Top 99 Most Read Books in Political Science [Update]

The Best Books: Top 99 Nonfiction list is a concise selection of books that provides the reader with an understanding of the social and natural world.

It teaches world civilisation – East and West – from the beginning to the present, including history, economics, sociology, literature, science, philosophy, and religion.

All the texts were chosen for their importance and their accessibility, finishing them gives at least a glimmering of what our race is all about.

This list is best read in conjunction with the 13 Best Political Science Books.

1. The Republic

By Plato 

The central work of one of the West’s greatest philosophers, The Republic of Plato is a masterpiece of insight and feeling, the finest of the Socratic dialogues, and one of the great books of Western culture. This new translation captures the dramatic realism, poetic beauty, intellectual vitality, and emotional power of Plato at the height of his powers. Deftly weaving three main strands of argument into an artistic whole–the ethical and political, the aesthetic and mystical, and the metaphysical–Plato explores in The Republic the elements of the ideal community, where morality can be achieved in a balance of wisdom, courage, and restraint.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World’s Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford’s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

2. On Liberty

By John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mill is one of the few indisputably classic authors in the history of political thought. On Liberty, first published in 1851, has become celebrated as the most powerful defense of the freedom of the individual and it is now widely regarded as the most important theoretical foundation for Liberalism as a political creed. Similarly, his The Subjection of Women, a powerful indictment of the political, social, and economic position of women, has become one of the cardinal documents of modern feminism. This edition brings together these two classic texts, plus Mill’s posthumous Chapters on Socialism, his somewhat neglected examination of the strengths and weaknesses of various forms of Socialism. The Editor’s substantial Introduction places these three works in the context both of Mill’s life and of nineteenth-century intellectual and political history, and assesses their continuing relevance.

3. A Theory of Justice

By John Rawls

A Theory of Justice is a work of political philosophy and ethics by John Rawls. It was originally published in 1971 and revised in both 1975 (for the translated editions) and 1999. In A Theory of Justice, Rawls attempts to solve the problem of distributive justice (the socially just distribution of goods in a society) by utilising a variant of the familiar device of the social contract. The resultant theory is known as “Justice as Fairness”, from which Rawls derives his two principles of justice: the liberty principle and the difference principle.

4. The Human Condition

By Hannah Arendt

A work of striking originality bursting with unexpected insights, The Human Condition is in many respects more relevant now than when it first appeared in 1958. In her study of the state of modern humanity, Hannah Arendt considers humankind from the perspective of the actions of which it is capable. The problems Arendt identified then—diminishing human agency and political freedom, the paradox that as human powers increase through technological and humanistic inquiry, we are less equipped to control the consequences of our actions—continue to confront us today. This new edition, published to coincide with the fortieth anniversary of its original publication, contains an improved and expanded index and a new introduction by noted Arendt scholar Margaret Canovan which incisively analyzes the book’s argument and examines its present relevance. A classic in political and social theory, The Human Condition is a work that has proved both timeless and perpetually timely.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) was one of the leading social theorists in the United States. Her Lectures on Kant’s Political Philosophy and Love and Saint Augustine are also published by the University of Chicago Press.

5. Anarchy, State, and Utopia

By Robert Nozick

Translated into 100 languages, winner of the National Book Award, and named one of the 100 Most Influential Books since World War II by the Times Literary Supplement, Anarchy, State and Utopia remains one of the most theoretically trenchant and philosophically rich defenses of economic liberalism to date, as well as a foundational text in classical libertarian thought. With a new introduction by the philosopher Thomas Nagel, this revised edition will introduce Nozick and his work to a new generation of readers.

6. Law’s Empire

By Ronald Dworkin 

With the incisiveness and lucid style for which he is renowned, Ronald Dworkin has written a masterful explanation of how the Anglo-American legal system works and on what principles it is grounded. Law’s Empire is a full-length presentation of his theory of law that will be studied and debated—by scholars and theorists, by lawyers and judges, by students and political activists—for years to come. Dworkin begins with the question that is at the heart of the whole legal system: in difficult cases how do (and how should) judges decide what the law is? He shows that judges must decide hard cases by interpreting rather than simply applying past legal decisions, and he produces a general theory of what interpretation is—in literature as well as in law—and of when one interpretation is better than others. Every legal interpretation reflects an underlying theory about the general character of law: Dworkin assesses three such theories. One, which has been very influential, takes the law of a community to be only what the established conventions of that community say it is. Another, currently in vogue, assumes that legal practice is best understood as an instrument of society to achieve its goals. Dworkin argues forcefully and persuasively against both these views: he insists that the most fundamental point of law is not to report consensus or provide efficient means to social goals, but to answer the requirement that a political community act in a coherent and principled manner toward all its members. He discusses, in the light of that view, cases at common law, cases arising under statutes, and great constitutional cases in the Supreme Court, and he systematically demonstrates that his concept of political and legal integrity is the key to Anglo-American legal theory and practice.

