Introduction to Political Theory

The distinction between force and constraint, state and government When we define the state in terms of force, we naturally are ...

that is mostly governmental in that its rules do not have force attached to them, but rely upon social pressures – naming and sh ...

ends, since some argue that only modern states are sovereign, while others that all states are sovereign. Does claiming a monopo ...

Problems with the theories of state sovereignty Those who assume that sovereignty is about the power of the state are mistaken. ...

The broad view of state sovereignty Realists in international relations define sovereignty in terms of states, whether these sta ...

society. This assumption runs contrary to everything we know about individuals. The individual who has not been ‘socialised’ can ...

However, instead of taking this force for granted, as though it was part and parcel of ‘human nature’ (as Hobbes does), it could ...

usually reject the kind of distinctions that appear in this chapter – the distinction between state and government, force and co ...

expectations lead to general, indirect long-term benefits being sacrificed in favour of immediate, tangible and focused pay-offs ...

federation of states – whereas what is required is the development of global identities that go beyond the state. It is importan ...

The state can be defined in a way that sees its central attribute as the exercise of legitimate force; is based upon morality, o ...

Easton, D. (1990) An Analysis of Political StructureNew York: Routledge. Forsyth, M. (1987) ‘The State’ in D. Miller (ed.) The B ...

Chapter 2 Freedom Introduction Freedom is regarded by many as the pre-eminent political value, but what does it mean to be free? ...

If boxing, then why not (consensual) sadomasochism? I n December 1990 16 men were given prison sentences of up to four-and-a-hal ...

The presumption in favour of freedom The starting point for many, although not all, political theorists in debating this topic i ...

Positive libertyis involved in the answer to the question: ‘what, or who, is the source of control or interference that can det ...

and irrationality? Second, some things are trivial – is your freedom to watch inane daytime television as valuable as your freed ...

used above and consider social and economic phenomena such as wealth distribution or unemployment it can be difficult directly t ...

Mill’s aim is to establish what rights people should have by determining when it is legitimate to interfere with their actions ...

truth is advanced in the competition of ideas. This assumes that there is a truth (or set of truths), and the pursuit of that tr ...