This edited book introduces students and scholars to Comparative Political Thought. Featuring contributions from an excellent international line-up of esteemed scholars it examines some of the following issues:
Is political theory 'Western-centric'? What can we learn from non-Western traditions of political thought? How do we compare different strands of national and regional political thought? Political thought in China, India, the Middle East and Latin America Islamic political thought Political thought in the wake of post-colonialism

This is a much-needed overview of this key emerging area and will be of interest to all tsudents of political theory, thought and philosophy.

Reviews

"In this valuable contribution to the rapidly growing body of work on comparative political thought, Freeden and Vincent bring together scholarly demanding yet highly accessible essays that wrestle with some of the most pressing issues of our global age: the role of political participation in the Arab Spring, the impact of neoliberalism on Confucianism and communism in China, and the multiple trajectories of postcolonialism in India. Highly recommended!"

Manfred B. Steger, Professor of Political Science, University of Hawai'i and Professor of Global Studies, RMIT University, Australia.

"In this first very rich volume of a series on comparative political thought beyond the conventional Western focus, an excellent team of scholars provides thought-provoking and urgent reflection on the preconditions of democracy in Europe and the world."

Bo Stråth, Academy of Finland Distinguished Chair in Nordic, European and World History, Helsinki University"

Contents

1. Introduction: The Study of Comparative Political Thought Michael Freeden and Andrew Vincent 2. On the historicity of ‘the political’: Rajaniti and politicern Indian thought Sudipta Kaviraj 3. Latin American approaches to ‘the political’ Laurence Whitehead 4. Communism, Confucianism, and charisma: The political in modern China Rana Mitter 5. Lineages of political society Partha Chatterjee 6. Acting and acting out: Conceptions of political participation in the Middle East Charles Tripp 7. Citizenship after orientalism: Genealogical investigations Engin F. Isin 8. Forms of participation in Muslim political heritage Abdulaziz Sachedina 9. On vernacular cosmopolitanisms, multiple modernities and the task of comparative political thought Olivier Remaud 10. When is comparative political thought (not) comparative? Chris Goto-Jones

Author Bio

Michael Freeden is Emeritus Professor of Politics, and the founder of the Centre for Political Ideologies, at the University of Oxford. Andrew Vincent is Honorary Professor at Cardiff University and Emeritus Professor at the University of Sheffield.