7. Democracy And Education

By John Dewey 

John Dewey’s best-known and still-popular classic, Democracy and Education, is presented here as a new edition in Volume 9 of the Middle Works. Sidney Hook, who wrote the introduction to this volume, describes Democracy and Education: It illuminates directly or indirectly all the basic issues that are central today to the concerns of intelligent educators. . . . It throws light on several obscure corners in Dewey’s general philosophy in a vigorous, simple prose style often absent in his more technical writings. And it is the only work in any field originally published as a textbook that has not merely acquired the status of a classic, but has become the one book that no student concerned with the philosophy of education today should leave unread. Dewey said in 1930 that De-mocracy and Education, was for many years the one book in which my philos-ophy . . . was most fully expounded.

8. Man, the State, and War

By Kenneth N. Waltz 

What are the causes of war? To answer this question, Professor Waltz examines the ideas of major thinkers throughout the history of Western civilization. He explores works both by classic political philosophers, such as St. Augustine, Hobbes, Kant, and Rousseau, and by modern psychologists and anthropologists to discover ideas intended to explain war among states and related prescriptions for peace.

9. Democracy in America

By Alexis de Tocqueville 

Democracy in America has had the singular honor of being even to this day the work that polit?ical commentators of every stripe refer to when they seek to draw large conclusions about the soci?ety of the United States. Alexis de Tocqueville, a young French aristocrat, came to the young nation to investigate the functioning of American democracy and the social, political, and economic life of its citizens, publishing his observations in 1835 and 1840. Brilliantly written and vividly illustrated with vignettes and portraits, Democracy in America is far more than a trenchant analysis of one soci?ety at a particular point in time. What will most intrigue modern readers is how many of Tocqueville’s observations still hold true: on the mixed advantages of a free press, the strained relations among the races, and the threats posed to democracies by consumerism and corruption.

10. The Marx-Engels Reader

By Robert C. Tucker; Karl Marx; Friedrich Engels

This revised and enlarged edition of the leading anthology provides the essential writings of Marx and Engels–those works necessary for an introduction to Marxist thought and ideology.

11. Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age

By Larry M. Bartels 

Using a vast swath of data spanning the past six decades, Unequal Democracy debunks many myths about politics in contemporary America, using the widening gap between the rich and the poor to shed disturbing light on the workings of American democracy. Larry Bartels shows the gap between the rich and poor has increased greatly under Republican administrations and decreased slightly under Democrats, leaving America grossly unequal. This is not simply the result of economic forces, but the product of broad-reaching policy choices in a political system dominated by partisan ideologies and the interests of the wealthy.

Bartels demonstrates that elected officials respond to the views of affluent constituents but ignore the views of poor people. He shows that Republican presidents in particular have consistently produced much less income growth for middle-class and working-poor families than for affluent families, greatly increasing inequality. He provides revealing case studies of key policy shifts contributing to inequality, including the massive Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 and the erosion of the minimum wage. Finally, he challenges conventional explanations for why many voters seem to vote against their own economic interests, contending that working-class voters have not been lured into the Republican camp by “values issues” like abortion and gay marriage, as commonly believed, but that Republican presidents have been remarkably successful in timing income growth to cater to short-sighted voters.

Unequal Democracy is social science at its very best. It provides a deep and searching analysis of the political causes and consequences of America’s growing income gap, and a sobering assessment of the capacity of the American political system to live up to its democratic ideals.

