Political Theory: Methods and Approaches

by David Leopold (Editor), Marc Stears (Editor)

Political Theory: Methods and Approaches is one of the first books to analyze research methods in political theory and political philosophy. Drawing together essays by a distinguished set of contributors, this rich and varied collection introduces students to many of the often unelaborated methods and approaches that currently inform the work of leading scholars in the field. The selections consider how political theory should be conducted today and also examine the complex and contested connections between political theory and a range of adjacent disciplines-moral philosophy, the empirical social sciences, the history of political thought, the world of "real" politics, critical social theory, and ideology. Both individually and as a collection, these essays will promote understanding and provoke further debate amongst students and established scholars alike.

Genres: Politics, Philosophy

236 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Samuel Weiss · Rating 2 out of 5]

As the editors admit in the introduction, this book does not contain a comprehensive ramge of the various approaches to political theory. Rather, it is a collection of essays produced by participants in a seminar in the subject. As a result, this book is best thought of as a reflection of the current status of political theory at Oxford. Unfortunately, Oxford's political department still worships Rawls and presumes that his analytical method is the best approach to study political philosophy, so that any political theorist who approaches questions in a different light must not be a serious intellectual.

For example, the author of the first chapter incredously compares the methodology of analytical political philosophy to the scientific method and claims without a note of irony that political theorists needn't concern themselves with meta-ethical issues. He comes across as a man who has never thought about why he studies politlcal theory the way he does in his entire career. After a few tepid interventions in the debate on the merits on ideal theory, there are a number of essays on the historical approach, but these are quite weak compared to the corresponding discussion on historically informed political theory at Cambridge.

Despite the general lack of quality of this collection, the chapter by Elizabeth Frazer is quite good. Frazer provides a schema for understanding the various definitions of the political.