Basic Concept: Natural Law; Just War. A synthesis of Christian theology and Aristotelian philosophy, his theory of natural law and the conditions for a just war became foundational for Western thought.
Key Book: Summa Theologica
Thomas Hobbes
Basic Concept: Social Contract; State of Nature. He argued that without a powerful sovereign (the "Leviathan"), human life in the "state of nature" would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."
Key Book: Leviathan
Thomas Malthus
Basic Concept: Malthusianism. The theory that population growth is potentially exponential while the growth of the food supply is arithmetical, leading to inevitable checks on population like famine and poverty.
Key Book: An Essay on the Principle of Population
Thucydides
Basic Concept: Realism; The Thucydides Trap. His history of the Peloponnesian War is a foundational text of political realism, emphasizing the role of fear, honor, and interest in state behavior. The "Thucydides Trap" refers to the risk of war when a rising power threatens to displace a ruling one.
Key Book: History of the Peloponnesian War
Ulrich Beck
Basic Concept: Risk Society. He argued that modern society is increasingly preoccupied with the future and with managing the "manufactured risks" (e.g., climate change, financial crises) created by modernization itself.
Key Book: Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity
Vandana Shiva
Basic Concept: Ecofeminism; Seed Sovereignty. An activist and scholar who links the ecological crisis and the oppression of women, and is a leading critic of corporate-driven globalization and biotechnology.
Key Book: Staying Alive: Women, Ecology, and Development
Woodrow Wilson
Basic Concept: Liberal Internationalism; Fourteen Points. He advocated for a world order based on democracy, self-determination, open diplomacy, and collective security through an organization like the League of Nations.
Key Book: The Fourteen Points (Speech)
Zygmunt Bauman
Basic Concept: Liquid Modernity. He describes the contemporary era as "liquid modernity," where social forms and institutions no longer have time to solidify and are in constant, unpredictable flux, leading to pervasive uncertainty.
Key Book: Liquid Modernity
Key Book: Summa Theologica
Thomas Hobbes
Basic Concept: Social Contract; State of Nature. He argued that without a powerful sovereign (the "Leviathan"), human life in the "state of nature" would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."
Key Book: Leviathan
Thomas Malthus
Basic Concept: Malthusianism. The theory that population growth is potentially exponential while the growth of the food supply is arithmetical, leading to inevitable checks on population like famine and poverty.
Key Book: An Essay on the Principle of Population
Thucydides
Basic Concept: Realism; The Thucydides Trap. His history of the Peloponnesian War is a foundational text of political realism, emphasizing the role of fear, honor, and interest in state behavior. The "Thucydides Trap" refers to the risk of war when a rising power threatens to displace a ruling one.
Key Book: History of the Peloponnesian War
Ulrich Beck
Basic Concept: Risk Society. He argued that modern society is increasingly preoccupied with the future and with managing the "manufactured risks" (e.g., climate change, financial crises) created by modernization itself.
Key Book: Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity
Vandana Shiva
Basic Concept: Ecofeminism; Seed Sovereignty. An activist and scholar who links the ecological crisis and the oppression of women, and is a leading critic of corporate-driven globalization and biotechnology.
Key Book: Staying Alive: Women, Ecology, and Development
Woodrow Wilson
Basic Concept: Liberal Internationalism; Fourteen Points. He advocated for a world order based on democracy, self-determination, open diplomacy, and collective security through an organization like the League of Nations.
Key Book: The Fourteen Points (Speech)
Zygmunt Bauman
Basic Concept: Liquid Modernity. He describes the contemporary era as "liquid modernity," where social forms and institutions no longer have time to solidify and are in constant, unpredictable flux, leading to pervasive uncertainty.
Key Book: Liquid Modernity
Essential/recommended readings
1. Socio-Economic Structures
a. Capitalism R. Suresh (2010) Economy & Society -Evolution of Capitalism, New Delhi, Sage Publications, pp.151-188; 235-268.