12. The Rational Public

By Benjamin I. Page; Robert Y. Shapiro

This monumental study is a comprehensive critical survey of the policy preferences of the American public, and will be the definitive work on American public opinion for some time to come. Drawing on an enormous body of public opinion data, Benjamin I. Page and Robert Y. Shapiro provide … More »

13. Discourses on Livy

By Niccolo Machiavelli 

Discourses on Livy, written in 1531, is as essential to an understanding of Machiavelli as his famous treatise, The Prince. Equally controversial, it reveals his fundamental preference for a republican state. Comparing the practice of the ancient Romans with that of his contemporaries provided Machiavelli … More »

14. An Economic Theory of Democracy

By Anthony Downs 

An Economic Theory of Democracy is a political science treatise written by Anthony Downs, published in 1957. The book set forth a model with precise conditions under which economic theory could be … More »

15. Imagined Communities

By Benedict Anderson 

Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism is the most read book on nationalism. It’s a historical, political and sociological analysis of nations which are really imagined communities or socially constructed communities. More »

16. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media

By Noam Chomsky; Edward S. Herman 

In this pathbreaking work, now with a new introduction, Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky show that, contrary to the usual image of the news media as cantankerous, obstinate, and ubiquitous in their search for truth and defense of justice, in their actual practice they defend the economic, … More »

17. The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Nations

By Gabriel Abraham Almond; Sidney Verba

This classic text is a comparative political study, based on extensive survey data that defined and analysed the Greek concept of civic virtuelture: the political and social attitudes that are crucial to the success of modern democracy in Western nations. Cited extensively, the book was origionall published in … More »

18. Who Governs?: Democracy and Power in an American City

By Robert Dahl 

In this now-classic work, one of the most celebrated political scientists of the twentieth century offers a powerful interpretation of the location of political power in American urban communities. For this new edition, Robert A. Dahl has written a new Preface in which he reflects on Who Governs? … More »

19. Seeing like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed

By James Scott

In this wide-ranging and original book, James C. Scott analyzes failed cases of large-scale authoritarian plans in a variety of fields. He argues that centrally managed social plans derail when they impose schematic visions that do violence to complex interdependencies that are not — and cannot be — … More »

20. The Tragedy of American Diplomacy

By William Appleman Williams 

“A brilliant book on foreign affairs.â€Ââ€”Adolf A. Berle Jr., New York Times Book Review This incisive interpretation of American foreign policy ranks as a classic in American thought. First published in 1959, the book offered an analysis of the wellsprings of American foreign policy that shed light on … More »

21. Golden Rule: The Investment Theory of Party Competition and the Logic of Money-Driven Political Systems

By Thomas Ferguson 

“To discover who rules, follow the gold.” This is the argument of Golden Rule, a provocative, pungent history of modern American politics. Although the role big money plays in defining political outcomes has long been obvious to ordinary Americans, most pundits and scholars have virtually dismissed this assumption. … More »

22. Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media, and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy

By Martin Gilens 

Tackling one of the most volatile issues in contemporary politics, Martin Gilens’s work punctures myths and misconceptions about welfare policy, public opinion, and the role of the media in both. Why Americans Hate Welfare shows that the public’s views on welfare are a complex mixture of cynicism and … More »

23. Multiculturalism

By Charles Taylor; Jurgen Habermas

A new edition of the highly acclaimed book Multiculturalism and “The Politics of Recognition,” this paperback brings together an even wider range of leading philosophers and social scientists to probe the political controversy surrounding multiculturalism. Charles Taylor’s initial inquiry, which considers whether the institutions … More »

24. Democracy’s Discontent: America in Search of a Public Philosophy

By Michael J. Sandel

The defect, Sandel maintains, lies in the impoverished vision of citizenship and community shared by Democrats and Republicans alike. American politics has lost its civic voice, leaving both liberals and conservatives unable to inspire the sense of community and civic engagement that self-government requires. In … More »

25. Coercion, Capital and European States: AD 990 – 1992

By Charles Tilly 

Coercion, Capital and European States: AD 990 – 1992 is Charles Tilly’s magisterial account of European state formation. Looking at the varies systems of power that existed across Europe, Tilly explains how the nation state came to dominate and why it was by no-means inevitable. Towards the end of … More »

26. Discourse on Inequality

By Jean-Jacques Rousseau

One of the most respected translations of this key work of 18th-century philosophy, this text includes a brief introduction to the two works as well as abundant notes that range from simple explanations to speculative interpretations. More »

27. Rethinking Political Thinkers

By Manjeet Ramgotra; Simon Choat

Rethinking Political Thinkers explores a uniquely diverse set of political thinkers, from traditionally canonical theorists such as Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, and Mill, to marginalized women and thinkers of colour, such as hooks, Du Bois, Butler, Fanon, Firestone, Said, and Goldman. Placing traditional thinkers alongside and … More »

