Description
Political theory has expanded, diversified, and, some would argue, fragmented. This 1997 book presents work from leading scholars in various fields and reflects key debates in political theory. Its summary discussions will ensure it becomes a key text in political theory courses. Skillfully edited by Andrew Vincent, the book includes such topics as the relationship between history and theory; utilitarianism and rational choice; republicanism; multiculturalism and postcolonial theory; hermeneutics; feminism; communitarianism, and poststructuralism. While these chapters reflect the state of political theory, they also contemplate the state of the discipline more broadly. This will be an extremely important book for anyone studying political theory.
Chapter
1 Political Theory and Conceptual Change
Two Approaches to Conceptual History
The Nature of Political Discourse
Critical Conceptual Histories
2 Political Theory and the Problem ofAnachronism
Political Theory and History
Political Theory and Tradition
The Pervasiveness of Anachronism
3 Utilitarianism as a Public Philosophy
Public versus Private Moralities
Replies to Some Standard Objections
4 Rational Choice Political Theory
Methodological Individualism
Rational Actor Theory in Politics
A Response to Four Particular Critiques
5 Republican Political Theory
The Republican Ideal of Freedom
Interference and Arbitrary Interference
The Harder-to-lose-freedom Effect
The Easier-to-lose-freedom Effect
The Significance of the Republican Ideal
Freedom as Non-interference, and Redistribution
Freedom as Non-domination, and Redistribution
6 Liberalism, Multiculturalism and Oppression
A Liberal Theory of Multiculturalism
The Politics of Difference and Multiculturalism
A Critique of the Politics of Difference
The Ontology of Liberalism
7 Postcolonialism and Political Theory
Themes of Postcolonial Theory
Postcolonialism and Liberal Theory
Indigenous Claims and the Public Sphere
8 Legal Positivism and Political Power
The Limits of Legal Powers
9 Political Theory, International Theory, and the Political Theory of International Relations
The Politics of Indifference
10 Method Matters: Feminism, Interpretation and Politics
Feminism and Interpretation
A Model of Interpretation
Interpretivism and Communitarianism
Feminism, Interdisciplinarity and Politics
11 The Political Philosophy of Deleuze and Guattari
Philosophy, Concepts and Events
Ethics of Deterritorialization
12 The Object of Political Theory
The Political Quality ofPolitical Theory
The Disciplinary Quality of Political Theory
The Ethical Quality ofPolitical Theory
Political Theory and the Modern Problem of Government