12 political science books

04.02.2005

As promised, a short reading list of a dozen influential (in my opinion) books in political science. The list does focus almost exclusively on comparative politics & democratic theory, but I'm just not too familiar w/ Americanist literature. This was much harder than I thought, since my first "short" list came out to 16 titles. I (reluctantly) dropped a few. Each author link sends you to the Amazon.com page for that book.

The list, in no particular order:

The Development of the Modern State

Gianfranco Poggi

Brief, but broad exploration of the development of the modern state, though focusing on Europe. But it gives a historical/sociological perspective on what we mean by "state" in political science, beyond merely the Weberian tradition. It's a good way to see how the state evolved into a (relatively) autonomous actor, w/ its own interests, goals, objectives.

Imagined Communities

Benedict Anderson

A controversial exploration of the subject nationalism, it's still the one I find most convincing. It essentially argues that nations are "imagined communities" (that is, not "organic") that are socially constructed, principally by elites.

The Origins of Totalitarianism

Hannah Arendt

Long, detailed, analytical look of the ideological & theoretical underpinnings of two totalitarian ideologies: Nazism & Stalinism. The book goes beyond merely doing a "biography" of the two movements, however, and explores how totalitarian ideologies are able to convince well-educated, well-meaning people to go down that dark road.

Democracy in Capitalist Times

John Dryzek

A recent book when I read it in my Democratic Theory seminar, it's an interesting discussion of contradictions between democracy & capitalism, built around the argument that some of the structures of capitalism threaten democracy at the nation-state level. Didn't entirely convince me, but it's an interesting read nonetheless.

Democracy and Its Critics

Robert Dahl

Easy enought to understand, even if you've not read Dahl before (though I can recommend at least a half dozen books by my favorite democratic theorist). The book's essentially a series of "conversations" Dahl writes between prominent philosophers from different times (the discussion between Madison and Rousseau is perhaps the most powerful).

Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation

Juan Linz & Alfred Stepan

An early treatment of the "third wave" of democracy, assessing successes & failures, as well as a solid treatment of both the concepts of "democratic transition" & "democratic consolidation", w/ special emphasis on instutitons & the role of the state.

The Third Wave

Samuel Huntington

Perhaps the seminal opening treatment on the "third wave" of democracy (Huntington did coin the expression), the factors that propelled it, and some reflections on the potential limits of the third wave.

The Logic of Collective Action

Mancur Olson

A rational choice discussion about how collective action (i.e. interest groups) is even possible in light of the "free rider" problem (why would people work for collective benefits if doing nothing will still give them a share of the benefit). If you've ever wondered why it's difficult to get groups to work on projects together, read this book.

The Principles of Representative Government

Bernard Manin

Recommended to me by my dissertation advisor, it was an incredibly interesting non-pluralist (by that I mean the pluralist theorists) take on the theoretical underpinnings of representative government. Especially interesting is the tracing of representative institutions to their republican/aristocratic roots, chosen as a deliberate alterative to popular government.

Models of Democracy

David Held

Basically just an extensive encylopedia of various democratic theories in the discipline, both currently & historically. It gives in-depth & fair treatment to all the major schools, w/ each chapter structured to give the position, its critics, and its rebuttal. If I had to pick the single most important reference on democratic theory, this book would be it.

Orientalism

Edward Said

A bit nervous about putting this on the list, since I've never actually read it. But it's been one of the most influential (and polemic) books on "oriental" studies (Asia, including the Middle East) in political science & sociology.

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

Max Weber

I figured I'd end w/ a classic from the canon. Weber's one of the founders of political science; this is still a defining text of scope & method in comparative politics. Clearly not the last word on the subject, but it set the stage for questions about political culture, the role of institutions, and ideology in the modern political world.

Posted by Miguel at 08:53 PM