28. The Limits of State Action

By Wilhelm von Humboldt; J. W. Burrow 

This text is important both as one of the most interesting contributions to the liberalism of the German Enlightenment, and as the most significant source for the ideas which John Stuart Mill popularized in his essay On Liberty. Humboldt’s concern is to define the criteria by which the … More »

29. The Tragedy of Great Power Politics

By John J. Mearsheimer 

“A superb book….Mearsheimer has made a significant contribution to our understanding of the behavior of great powers.”—The National Interest, Barry R. Posen A decade after the cold war ended, policy makers and academics foresaw a new era of peace and prosperity, an era in which democracy and open … More »

30. Karl Marx’s Theory of History

By G. A. Cohen 

First published in 1978, this book rapidly established itself as a classic of modern Marxism. Cohen’s masterful application of advanced philosophical techniques in an uncompromising defense of historical materialism commanded widespread admiration. In the ensuing twenty years, the book has served as a flagship … More »

31. A History of Political Theory

By George H. Sabine

A book which has been a widely recognised classic in its field, it acknowledges the fundamental importance to politics and political understanding of cultural tradition and intellectual history. Revisions include a new first chapter which attempts to put the history of political theory in a context both of … More »

32. The Subject of Liberty: Toward a Feminist Theory of Freedom

By Nancy J. Hirschmann

This book reconsiders the dominant Western understandings of freedom through the lens of women’s real-life experiences of domestic violence, welfare, and Islamic veiling. Nancy Hirschmann argues that the typical approach to freedom found in political philosophy severely reduces the concept’s complexity, which is more … More »

33. After Hegemony

By Robert O. Keohane 

This book is a comprehensive study of cooperation among the advanced capitalist countries. Can cooperation persist without the dominance of a single power, such as the United States after World War II? To answer this pressing question, Robert Keohane analyzes the institutions, or “international … More »

34. World-Systems Analysis: An Introduction

By Immanuel Wallerstein 

In World-Systems Analysis, Immanuel Wallerstein provides a concise and accessible introduction to the comprehensive approach that he pioneered thirty years ago to understanding the history and development of the modern world. Since Wallerstein first developed world-systems analysis, it has become a widely utilized methodology within the historical social … More »

35. Lawless World

By Philippe Sands

Lawless World: America and the Making and Breaking of Global Rules is a book by the British attorney and author, Philippe Sands. It was published by Viking Adult in October 2005. Sands is a professor of international law at University College London. Among other issues, the book discusses the … More »

36. The Authority of Law

By Joseph Raz

This classic collection of essays, first published in 1979, has had an enduring influence on philosophical work on the nature of law and its relation to morality. Raz begins by presenting an analysis of the concept of authority and what is involved in law’s claim to moral authority. … More »

37. One-Dimensional Man

By Herbert Marcuse | Used Price: 70% Off

Originally published in 1964, One-Dimensional Man quickly became one of the most important texts in the ensuing decade of radical political change. This second edition, newly introduced by Marcuse scholar Douglas Kellner, presents Marcuse’s best-selling work to another generation of readers in the context of contemporary events. More »

38. A Revolution of the Mind: Radical Enlightenment and the Intellectual Origins of Modern Democracy

By Jonathan I. Israel

Democracy, free thought and expression, religious tolerance, individual liberty, political self-determination of peoples, sexual and racial equality–these values have firmly entered the mainstream in the decades since they were enshrined in the 1948 U.N. Declaration of Human Rights. But if these ideals no longer … More »

39. Politics Among Nations

By Hans Morgenthau

Hans Morgenthau’s classic text established realism as the fundamental way of thinking about international relations. Although it has had its critics, the fact that it continues to be the most long lived text for courses in international relations attests to its enduring value. Someone … More »

40. The American Voter

By Angus Campbell; Philip Converse; Warren Miller

Here is the unabridged version of the classic theoretical study of voting behavior, originally published in 1960. It is a standard reference in the field of electoral research, presenting formulations of the theoretical issues that have been the focus of scholarly publication. No single study matches the study … More »

41. Failed Statebuilding: Intervention, the State, and the Dynamics of Peace Formation

By Oliver P. Richmond 

Western struggles-and failures-to create functioning states in countries such as Iraq or Afghanistan have inspired questions about whether statebuilding projects are at all viable, or whether they make the lives of their intended beneficiaries better or worse. In this groundbreaking book, Oliver Richmond asks why statebuilding has been … More »

