)
Structural explanations: the law, society and ideas	147	(4)
Immediate stimuli	151	(1)
Case study: electoral turnout and political participation	152	(3)
Conclusion: a crisis of political participation?	155	(4)
Democracy and Democratisation	159	(34)
Richard Huggins
Introduction	159	(1)
Democracy in the contemporary context	160	(3)
Conceptualising democracy: the search for a definition	163	(7)
Origins of democracy	163	(1)
Representative democracy	164	(1)
Deliberative democracy	165	(1)
Direct democracy	166	(1)
Towards a minimal definition of democracy	167	(3)
Conceptualising democratisation: process and practice	170	(6)
Explaining democratisation	172	(4)
The criticisms and limits of democracy and democratisation	176	(5)
Feminist critiques of liberal democracy	176	(2)
Republican critiques of liberal democracy	178	(1)
Radical critiques of liberal democracy	178	(2)
Environmental critiques of liberal democracy	180	(1)
Futures of democracy and democratisation	181	(7)
Globalisation and democracy	182	(4)
Digital democracy	186	(2)
Conclusion	188	(5)
Part 2 Politics and ideas	193	(102)
Concepts and Issues	195	(23)
Gary K. Browning
Introduction	195	(1)
Conceptual analysis	195	(2)
Freedom	197	(4)
The Rushdie case	201	(3)
Rights	204	(3)
Animal rights	207	(2)
Equality	209	(3)
Justice	212	(3)
Conclusion	215	(3)
Political Thought	218	(34)
Gary K. Browning
Introduction	218	(1)
Political thought	218	(2)
The history of political thought	220	(2)
The methodology of the history of political thought	222	(2)
The value of the history of political thought	224	(1)
Key political philosophers	225	(21)
Plato	225	(4)
Thomas Hobbes	229	(3)
John Locke	232	(3)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau	235	(4)
John Stuart Mill	239	(3)
Karl Marx	242	(4)
The limits of Western political thought	246	(3)
Women and political thought	246	(1)
Islam	247	(2)
Conclusion	249	(3)
Political Ideologies	252	(43)
Gary K. Browning
Introduction	252	(1)
The nature of political ideologies	252	(3)
Political ideology and history	255	(1)
Left and Right	255	(1)
Liberalism	256	(6)
The origins of liberalism	258	(3)
Liberalism in the twentieth century	261	(1)
Conservatism	262	(4)
The nature of conservatism	262	(2)
Styles of conservatism	264	(2)
The success of conservatism	266	(1)
Socialism	266	(5)
Forms of socialism	266	(2)
Socialism and its development	268	(3)
Fascism	271	(5)
The nature of fascism	271	(1)
The development of fascism	272	(1)
Fascism in Nazi Germany and Mussolini's Italy	272	(4)
Nationalism	276	(6)
The development of nationalism	279	(1)
Explanations of nationalism	280	(2)
Feminism	282	(5)
Liberal feminism	283	(2)
Socialist feminism	285	(1)
Radical feminism	285	(1)
Postmodern feminism	286	(1)
Ecologism	287	(3)
Varieties of ecological standpoints on society, economy and politics	290	(1)
Conclusion	290	(5)
Part 3 The structures and processes of governance	295	(184)
Local Governance: Politics Below the Nation-State	297	(29)
Alan Grant
Introduction	297	(1)
The territorial distribution of power	298	(4)
Federalism	302	(7)
The requirements of federalism	304	(1)
Developments in federal governments	305	(3)
Conclusions on federalism	308	(1)
Local government and politics	309	(14)
Constitutional and legal status	310	(2)
Structure and responsibilities	312	(5)
Internal organisation	317	(3)
Central--local relations	320	(3)
Conclusion	323	(3)
The Machinery of Government	326	(32)
Richard Huggins
Introduction	326	(1)
Preliminary observations	327	(2)
Nations, nation-states and the state	329	(1)
Government and governance	330	(7)
Constitutions and constitutionalism	337
Executives, legislatures and judiciaries	335	(11)
Executives	336	(1)
Legislatures	336	(4)
Unicameral or bicameral?	340	(4)
The judiciary	344	(2)
Parliamentary systems of government	346	(3)
Presidential executives	349	(1)
Other forms of government	350	(1)
Transnational governance and the European Union -- a new model?	351	(1)
The virtual machinery of government?	351	(4)
Conclusion	355	(3)
Parties, Interest Groups and Public Opinion	358	(50)
Barrie Axford
Introduction	358	(2)
Political parties and party systems	360	(21)
Party systems	363	(4)
Party systems in established democracies	367	(6)
