Introduction to Political Theory

Political Theory at Stanford approaches the study of justice, legitimacy, and power by conjoining normative theory, positive theory and the intellectual history of political thought. Among the topics with which our faculty and students are concerned are democracy, equality, global justice, international relations, realism and idealism, education, deliberation, institutional innovation, and the organization of knowledge. This book on Political Theory examines a fairly wide range of issues on political theory and explores the major issues of it by presenting the perspectives of major theorists. This gracefully structured, intellectually rigorous book gives students necessary historical background while examining basic themes and assessing the validity of basic arguments. It elaborates the nature and significance of political theory, presented in a clear, direct style, which can be easily understood by the students with little previous exposure to political science. Rather than simply presenting an abstract of the major issues of political theory, it examines leading arguments with all the major concepts. It is particularly designed to cater to the need of the students and teachers of several universities, colleges, and for the students preparing for various competitive examinations."e;