42. The Primacy of Politics: Social Democracy and the Making of Europe’s Twentieth Century

By Sheri Berman 

Political history in the industrial world has indeed ended, argues this pioneering study, but the winner has been social democracy – an ideology and political movement that has been as influential as it has been misunderstood. Berman looks at the history of social democracy from its origins in … More »

43. The Anatomy of Fascism

By Robert O. Paxton

What is fascism? By focusing on the concrete: what the fascists did, rather than what they said, the esteemed historian Robert O. Paxton answers this question.From the first violent uniformed bands beating up “enemies of the state,” through Mussolini’s rise to power, to Germany’s fascist radicalization in World … More »

44. The Specter of Communism: The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1917-1953

By Melvyn Leffler; Eric Foner 

The Hill and Wang Critical Issues Series: concise, affordable works on pivotal topics in American history, society, and politics. The Specter of Communism is a concise history of the origins of the Cold War and the evolution of U.S.-Soviet relations, from the Bolshevik revolution to the death of … More »

45. Political Dissent in Democratic Athens: Intellectual Critics of Popular Rule

By Josiah Ober 

How and why did the Western tradition of political theorizing arise in Athens during the late fifth and fourth centuries B.C.? By interweaving intellectual history with political philosophy and literary analysis, Josiah Ober argues that the tradition originated in a high-stakes debate about democracy. … More »

46. Bombing to Win: Air Power and Coercion in War

By Robert A. Pape 

From Iraq to Bosnia to North Korea, the first question in American foreign policy debates is increasingly: Can air power alone do the job? Robert A. Pape provides a systematic answer. Analyzing the results of over thirty air campaigns, including a detailed reconstruction of the Gulf War, he … More »

47. Nations and Nationalism

By Ernest Gellner |

From reviews of the first edition: “Brilliant, provocative . . . a great book.”—New Statesman “An important book . . . It is a new starting line from which all subsequent discussions of nationalism will have to begin.”—New Society “A better explanation than anyone has yet offered of … More »

48. The Organizational State: Social Choice in National Policy Domains

By Edward O. Laumann; David Knoke

The Federal Government in the United States is a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.â€Â Presidents are elected by popular vote in the nation (filtered through the electoral college), Senators are elected by popular vote in their states, and … More »

49. Saving Strangers: Humanitarian Intervention in International Society

By Nicholas Wheeler

The extent to which humanitarian intervention has become a legitimate practice in post-cold war international society is the subject of this book. It maps the changing legitimacy of humanitarian intervention by comparing the international response to cases of humanitarian intervention in the cold war and post-cold war periods. … More »

50. The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion

By John Zaller 

In this book John Zaller develops a comprehensive theory to explain how people acquire political information from the mass media and convert it into political preferences. Using numerous specific examples, Zaller applies this theory in order to explain the dynamics of public opinion on a broad range … More »

51. Strong Democracy

By Benjamin Barber |

Since its appearance twenty years ago, Benjamin R. Barber’s Strong Democracy has been one of the primary standards against which political science thinking and writing is measured. Defined as the participation of all of the people in at least some aspects of self-government at least some of the … More »

52. The American Age: United States Foreign Policy at Home and Abroad 1750 to the Present

By Walter LaFeber 

This is the absolute leading text on US foreign policy. Beginning in the mid-eighteenth century, LaFeber gives a complete history to the present, examining all areas of foreign policy with great continuity and cohesiveness. More »

53. Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries

By Arend Lijphart

In this updated and expanded edition of his classic text, Arend Lijphart offers a broader and deeper analysis of worldwide democratic institutions than ever before. Examining thirty-six democracies during the period from 1945 to 2010, Lijphart arrives at important—and unexpected—conclusions about what type of democracy works best.Praise for … More »

54. Power: A Radical View

By Steven Lukes 

Steven Lukes’ Power: A Radical View is a seminal work still widely used some 30 years after publication. The second edition includes the complete original text alongside two major new essays. One assesses the main debates about how to conceptualize and study power, including the influential contributions of … More »

55. Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy

By Barrington Moore 

A landmark in comparative history and a challenge to scholars of all lands who are trying to learn how we arrived at where we are now. -New York Times Book Review More »

56. Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy

By Robert D. Putnam 

Why do some democratic governments succeed and others fail? In a book that has received attention from policymakers and civic activists in America and around the world, Robert Putnam and his collaborators offer empirical evidence for the importance of “civic community” in developing successful … More »