G. Ritzer (2002) ‘Globalization and Related Process I: Imperialism, Colonialism, Development, Westernization, Easternization’, in Globalization: A Basic Text. London: Wiley- Blackwell, pp. 63-84.
M. Dobb (1950) ‘Capitalism’, in Studies in the Development of Capitalism. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd, pp. 1-32.
E. Wood (2002) ‘The Agrarian origin of Capitalism’, in Origin of Capitalism: A Long View. London: Verso, pp. 91-95; 166-181.
A. Hoogvelt (2002) ‘History of Capitalism Expansion’, in Globalization and Third World Politics London: Palgrave, pp. 14-28.
b. Socialism
A. Brown (2009) ‘The Idea of Communism’, in Rise and Fall of Communism, Harpercollins, pp. 1-25; 587-601.
J. McCormick (2007) ‘Communist and Post-Communist States’, in Comparative Politics in Transition, United Kingdom: Wadsworth, pp. 195-209
R. Meek (1957) ‘The Definition of Socialism: A Comment’, The Economic Journal. 67 (265), pp.135-139.
2. Discourses on Nationalism
B. Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, Verso, 2006 (1983).
U. Ozkirimli (2010), Theories of Nationalism: A Critical Introduction, Palgrave Macmillan.
H.B. Davis, Towards a Marxist Theory of Nationalism, Monthly Review Press, New York, 1978 (Chapter 8: Social Classes and the Formation of Nation: Fanon, Cabral, and the African Liberation Struggle, pp. 202- 239)
3. Constitutionalism
C. Mcllwain (1940 [2007]), Constitutionalism: Ancient and Modern, Cornell University Press.
U. Baxi (2000) ‘Postcolonial Legality’, in Henry and Sangeeta Ray eds., A Companion to Postcolonial Studies, Blackwell, pp.540-555.
4. Federalism
M. Burgess (2006) Comparative Federalism: Theory and Practice. London: Routledge, pp. 135-161.
R. Watts (2008) ’Introduction’, in Comparing Federal Systems. Montreal and Kingston: McGill Queen’s University Press, pp. 1-27
R. Saxena (2011) ‘Introduction’, in Saxena, R (eds.) Varieties of Federal Governance: Major Contemporary Models. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press, pp. xii-x1.
5. State and Regime Types
Lindstaedt N. (2020) Authoritarian Regimes, in D. Caramani (ed.), Comparative Politics, Oxford University Press, Ch 6. Pp.103-115
Busch, Andreas (2015), The Changing Architecture of the National Security State’, in Stephan Leibfried, Evelyn Huber, Mattew Large, Jonah D. Levy and John D. Stephens (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Transformations of State, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Webb, E. (2011) ‘Totalitarianism and Authoritarianism’, in Ishiyama, J. T. and Breuning, M.(eds.) 21st Century Political Science: A Reference Book. Los Angeles: Sage, pp. 249-257. Mudde Cas and Kaltwasser Cristóbal Rovira (2017), What is Populism (Ch 1), Populism around the world (Ch 2) in Populism: A Very Short Introduction, OUP
Garland, David (2016) Ch 1, Ch 6, Ch 7, in The Welfare State: A Very Short Introduction, OUP.
Hague, R. and Harrop, M. (2004) ‘The state in a global context’, in Comparative Government and Politics: An Introduction. London: Palgrave McMillan, pp. 17-34.
Kesselman, M. (2007) The Politics of Globalization. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, pp. 330- 339.
Rosenzweig, Paul (2016) Lecture 1- Security, Liberty, or Neither, and Lecture 4- Surveillance in America, in: The Surveillance State, Big Data, Freedom, and You, Course Guidebook, Teaching Company.
Mabee, B. (2009) The ‘Security State’ and the Evolution of Security Provision. in: The Globalization of Security. New Security Challenges Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London.
