This volume continues the story of European political theorising by focusing on medieval and Renaissance thinkers. It includes extensive discussion of the practices that underpinned medieval political theories and which continued to play crucial roles in the eventual development of early-modern political institutions and debates. The author strikes a balance between trying to understand the philosophical cogency of medieval and Renaissance arguments on the one hand, elucidating why historically-suited medieval and Renaissance thinkers thought the ways they did about politics; and why we often think otherwise.

Iain Hampsher-Monk’s lucid and accessible history of modern political thought is the introduction which many have been waiting for, providing a thorough guide to the ideas and writings of major political thinkers from Hobbes to Marx (including a full account of The Federalist papers). The author’s aim throughout is to incorporate the benefits of modern scholarship of the historical school, with its emphasis on historical and political circumstances as a key to meaning. Recognizing that for most students time will not allow detailed study of the historical and political contexts of particular works, Hampsher-Monk provides here the background necessary for the reader to situate the writings of key thinkers in relation to wider currents in intellectual and political history. A History of Modern Political Thought will meet the needs of both general readers and students of political theory and philosophy. It is an indispensable secondary source which aims to situate, explain, and provoke thought about the major works of political theory likely to be encountered by students of modern political thought.

This book, first published in 1992, presents a comprehensive scholarly account of the development of European political thinking through the Renaissance and the reformation to the 'scientific revolution' and political upheavals of the seventeenth century. It is written by a highly distinguished team of contributors.

A History of Political Thought is an accessible introduction to the history of political and economic thought; its main focus is the rise, and eventual consolidation, of modern market society. It asks: What are the effects of private property and commerce on individual well-being and on the stability of the political community? A History of Political Thought answers this central question through the careful study of political philosophers and economists, from ancient Greece to the twenty-first century. The book does not have an ideological agenda and gives equal voice to thinkers on opposite sides of the political spectrum. This is one of its key merits and a mark of distinction: its willingness to treat stark opponents – Hobbes and Locke, Smith and Marx, Keynes and Hayek, among others – as equally worthy of serious study. In doing so, the book provides students with a very powerful arsenal of ideas about the evolution of the market and also provides a solid introduction to the history of political thought.

Looks at the history of politics from Hobbes to the twenty-first century.

African American Political Thought offers an unprecedented philosophical history of thinkers from the African American community and African diaspora who have addressed the central issues of political life: democracy, race, violence, liberation, solidarity, and mass political action. Melvin L. Rogers and Jack Turner have brought together leading scholars to reflect on individual intellectuals from the past four centuries, developing their list with an expansive approach to political expression. The collected essays consider such figures as Martin Delany, Ida B. Wells, W. E. B. Du Bois, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and Audre Lorde, whose works are addressed by scholars such as Farah Jasmin Griffin, Robert Gooding-Williams, Michael Dawson, Nick Bromell, Neil Roberts, and Lawrie Balfour. While African American political thought is inextricable from the historical movement of American political thought, this volume stresses the individuality of Black thinkers, the transnational and diasporic consciousness, and how individual speakers and writers draw on various traditions simultaneously to broaden our conception of African American political ideas. This landmark volume gives us the opportunity to tap into the myriad and nuanced political theories central to Black life. In doing so, African American Political Thought: A Collected History transforms how we understand the past and future of political thinking in the West.

This lucidly written text, in its second edition, continues to provide a comprehensive study of the classical political tradition from Plato to Marx. The book elucidates the fascinating evolution of the history of political ideas, through the works of thirteen key political thinkers — which includes Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hegel and Marx. The text highlights the decline and revival of classical political theory and portrays the clash of universalism vs. localism in the classical tradition. It focuses on the recent interpretations of the classical texts, for instance, feasibility of the ideal State in Plato; civic humanism and republicanism in Machiavelli; the radicalism of Locke, and the contributions to the woman’s cause by John Stuart Mill. The text is intended for the undergraduate and postgraduate students of Political Science of various universities, and for all those who are appearing for the civil services examinations. NEW TO THIS EDITION : Inclusion of two important liberal thinkers, Mary Wollstonecraft, the founder of liberal feminism, and Immanuel Kant, a de-ontological liberal. Addition of an Appendix on John Rawls who is credited as a seminal thinker of contemporary times, having played a crucial role in the revival of normative political theory.