57. The Federalist

By Alexander Hamilton; James Madison; John Jay

The Federalist represents one side of one of the most momentous political debates ever conducted: whether to ratify, or to reject, the newly drafted American constitution. This authoritative new edition presents complete texts for all of the eighty-five Federalist papers, along with the sixteen letters of “Brutus”, the … More »

58. Before the West: The Rise and Fall of Eastern World Orders

By Ayse Zarakol

How would the history of international relations in ‘the East’ be written if we did not always read the ending – the Rise of the West and the decline of the East – into the past? What if we did not assume that Asia was just a residual … More »

59. The Anarchical Society: A Study of Order in World Politics

By Hedley Bull 

In this fundamental text, Hedley Bull explores three key questions: What is the nature of order in world politics? How is it maintained within the contemporary states system? And do desirable and feasible alternatives to the states system exist? Contrary to common claims, Bull asserts that the sovereign … More »

60. The Rule of Law

By Tom Bingham | Used Price: 60% Off

“The Rule of Law” is a phrase much used but little examined. The idea of the rule of law as the foundation of modern states and civilizations has recently become even more talismanic than that of democracy, but what does it actually consist of? In this brilliant short … More »

61. Think Tanks in America

By Thomas Medvetz

Over the past half-century, think tanks have become fixtures of American politics, supplying advice to presidents and policymakers, expert testimony on Capitol Hill, and convenient facts and figures to journalists and media specialists. But what are think tanks? Who funds them? What kind of … More »

62. Second Treatise of Government

By John Locke; C. B. Macpherson | Price: $0.01

The Second Treatise is one of the most important political treatises ever written and one of the most far-reaching in its influence.In his provocative 15-page introduction to this edition, the late eminent political theorist C. B. Macpherson examines Locke’s arguments for limited, conditional government, private property, and right … More »

63. Liberty: Incorporating Four Essays on Liberty

By Isaiah Berlin 

Liberty is a revised and expanded edition of the book that Isaiah Berlin regarded as his most important-Four Essays on Liberty, a standard text of liberalism, constantly in demand and constantly discussed since it was first published in 1969. Writing in Harper’s, Irving Howe described it as “an … More »

64. Twenty Years’ Crisis, 1919-1939: An Introduction to the Study of International Relations

By E. H. Carr |

E. H. Carr’s classic work on international relations published in 1939 was immediately recognized by friend and foe alike as a defining work. The author was one of the most influential and controversial intellectuals of the 20th century. The issues and themes he developed continue to have relevance … More »

65. The Sovereign State and Its Competitors

By Hendrik Spruyt 

The present international system, composed for the most part of sovereign, territorial states, is often viewed as the inevitable outcome of historical development. Hendrik Spruyt argues that there was nothing inevitable about the rise of the state system, however. Examining the competing institutions that … More »

66. Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights

By Will Kymlicka 

The increasingly multicultural fabric of modern societies has given rise to many new issues and conflicts, as ethnic and national minorities demand recognition and support for their cultural identity. This book presents a new conception of the rights and status of minority cultures. It argues that certain “collective … More »

67. Fear: The History of a Political Idea

By Corey Robin 

For many commentators, September 11 inaugurated a new era of fear. But as Corey Robin shows in his unsettling tour of the Western imagination–the first intellectual history of its kind–fear has shaped our politics and culture since time immemorial. From the Garden … More »

68. The Modern Corporation and American Political Thought: Law, Power, and Ideology

By Scott Bowman 

Despite all that has been written about business and its role in American life, contemporary theories about the modern corporation as a social and political institution have failed to explain adequately the pervasiveness and complexity of corporate power in the twentieth century. Through an analysis of history, law, … More »

69. Philosophy and Real Politics

By Raymond Geuss

Many contemporary political thinkers are gripped by the belief that their task is to develop an ideal theory of rights or justice for guiding and judging political actions. But in Philosophy and Real Politics, Raymond Geuss argues that philosophers should first try to understand … More »

70. Republicanism: A Theory of Freedom and Government

By Philip Pettit

This is the first full-length presentation of a republican alternative to the liberal and communitarian theories that have dominated political philosophy in recent years. The latest addition to the acclaimed Oxford Political Theory series, Pettit’s eloquent and compelling account opens with an examination of the traditional republican conception … More »

71. On War

By Carl von Clausewitz 

On War is the most significant attempt in Western history to understand war, both in its internal dynamics and as an instrument of policy. Since the work’s first appearance in 1832, it has been read throughout the world, and has stimulated generations of soldiers, statesmen, and intellectuals. More »

