Book reviews
Book Review: Islamic Political Thought: An Introduction
This volume covers central themes of Islamic thinking such as the caliphate, Shari’a, the life of Muhammad, jihad, and the Qu’ran. Islamic Political Thought: An Introduction addresses how modernity, minorities, and women’s rights relate to the Islamic intellectual tradition, writes Ed Jones, who finds this book to be mandatory reading for anyone hoping to understand the core themes behind […]
Book Review: The Lure of Technocracy
In his latest offering, The Lure of Technocracy, Jüregen Habermas argues for Europe to continue working towards a closer political union based upon a discourse-theoretical model of politics. Elizabeth Folan O’Connor writes that this model can help the continent reach a ‘place where the all the nations of Europe stand alongside each other as equals in a democratically legitimate political union as […]
Book Review: Sexual Politics in Modern Ireland
This edited volume is not a comprehensive overview of the role and experience of sexual politics in modern Ireland, but rather a diverse range of topics that explores the gaps in gender studies within Irish history, writes Muireann O’Dwyer. Sexual Politics in Modern Ireland sets out to explore gender, sex and sexuality using new data to explore stories that […]
Book Review: War and Democratic Constraint: How the Public Influences Foreign Policy
The book presents an original and engaging argument for the necessity for further analysis into choices democracies make prior to engaging in conflict, and the impact of the media and the public on decision makers, writes Gemma Bird. War and Democratic Constraint: How the Public Influences Foreign Policy. Matthew A. Baum and Philip B. K. Potter. […]
Book Review: The Limits of Neoliberalism: Authority, Sovereignty and the Logic of Competition
Central to the book is the problem of ‘critical capacities’ of neoliberalism. The author asks: What is the relation between economic rationality and political authority? On what grounds does a neoliberal state legitimate its authority, given that neoliberal critique erodes substantive political basis for justification? Taras Fedirko finds this book offers poignant analysis, but is less clear […]
Book Review: Career Behaviour and the European Parliament: All Roads Lead Through Brussels?
The main contribution to the literature that Career Behaviour and the European Parliament makes, writes Sara Reis, is to create a single theoretical framework that can predict under which circumstances an MEP will behave in their career choices: use the European Parliament as a temporary springboard for a position at the national level, or consider the […]
Book Review: The Politics of Third Wave Feminisms: Neoliberalism, Intersectionality, and the State in Britain and the US
In The Politics of Third Wave Feminisms: Neoliberalism, Intersectionality, and the State in Britain and the US, Elizabeth Evans produces a volume that discusses the concept and practice of intersectionality and the impact of neoliberal policies on third wave Feminism in Britain and the US, writes Isabel Lopez Ruiz, who recommends it to anyone with a passing interest in Feminism, […]
Book Review: Global Democratic Theory: A Critical Introduction
Global Democratic Theory analyses a number of theories related to democracy at different levels of government. Issues of representation of different civil society groups and government accountability are among the main themes. Mehmet Kerem Coban recommends the book “for all readers because we are all affected by ‘democratic deficits’ at various levels of the policy-making process.” […]
Book Review: Good times, bad times: The welfare myth of them and us
Two-thirds of UK government spending now goes on the welfare state and where the money is spent – healthcare, education, pensions, benefits – is the centre of political and public debate. Good Times, bad times says this debate is dominated by the myth that the population divides into those who benefit from the welfare state […]
Book Review: The Relevance of Political Science
A new collection engages directly with how political science can achieve wider relevance as a discipline. Matt Wood finds The Relevance of Political Science a must read for any scholar interested in the impact debate and he welcomes a return to the more social constructivist ideas of impact through teaching and learning. But there is […]
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