Paperback
A World History of Political Thought
Second Edition
2nd edition
9781035320967 Edward Elgar Publishing
In this highly prescient and thoroughly revised second edition of A World History of Political Thought, J. Babb reexamines and expands his seminal comparative analysis of political thought from 600 BC to the present day in light of recent research and developments within the field.
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Critical Acclaim
Contributors
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In this highly prescient and thoroughly revised second edition of A World History of Political Thought, J. Babb reexamines and expands his seminal comparative analysis of political thought from 600 BC to the present day in light of recent research and developments within the field.
International in scope, the book explores both Western and non-Western systems of political thought with intellectual rigour and focuses on the works and influence of key political thinkers throughout history. It delves deep into the complexities of East Asian history and political thought and considers the influence of Buddhism on the latter’s development. With newly added chapters which discuss in-depth early Indian and Islamic political thought, the book presents cutting-edge insights into the development of these ideas and employs a methodological approach in comparing key concepts and the contexts in which they evolved.
This timely and incisive book will be an indispensable read for academics, researchers and students in public policy, international politics, political theory, European politics and policy, and Islamic studies. It will also be beneficial to those looking to better understand political thought since its inception.
International in scope, the book explores both Western and non-Western systems of political thought with intellectual rigour and focuses on the works and influence of key political thinkers throughout history. It delves deep into the complexities of East Asian history and political thought and considers the influence of Buddhism on the latter’s development. With newly added chapters which discuss in-depth early Indian and Islamic political thought, the book presents cutting-edge insights into the development of these ideas and employs a methodological approach in comparing key concepts and the contexts in which they evolved.
This timely and incisive book will be an indispensable read for academics, researchers and students in public policy, international politics, political theory, European politics and policy, and Islamic studies. It will also be beneficial to those looking to better understand political thought since its inception.
Critical Acclaim
Acclaim for the first edition:
‘In his ambitious A World History of Political Thought, Babb locates the “foundational thinkers” about politics between 600 and 400 BCE. His key figures were Buddha, Confucius and Socrates, though we know most about the thinking of these three remarkable individuals through the writing of their followers, not themselves. The first identifiable “schools” of political thought, Babb suggests, emerged between 400 and 250 BCE, though he wisely warns that it is essential to be wary of “neat classification” distorting the “messy reality of the emergence of ideas”.
– Ken Booth, International Relations
‘This is an amazing book. It is a wide-ranging and often fairly detailed survey of political thought around the world that genuinely takes a global standpoint. It is not that the Western tradition is front and center and then occasionally other views enter; the author engages with the various traditions on their own terms and puts them side by side. There is no book out there that is remotely like this. The fields of political theory and political philosophy will benefit enormously from having this book available.’
– Mathias Risse, Harvard University, US
‘This book is the first attempt to cover all the world's literate cultures in a single history of political thought. As such, it is a significant achievement.’
– Tony Black, University of Dundee, UK
‘In his ambitious A World History of Political Thought, Babb locates the “foundational thinkers” about politics between 600 and 400 BCE. His key figures were Buddha, Confucius and Socrates, though we know most about the thinking of these three remarkable individuals through the writing of their followers, not themselves. The first identifiable “schools” of political thought, Babb suggests, emerged between 400 and 250 BCE, though he wisely warns that it is essential to be wary of “neat classification” distorting the “messy reality of the emergence of ideas”.
– Ken Booth, International Relations
‘This is an amazing book. It is a wide-ranging and often fairly detailed survey of political thought around the world that genuinely takes a global standpoint. It is not that the Western tradition is front and center and then occasionally other views enter; the author engages with the various traditions on their own terms and puts them side by side. There is no book out there that is remotely like this. The fields of political theory and political philosophy will benefit enormously from having this book available.’
– Mathias Risse, Harvard University, US
‘This book is the first attempt to cover all the world's literate cultures in a single history of political thought. As such, it is a significant achievement.’
– Tony Black, University of Dundee, UK
Contributors