72. The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic

By Chalmers Johnson

“Impressive . . . a powerful indictment of U.S. military and foreign policy.” -Los Angeles Times Book Review, front page In the years after the Soviet Union imploded, the United States was described first as the globe’s “lone superpower,” then as a “reluctant sheriff,” next as the “indispensable … More »

73. The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism: Hobbes to Locke

By C. B. Macpherson

This seminal work by political philosopher C.B. Macpherson was first published by the Clarendon Press in 1962, and remains of key importance to the study of liberal-democratic theory half-a-century later. In it, Macpherson argues that the chief difficulty of the notion of individualism that underpins classical liberalism lies … More »

74. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

By Mary Wollstonecraft

This volume brings together the major political writings of Mary Wollstonecraft in the order in which they appeared in the revolutionary 1790s. It traces her passionate and indignant response to the excitement of the early days of the French Revolution and then her uneasiness at its later bloody … More »

75. The Political Economy of European Welfare Capitalism

By Daniel Wincott; Colin Hay 

A state-of-the-art assessment of welfare provision, policy and reform at national and at EU level which spans the whole of Europe – East, West and Central. Uniquely broad-ranging in scope, and covering the latest research findings and theoretical debates, it provides a genuinely comparative overview text for students … More »

76. The Foundations of Modern Political Thought: Volume 1, The Renaissance

By Quentin Skinner 

A two-volume study of political thought from the late thirteenth to the end of the sixteenth century, the decisive period of transition from medieval to modern political theory. The work is intended to be both an introduction to the period for students, and a presentation and justification of … More »

77. The Open Society and Its Enemies

By Karl Popper

 ‘If in this book harsh words are spoken about some of the greatest among the intellectual leaders of mankind, my motive is not, I hope, to belittle them. It springs rather from my conviction that, if our civilization is to survive, we must break with the habit of … More »

78. Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents

By Richard E. Neustadt 

Thirty years ago Richard Neustadt published “Presidential Power”, which became a widely studied book on the theory and practice of presidential leadership. Presidents themselves read it and assign it to their staff for study, as did the intructors of hundreds of thousands of students of government. Now Richard … More »

79. Women in the History of Political Thought: Ancient Greece to Machiavelli

By Arlene Saxonhouse

As one reads the classic works of political philosophy one is limited to books written by male authors. When reading interpretations of these authors it seems that the male philosophers were only concerned with the male citizen. Arlene Saxonhouse argues that these classic authors, from Plato to Machiavelli, … More »

80. How the War Was Won: Air-Sea Power and Allied Victory in World War II

By Phillips O’Brien

World War II is usually seen as a titanic land battle, decided by mass armies, most importantly those on the Eastern Front. Phillips Payson O’Brien shows us the war in a completely different light. In this compelling new history of the Allied path to victory, he argues that … More »

81. Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism

By Sheldon S. Wolin

Democracy is struggling in America–by now this statement is almost cliché. But what if the country is no longer a democracy at all? In Democracy Incorporated, Sheldon Wolin considers the unthinkable: has America unwittingly morphed into a new and strange kind of political hybrid, … More »

82. Feminism And Politics

By Anne Phillips

The essays in this latest volume in the Oxford Readings in Feminism series answer questions about gender and feminism in politics, demonstrating how feminism challenges both the theory and practice of politics and opens up new ways of thinking about political change. Anne Phillips brings together twenty outstanding … More »

83. The Retreat of the State: The Diffusion of Power in the World Economy

By Susan Strange 

Who is really in charge of the world economy? Not only governments, argues Susan Strange in The Retreat of the State. Big businesses, drug barons, insurers, accountants and international bureaucrats all encroach on the so-called sovereignty of the state. Professor Strange examines the implications of this rivalry and … More »

84. The Politics of Switzerland: Continuity and Change in a Consensus Democracy

By Hanspeter Kriesi; Alexander H. Trechsel

Despite Switzerland’s small size, its political system is one of the most complex and fascinating among contemporary democracies. The rich, complex mixture of centuries-old institutions and the refined political arrangements that exist today constitute a veritable laboratory for social scientists and their students. Often presented as the paradigmatic … More »

85. Authority and the Individual

By Bertrand Russell

From Ancient Greek philosophy to the French Revolution to the modern welfare state, in Authority and the Individual Bertrand Russell tackles the perennial questions about the balance between authority and human freedom. With characteristic clarity and deep understanding, he explores the formation and purpose of society, education, moral … More »

