Literature: key works & personalities

Works of classical political philosophy contain vast and valuable insights that influence current scholars whether they are aware of them or not. Aristotle’s “Politics” and Machiavelli’s “The Prince” must be counted as the discipline’s founding classics.

The intellectual basis for modern democracy can be found in John Locke “Two Treatises on Civil Government” (1690).

The foundation for studies of political culture is Alexis de Tocqueville “Democracy in America” (1835 - 1840).

Works of Max Weber is well summarized in H.H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills (eds.) “From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology” (1946); and in Reinhard Bendix “Max Weber: An Intellectual Portrait” (1960).

The view that political science has too closely aped the natural sciences is presented by David Ricci “The Tragedy of Political Science: Politics, Scholarship, and Democracy” (1984).

There are few modern classics, but among those considered indispensable are Joseph Schumpeter “Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy” (1987); E.E. Schattschneider “The Semisovereign People: A Realist’s View of Democracy in America” (1960) and V.O. Key “Politics, Parties and Pressure Groups” (1964), and “The Responsible Electorate” (1966).

Modern political theory, including rational choice theory, owes much to Mancur Olson “The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups” (1968).

Samuel P. Huntington has been a major force in post-World War II political science, especially his “Political Order in Changing Societies” (1968) and “The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order” (1996).

Robert A. Dahl “Modern Political Analysis” (1991), is an excellent guide to the renowned political scientist’s views.

Seymour Martin Lipset “Political Man: The Social Bases of Politics” (1960), is a prime example of the behavioral approach, and his “American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword” (1996) illustrates the historical-cultural approach.

The historical-cultural perspective is also the focus of Robert Putnam “Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy” (1993) and “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community” (2001).

Introductory works on comparative politics include Ruth Lane “The Art of Comparative Politics” (1996); Arend Lijphart “Electoral Systems and Party Systems: A Study of Twenty-seven Democracies, 1945–1990” (1994); B. Guy Peters “Comparative Politics: Theory and Method” (1998); Michael G. Roskin “Countries and Concepts: Politics, Geography, and Culture” (2004) and Alfred Stepan “Arguing Comparative Politics” (2001).

An excellent overview of the field of international relations is James E. Dougherty and Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr. “Contending Theories of International Relations” (2001).

A critical and philosophical overview is Raymond Aron “Peace and War: A Theory of International Relations” (1973).

The realist approach in international relations is presented in Hans J. Morgenthau “Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace” (1948); and in Henry Kissinger “Diplomacy” (1994).