Hegemony

Power rarely works by force alone: it also rules by winning hearts and minds. States, classes, and social groups all seek political dominance by exerting political, ideological, or cultural leadership over others. This idea - hegemony - is a subtle, complex one, which is too often applied ...

Conservatism

Conservatism is often labelled as a ‘disposition’, ‘tradition’, or even a set of knee-jerk reactions, rather than an ideology, and its suspicion of grand theorising has lent itself to this characterization. In this book, leading political theorist Edmund Neill challenges this view. He argues that ...

Free speech

Freedom of speech is never very far away from political controversy. In recent years, the rise of populism, the 'cancel culture' phenomenon, and online hate attacks are among the developments that have kept it at the forefront of both public and academic discussion. In this ...

Totalitarianism

Less than a century old, the concept of totalitarianism is one of the most controversial in political theory, with some proposing to abandon it altogether. In this accessible, wide-ranging introduction, David Roberts addresses the grounds for skepticism and shows that appropriately recast—as an aspiration ...

Utopia

Mark Jendrysik examines the multifarious ways utopians have posed the question of how humans might realize truly human values.

Populism

Populism is the key political phenomenon of the 21st century. From Trump to Brexit, from Chavez to Podemos, the term has been used to describe leaders, parties and movements across the globe who disrupt the status quo and speak in the name of 'the people ...

Socialism

An identification of the key ideas and principles of socialism, exploring the conflicting interpretations that have appeared around the world.

Citizenship

"Although we live in a period of unprecedented globalization and migration, citizenship matters more than ever. Here, Elizabeth F. Cohen and Cyril Ghosh examine multiple facets of the concept, including classic and contemporary theories, historical development, and lived experience. This book is essential reading for ...

Libertarianism

The essence of libertarianism is the view that coercive political institutions, such as the state, are justified only insofar as they function to protect each person s liberty to pursue their own goals and well-being in their own way.

Authority

From citizens paying taxes to employees following their bosses' orders and kids obeying their parents, we take it for granted that a whole range of authorities have the power to impose duties on others. However, although authority is often accepted in practice, it looks philosophically ...

Political judgment

Politics is the process by which communities collectively decide to pursue certain courses of action. It is, as such, always a matter of judgment. Courses of action are chosen at least in part because they are somehow adjudged better than the alternatives, and this has ...

Fascism

an introduction to comparative fascist studies

The word 'fascism' is used so frequently in journalism and social media that it sometimes appears to have become a catch-all term of abuse, applicable to anyone on the political Right, from Hitler to Donald Trump, and from Putin to Thatcher. While some argue that ...

Patriotism

From flag-waving to the singing of national anthems, the practices and symbols ofpatriotism are inescapable, and modern politics is increasingly full of appeals topatriotic fervour. But if no-one chooses where they were born, and our ethicalobligations transcend national boundaries, then does patriotism make any sense ...