The organisation of parties	373	(3)
The functions of political parties	376	(4)
Are political parties in decline?	380	(1)
Interest groups	381	(16)
Parties and interest groups	381	(1)
What are interest groups?: Types of groups	382	(9)
Theories and models of interest group politics	391	(3)
The resources and tactics used by interest groups	394	(3)
The power of interest groups	397	(1)
Public opinion	397	(7)
What is public opinion?	397	(2)
Whose opinion is public opinion?	399	(1)
How is public opinion institutionalised and expressed?	400	(1)
The construction of public opinion	401	(2)
Elections and public opinion	403	(1)
Is public opinion fickle?	404	(1)
Conclusion	404	(4)
Political Communication and the Media	408	(35)
Richard Huggins
Introduction	408	(4)
What is political communication?	412	(4)
Contexts of political communication	416	(6)
The development of political communication	422	(5)
Newspapers	423	(1)
Radio	423	(1)
Television	424	(3)
Managing political communication: how do politicians communicate?	427	(5)
Politics in media cultures: a crisis for democracy?	432	(3)
The global media	435	(2)
New media and political activism	437	(2)
Conclusion	439	(4)
The Policy Process	443	(36)
John Turner
Introduction	443	(1)
The study of policy	444	(1)
Policy in action: the foot-and-mouth crisis 2001 to 2002	445	(4)
Policy definition	446	(1)
Policy formulation	446	(1)
Policy implementation	447	(1)
Problem superseded and redefined	448	(1)
Policy outcomes	448	(1)
A model of policy-making: Easton's input--output model	449	(3)
The policy process and the state	452	(3)
Pluralist explanations	453	(1)
Neo-pluralist explanations	453	(1)
Corporatist explanations	454	(1)
Marxist explanations	454	(1)
Neo-liberal explanations	455	(1)
Theories of decision-making	455	(13)
Rationality and decision-making	455	(1)
Cost--benefit analysis	456	(2)
Modified rationality	458	(1)
Disjointed incrementalism	458	(2)
Innovation and mixed scanning	460	(1)
Organisational and bureaucratic models of decision-making	461	(1)
Ideology and decision-making	462	(1)
Implementation models of policy-making	463	(2)
Advocacy coalitions and negotiated orders	465	(2)
Policy communities and networks	467	(1)
Case study in the policy process: policy learning and the Brent Spar decision	468	(6)
Introduction	469	(1)
The initial policy decision	469	(1)
Widening the policy environment: a global dimension	470	(1)
The German connection	471	(1)
The organisational context: the corporate culture at Shell	471	(1)
The organisational context: Greenpeace and the politics of protest	472	(1)
Crisis politics: policy in reverse	472	(1)
Conclusions	473	(1)
Conclusion	474	(5)
Part 4 Politics beyond the territorial state	479	(84)
Politics and Governance Above the Territorial State	481	(43)
Ben Rosamond
Introduction	481	(2)
International politics	483	(5)
Thinking about International Relations	488	(4)
The end of international politics?	492	(6)
Breaking the mould of international politics?: The European Union	498	(13)
European integration	499	(5)
The origins of the European Union	504	(2)
Patterns of politics	506	(3)
European integration and the end of the nation-state?	509	(2)
Law and authority in world politics: the Pinochet case	511	(5)
War without states? After 11 September 2001	516	(5)
Conclusion	521	(3)
The Processes of Globalisation	524	(39)
Barrie Axford
Introduction	524	(3)
From beyond the nation-state to global politics?	527	(2)
The concept of globalisation	529	(19)
Globalisation as growing interconnectedness	529	(5)
Global consciousness, or thinking globally	534	(7)
Global compression	541	(1)
Globalisation as relativisation and indigenisation	542	(4)
The idea of a global system	546	(2)
The forces and features of globalisation	548	(7)
The world economy and the new international division of labour	548	(2)
The world political order: global governance?	550	(3)
Global cultures	553	(2)
Vectors of globalisation	555	(5)
The end of a world of territorial nation-states	555	(2)
A post-capitalist world economic order?	557	(1)
A global civil society?	557	(2)
The prospect of civilisational conflict	559	(1)
Global chaos?	560	(1)
Conclusion	560	(3)
Glossary	563	(6)
General bibliography	569	(19)
Index	588