Books in the Contemporary Political Theory series

Courtney Jung traces the development of indigenous movements in Mexico, linking indigenous identity directly to the project of Mexican state formation. She argues that the moral force of indigenous claims rests on the history of oppression that has constituted the indigenous as a political group, and not on cultural difference.

How can we build thriving political communities? In this provocative account of how societies are bound together, Rogers Smith examines the importance of 'stories of peoplehood', narratives that promise economic or political power and define political allegiances in religious, cultural, racial, ethnic and related terms. Smith argues that no nations are purely civic: all are bound in part by stories that seek to define elements intrinsic to their members' identities and worth. These types of stories can support valuable forms of political life but they also pose dangers that must be understood if they are to be confronted. In contrast to much contemporary writing, Stories of Peoplehood argues for community-building via robust contestation among sharply differing views. This original argument combines accessible theory with colourful examples of myths and stories from around the world and over 2,500 years of human history.

Acquiring additional citizenships by birth, naturalization or investment, is increasingly common but is it morally problematic? Multiple citizenship compromises the coherence of collective decisions, the constitution of the demos, and global equality. Unbundling the rights of citizenship for separate allocation, can solve many of those problems.

A novel and sophisticated account of the relationship between freedom and power, illustrated by original accounts of South Africa's recent political experience and the global financial crisis. Will appeal to scholars and students of history, politics, philosophy, economics, sociology, development studies and Southern African studies.

In this book, Brooke Ackerly examines the methods by which Third World feminist activists have criticised society. She argues that their activities show how feminist theory can move beyond its theoretical impasse towards articulating a social criticism relevant to dealing with real world inequalities.

In this volume (and its companion, Democracy's Edges) prominent political theorists and social scientists present original discussions of the most important issues in democratic politics. Democracy's Values deals with the nature and value of democracy, particularly the tensions between it and such goods as justice, equality, efficiency, and freedom.

In this volume (and its companion, Democracy's Edges) prominent political theorists and social scientists present original discussions of the most important issues in democratic politics. Democracy's Values deals with the nature and value of democracy, particularly the tensions between it and such goods as justice, equality, efficiency, and freedom.

This provocative study challenges the concept of rights, arguing that they jeopardize liberty and undermine democratic debate. Deftly employing political theory and constitutional law to state its case, it radically rethinks the relationship between liberty and democracy. Essential reading for scholars and students of political and legal philosophy.

For a half-century or more, political theory has been characterized by a pronounced distrust of metaphysical or ontological speculation. Such a disposition has been sharply at odds with influential currents in post-war philosophy - both analytic and continental - where metaphysical issues have become a central preoccupation. The Idea of the State seeks to reaffirm the importance of systematic philosophical inquiry into the foundations of political life, and to show how such an approach can cast a new and highly instructive light on a variety of controversial, seemingly intractable problems of tolerance, civil disobedience, democracy and consent. The author considers the problem of the state in light of recent developments in philosophy and social thought, and seeks to provide an account of what the state really is. In doing so he pursues a range of fundamental issues pertaining to the office, the authority and the internal organization of political society.

Justice, Gender and the Politics of Multiculturalism explores the tensions that arise when culturally diverse democratic states pursue both justice for religious and cultural minorities and justice for women. Sarah Song provides a distinctive argument about the circumstances under which egalitarian justice requires special accommodations for cultural minorities while emphasizing the value of gender equality as an important limit on cultural accommodation. Drawing on detailed case studies of gendered cultural conflicts, including conflicts over the 'cultural defense' in criminal law, aboriginal membership rules and polygamy, Song offers a fresh perspective on multicultural politics by examining the role of intercultural interactions in shaping such conflicts. In particular, she demonstrates the different ways that majority institutions have reinforced gender inequality in minority communities and, in light of this, argues in favour of resolving gendered cultural dilemmas through intercultural democratic dialogue.

A powerful and provocative critique of the foundations of Rational Choice theory and the economic way of thinking about the world, written by a former leading practitioner. The target is a dehumanizing ideology that cannot properly recognize that normal people have attachments and commitments to other people and to practices, projects, principles, and places, which provide them with desire-independent reasons for action, and that they are reflective creatures who think about what they are and what they should be, with ideals that can shape and structure the way they see their choices. The author's views are brought to bear on the economic way of thinking about the natural environment and on how and when the norm of fair reciprocity motivates us to do our part in cooperative endeavors. Throughout, the argument is adorned by thought-provoking examples that keep what is at stake clearly before the reader's mind.

