Political Theory Today - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0745605834 ISBN 13: 9780745605838

Publisher: Polity Press, 1991

Synopsis

This volume aims to provide a set of guidelines for the reformulation of political theory in the light of the philosophical and substantive problems it faces today. It argues that the basic premises of Liberalism and Marxism have been rendered redundant by the the recent development of complex and inextricable interrelations between states and societies, and the change in the relationship between the public and private spheres. The book includes discussions on the nature of citizenship, rights and obligations, the relationship between liberty and equality, and that between public and private activities, the principles of justice and the means of realizing it, sovereignty and the international system, and international law and the vexed question of the legitimate use of force. The contributors include John Dunn, Stephen Lukes, Andrew Reeve, Susan Okin, Onora O'Neill, Claus Offe, Ulrich Preuss, Iain McLean, Jon Elster, Joshua Cohen, Agnes Heller, Samir Amin, Charles Beitz and Antonio Cassese.

About this title

Review

′An outstanding set of original papers that will be of great value to anyone interested in contemporary political theory. What is especially impressive about the books is the balance of essays on issues of domestic and international politics.′ Joshua Cohen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

′Something for everyone from the neophyte to the hardened professional. Especially valuable is the emphasis on the important and relatively neglected subject of international political morality.′ Brian Barry, London School of Economics

′It is the great merit of David Held′s collection that almost all the contributors feel the need to unite normative political philosophy with a theory of the political and social systems of modern states. They seek to illuminate and modify recent theories of rights and justice by applying them to a whole series of issues which have been marginalized or ignored by contemporary political philosophers.′ Times Higher Education Supplement

′The core themes of this collection are more pressing than ever. Social and political theory have a real part to play in recasting societies and this volume is a valuable contribution towards that.′ Sociological Review

′Political Theory Today is a scrupulously edited collection of original essays on representative themes in contemporary political theory. It is valuable and important in a number of ways. It will be widely used on courses. All of the essays are interesting, some of them outstandingly so.′ International Affairs

From the Back Cover

This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the central questions and debates in contemporary political thought and offers guidelines for the reformulation of political theory in the light of the philosophical and substantive problems it faces today.

The book includes discussion of the nature of political obligation; the interrelation of equality and liberty; gender; the public and the private; principles of justice and the conditions of their realization; democratic politics and the forms of representation; sovereignty, the nation–state and the international system; the role of international law; and war and the legitimate use of force.

The volume is composed of major new essays by leading scholars in political theory from Europe, Africa and the United States: John Dunn, Stephen Lukes, Susan Moller Okin, Andrew Reeve, Jon Elster, Claus Offe, Ulrich Preuss, Iain McLean, David Held, Charles Beitz, Antonio Cassese, Onora O′Neill, Samir Amin and Agnes Heller. Students and academics in political theory, and those in the social sciences concerned with contemporary political thought, will all be interested in this book.

About this edition

• Publisher: Polity Press
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0745605834
• ISBN 13: 9780745605838
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 370
• Editor: David Held