What is Political Theory?

by Stephen K White

• ISBN13: 9780761942603
• ISBN10: 0761942602
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-03-22
• Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd

Summary

What Is Political Theory? provides students with a comprehensive overview of the current state of the discipline. Ten substantive chapters address the most pressing topics in political theory today, including: - what resources do the classic texts still provide for political theorists? - what areas will political theorists focus on in the future? - can western political theory alone continue to provide a framework for responding to the challenges of modern political life? The authors assess the intellectual challenges to conventional political theory, such as post-structuralism and the scientific study of politics that have revitalized the field in the last 30 years. They also broaden the perspective to take in non-western ideas and to reconceptualize political theory in the light of specifically global challenges. Students and teachers of political theory and political philosophy will find this book invaluable in understanding the factors that have shaped current political theory and which will guide its future development.

Table of Contents

Introduction - Stephen K White

PART ONE: TRADITIONAL RESOURCES, NOVEL CHALLENGES

The Current State of Political Theory - J Donald Moon

Pluralism and Reconciliation

The Adequacy of the Western Canon - George Kateb

Politicizing Theory - Adriana Cavarero

Political Philosophy as a Critical Activity - James Tully

At the Edge - Wendy Brown

PART TWO: WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT IN A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

Political Theory in the Age of Globalization - Roland Bleiker

Traveling Theorists and Translating Practices - Roxanne Euben

PART THREE: POLITICAL THEORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE

Political Theory, Political Science and Politics - Ruth W Grant

Problems, Methods and Theories - Ian Shapiro

What's Wrong with Political Science and What To Do about It