What do we achieve by identifying ourselves and others in terms of gender, sex and race? Georgia Warnke asks how we understand individuals as, for example, male or female, or black or white, and argues that identities are interpretations and, as such, are perspectival, partial and plural.

Cosmopolitan theory suggests that we have duties beyond the borders of our own states and therefore what we owe to our co-citizens we also owe to fellow humans globally. Cosmopolitan Regard discusses what this means for humanitarian intervention, international criminal law and international political economy.

In this volume (and its companion, Democracy's Value) some of the world's most prominent political theorists and social scientists present original discussions of the most important issues in democratic politics. Democracy's Edges analyzes one of democracy's most enduring problems: how to establish the boundaries of democratic polities democratically.

Kok-Chor Tan argues that the cosmopolitan idea of global justice may be understood in such a way that it can accept some forms of nationalist and patriotic commitments without having to abandon its ideal of global equal concern. This accessible, persuasive book will appeal to political theorists and moral philosophers.

Can the state respect cultural differences while protecting group members' rights? Schachar argues that the jurisdictional autonomy of minorities must be enhanced while providing viable legal-institutional solutions to intra-group rights violation. This 2001 book will interest students of political and social theory, law, religion, institutional design, and cultural and gender studies.

Politicians and governments care deeply about people's moral judgments, which provide the moral capital needed for survival and effective functioning. Lincoln, de Gaulle, Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi illustrate the workings of moral capital in politics, and a study of the American presidency considers moral capital in the US.

A number of noted scholars have questioned the effectiveness and fairness of democratic voting. In this book Gerry Mackie confronts these doubts and examines their claims in detail, and finds that almost every one is erroneous. Mackie's book is a spirited and detailed defence of democratic governance.

In this volume (and its companion, Democracy's Value) some of the world's most prominent political theorists and social scientists present original discussions of the most important issues in democratic politics. Democracy's Edges analyzes one of democracy's most enduring problems: how to establish the boundaries of democratic polities democratically.

John Keane, a leading scholar of political theory, tracks the recent development of a big idea with fresh potency - global civil society. In this timely book, Keane explores the contradictory forces currently nurturing or threatening its growth, and he shows how talk of global civil society implies a political vision of a less violent world, founded on legally sanctioned power-sharing arrangements among different and intermingling forms of socio-economic life. Keane's reflections are pitted against the widespread feeling that the world is both too complex and too violent to deserve serious reflection. His account borrows from various scholarly disciplines, including political science and international relations, to challenge the silence and confusion within much of contemporary literature on globalisation and global governance. Against fears of terrorism, rising tides of xenophobia, and loose talk of 'anti-globalisation', the defence of global civil society mounted here implies the need for new democratic ways of living.

In this major contribution to the power debate, the author argues for a sophisticated view of power as a complex network of social boundaries, rather than simply an instrument used by the powerful. Her argument is supported by a study of relationships within two ethnically-diverse schools.

In this provocative book, John Keane calls for a fresh understanding of the vexed relationship between democracy and violence. Taking issue with the common sense view that 'human nature' is violent, Keane shows why mature democracies do not wage war upon each other, and why they are unusually sensitive to violence. He argues that we need to think more discriminatingly about the origins of violence, its consequences, its uses and remedies. He probes the disputed meanings of the term violence, and asks why violence is the greatest enemy of democracy, and why today's global 'triangle of violence' is tempting politicians to invoke undemocratic emergency powers. Throughout, Keane gives prominence to ethical questions, such as the circumstances in which violence can be justified, and argues that violent behaviour and means of violence can and should be 'democratised' - made publicly accountable to others, so encouraging efforts to erase surplus violence from the world.

Students of political theory/philosophy, at all levels, are desperate for a book that explains the 'method' or 'methods' of their subject. Scholars of political theory/philosophy, of all kinds, are desperate for both a fundamental analysis of their method, and a proper alternative to it. This book provides all these things.