HOW TO USE THESE WRITTEN MATERIALS

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 497.

These handout aims to provide students with an introduction to the main concepts encountered in political analysis. Each concept is discussed in two parts. The first part considers definitions: it examines the most important meanings and usages of the concept in question, as well as where and how it has been applied. In the case of contested concepts, or concepts whose meanings change in different contexts, this is indicated by the use of italics. The second part of the discussion, entitled Significance, explores the wider importance of the concept in building up political understanding. It examines matters such as the origins and development of the concept, and historical, ideological and other factors that have affected its role and status. By no means, however, is the discussion intended to be exhaustive. Students should be able to acquire from this book a working knowledge of the meanings, usages and applications of concepts, but for more detailed coverage and more thorough explanation they are encouraged to consult the suggestions for further reading that appear at the end of each section.The concepts are organised in alphabetical order within seven sections – Basic concepts, Ideologies, Approaches, Values, Systems, Structures and Levels. This is intended both to draw attention to the general character and function of a concept and to facilitate comparisons and contrasts between concepts that have similar characters and functions. The general emphasis of each section is as follows:

Two reservations nevertheless need to be borne in mind about this way of organising political concepts. The first is that, although the categories may be useful in highlighting certain features of a concept, they may also be misleading. In particular, the divisions between the different sections are, at best, permeable. For instance, ideologies are also, in many cases, approaches; levels overlap to some degree with systems; and both systems and structures are invariably entangled with values. The second problem follows naturally from the first. It is that location of particular concepts within the sections is sometimes debatable and may, in the final analysis, be simply arbitrary. ‘Communism' can legitimately be viewed as a value, an ideology and a system; ‘democracy' is clearly both a value and a system; ‘elitism' is here treated as a system, but might equally be regarded as a value or even an ideology. The list could go on. It is important, therefore, that students use the different sections as a (usually) useful guide, and do not take them to be rigid compartments that assign to each concept a one-dimensional character or function. Indeed, where such confusions and complexities exist, they are usually addressed in the discussion of the concept itself.

In order to facilitate cross-referencing and avoid unnecessary repetition, terms that are defined elsewhere in the book are indicated by an asterisk, on the first occasion they appear within the discussion of each concept. They can be located either via the Contents or by a page reference in bold in the Index. To ensure a consistent focus upon the meanings and significance of concepts, no information appears in the text on the major political thinkers referred to, except for their dates. However, a Glossary of Political Thinkers is provided at the end of the book that offers a brief introduction to their lives and ideas. Finally, works that are cited in the text are listed in the Bibliography; this does not, however, include works that are only referred to in the Glossary of Political Thinkers.