86. The Power Elite

By C. Wright Mills 

First published in 1956, The Power Elite stands as a contemporary classic of social science and social criticism. C. Wright Mills examines and critiques the organization of power in the United States, calling attention to three firmly interlocked prongs of power: the military, corporate, and political elite. The … More »

87. Rights of Man

By Thomas Paine 

Thomas Paine was the first international revolutionary. His Common Sense (1776) was the most widely read pamphlet of the American Revolution–and his Rights of Man (1791-2), the most famous defense of the French Revolution, sent out a clarion call for revolution throughout the world. Paine paid the price … More »

88. Institutions and Ethnic Politics in Africa

By Daniel N. Posner 

Presenting a theory to explain how politics revolves around one axis of social cleavage instead of another, Daniel Posner examines Zambia, where people identify themselves either as members of one of the country’s seventy-three tribes or as members of one of its four principal language groups. Drawing … More »

89. The Oxford Handbook of Political Science

By Robert E. Goodin

Drawing on the rich resources of the ten-volume series of The Oxford Handbooks of Political Science, this one-volume distillation provides a comprehensive overview of all the main branches of contemporary political science: political theory; political institutions; political behavior; comparative politics; international relations; political economy; law and politics; public … More »

90. The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy

By John J. Mearsheimer; Stephen Walt 

The Israel Lobby,” by John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen M. Walt of Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, was one of the most controversial articles in recent memory. Originally published in the London Review of Books in March 2006, it provoked both … More »

91. Great Transformations: Economic Ideas and Institutional Change in the Twentieth Century

By Mark Blyth

Mark Blyth argues that economic ideas are powerful political tools as used by domestic groups in order to effect change since whoever defines what the economy is, what is wrong with it, and what would improve it, has a profound political resource in their possession. Blyth analyzes the … More »

92. The Political Forms of Modern Society: Bureaucracy, Democracy, Totalitarianism

By Claude Lefort

Claude Lefort is one of the leading social and political theorists in France today. This anthology of his most important work published over the last four … More »

93. States and Social Revolutions: A Comparative Analysis of France, Russia and China

By Theda Skocpol

State structures, international forces, and class relations: Theda Skocpol shows how all three combine to explain the origins and accomplishments of social-revolutionary transformations. From France in the 1790s to Vietnam in the 1970s, social revolutions have been rare but undeniably of enormous importance in modern world history. States … More »

94. The Fall of the House of Labor: The Workplace, the State, and American Labor Activism, 1865-1925

By David Montgomery

By studying the ways in which American industrial workers mobilized concerted action in their own interest, the author focuses on the workplace itself, examining the codes of conduct developed by different types of workers and the connections between their activity at work and their national origins … More »

95. The Wretched of the Earth

By Frantz Fanon; Jean-Paul Sartre 

A distinguished psychiatrist from Martinique who took part in the Algerian Nationalist Movement, Frantz Fanon was one of the most important theorists of revolutionary struggle, colonialism, and racial difference in history. Fanon’s masterwork is a classic alongside Edward Said’s Orientalism or The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and it … More »

96. Green Political Thought

By Andrew Dobson 

This highly acclaimed introduction to green political thought is now available in a new edition, having been fully revised and updated to take into account the areas which have grown in importance since the third edition was published. Andrew Dobson describes and assesses the political ideology of … More »

97. Myths of Empire: Domestic Politics and International Ambition

By Jack Snyder

Overextension is the common pitfall of empires. Why does it occur? What are the forces that cause the great powers of the industrial era to pursue aggressive foreign policies? Jack Snyder identifies recurrent myths of empire, describes the varieties of overextension to which they lead, and criticizes the … More »

98. The Evolution of Modern States: Sweden, Japan, and the United States

By Sven Steinmo 

The Evolution of Modern States is a significant contribution to the literatures on political economy, globalization, historical institutionalism, and social science methodology. The book begins with a simple question: Why do rich capitalist democracies respond so differently to the common pressures they face in the early twenty-first century? … More »

99. Theories of Distributive Justice

By John Roemer

Equally at home in economic theory and political philosophy, John Roemer has written a unique book that critiques economists’ conceptions of justice from a philosophical perspective and philosophical theories of distributive justice from an economic one. He unites the economist’s skill in constructing precise, axiomatic models with … More »