It may be questioned, however, whether the doctrine as so far
developed has been able to fully confront the economic and social
problems of the new globalised economy. Indeed some have seen it as
no more than a public relations fig leaf to cover a naked lack of specific
remedies for current problems (Jacques, 1998). Popularised by Tony
Giddens as a new form of social democracy, for a few years in the late
1990s and early 2000s, the ‘third way’ offered politicians such as
Blair, Clinton and Schroeder a way of re-packaging left-of-centre
politics. Whilst a policy legacy may last, based around the concept of
a stakeholder society, as an ideology the term appears to have had a
limited shelf life.
Recommended reading
Bryson, Valerie, 1992, Feminist Political Theory: An Introduction,
London, Macmillan
Useful introduction to a key issue in contemporary debate.
De Crespigny, Anthony and Minogue, Kenneth (eds), 1976,
Contemporary Political Philosophers, London, Methuen
Useful collection of essays on some key recent political theorists.
Dobson, Andrew, 2000, Green Political Thought: An Introduction,
3rd edn, London, Routledge
Helpful exploration of a controversial area of modern political
thought.
Eccleshall, Robert et al., 1994, Political Ideologies: An Introduction,
2nd edn, London, Routledge
Useful standard introductory text – focused on the various ‘isms’
including liberalism, conservatism, socialism, democracy,
nationalism, fascism, ecologism and feminism.
Eickelman, Dale F. and Piscatori, James, 1996, Muslim Politics,
Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press
A good introduction which emphasises the complexity of divisions
in the Islamic world.
Etzioni, Amitai , 1995, The Spirit of Community, London, Fontana
A somewhat polemical statement of the communitarian case.
Heywood, Andrew, 1998, Political Ideologies: An Introduction, 2nd
edn, Basingstoke, Macmillan
IDEOLOGIES 101