1. Socio-Economic Structures
a. Capitalism R. Suresh (2010) Economy & Society -Evolution of Capitalism, New Delhi, Sage Publications, pp.151-188; 235-268.
G. Ritzer (2002) ‘Globalization and Related Process I: Imperialism, Colonialism, Development, Westernization, Easternization’, in Globalization: A Basic Text. London: Wiley- Blackwell, pp. 63-84.
M. Dobb (1950) ‘Capitalism’, in Studies in the Development of Capitalism. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd, pp. 1-32.
E. Wood (2002) ‘The Agrarian origin of Capitalism’, in Origin of Capitalism: A Long View. London: Verso, pp. 91-95; 166-181.
A. Hoogvelt (2002) ‘History of Capitalism Expansion’, in Globalization and Third World Politics London: Palgrave, pp. 14-28.
b. Socialism
A. Brown (2009) ‘The Idea of Communism’, in Rise and Fall of Communism, Harpercollins, pp. 1-25; 587-601.
J. McCormick (2007) ‘Communist and Post-Communist States’, in Comparative Politics in Transition, United Kingdom: Wadsworth, pp. 195-209
R. Meek (1957) ‘The Definition of Socialism: A Comment’, The Economic Journal. 67 (265), pp.135-139.
2. Discourses on Nationalism
B. Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, Verso, 2006 (1983).
U. Ozkirimli (2010), Theories of Nationalism: A Critical Introduction, Palgrave Macmillan.
H.B. Davis, Towards a Marxist Theory of Nationalism, Monthly Review Press, New York, 1978 (Chapter 8: Social Classes and the Formation of Nation: Fanon, Cabral, and the African Liberation Struggle, pp. 202- 239)
3. Constitutionalism
C. Mcllwain (1940 [2007]), Constitutionalism: Ancient and Modern, Cornell University Press.
U. Baxi (2000) ‘Postcolonial Legality’, in Henry and Sangeeta Ray eds., A Companion to Postcolonial Studies, Blackwell, pp.540-555.
4. Federalism
M. Burgess (2006) Comparative Federalism: Theory and Practice. London: Routledge, pp. 135-161.
R. Watts (2008) ’Introduction’, in Comparing Federal Systems. Montreal and Kingston: McGill Queen’s University Press, pp. 1-27
R. Saxena (2011) ‘Introduction’, in Saxena, R (eds.) Varieties of Federal Governance: Major Contemporary Models. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press, pp. xii-x1.
5. State and Regime Types
Lindstaedt N. (2020) Authoritarian Regimes, in D. Caramani (ed.), Comparative Politics, Oxford University Press, Ch 6. Pp.103-115
Busch, Andreas (2015), The Changing Architecture of the National Security State’, in Stephan Leibfried, Evelyn Huber, Mattew Large, Jonah D. Levy and John D. Stephens (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Transformations of State, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Webb, E. (2011) ‘Totalitarianism and Authoritarianism’, in Ishiyama, J. T. and Breuning, M.(eds.) 21st Century Political Science: A Reference Book. Los Angeles: Sage, pp. 249-257. Mudde Cas and Kaltwasser Cristóbal Rovira (2017), What is Populism (Ch 1), Populism around the world (Ch 2) in Populism: A Very Short Introduction, OUP
Garland, David (2016) Ch 1, Ch 6, Ch 7, in The Welfare State: A Very Short Introduction, OUP.
Hague, R. and Harrop, M. (2004) ‘The state in a global context’, in Comparative Government and Politics: An Introduction. London: Palgrave McMillan, pp. 17-34.
Kesselman, M. (2007) The Politics of Globalization. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, pp. 330- 339.
Rosenzweig, Paul (2016) Lecture 1- Security, Liberty, or Neither, and Lecture 4- Surveillance in America, in: The Surveillance State, Big Data, Freedom, and You, Course Guidebook, Teaching Company.
Mabee, B. (2009) The ‘Security State’ and the Evolution of Security Provision. in: The Globalization of Security. New Security Challenges Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London.