P O L I T I C S G L O S S A R I E S Cover design: Cathy Sprent Edinburgh University Press 22 George Square Edinburgh EH8 9LF www.eup.ed.ac.uk ISBN 0 7486 2260 8 POLITICAL THEORY P O L I T I C S G L O S S A R I E S Series Editor: Keith Faulks Glossaries in this series provide brief, clear and convenient A–Z guides to the central concepts of the various branches of politics. They are thorough, authoritative and concise reference works which offer clear and consistent coverage of both traditional and contemporary terminology. Volumes in the series provide: • Dedicated coverage of particular topics within politics • Coverage of key terms and major figures • Practical examples of the terms defined • Cross-references to related terms John Hoffman A GLOSSARY OF A Glossary of Political Theory John Hoffman This book covers alphabetically both the major concepts in political theory and the key writers in the field. While ensuring accuracy and objectivity, the entries represent interpretations that are both challenging and interesting. The premise underlying the book is that politics cannot be studied without theory, in which case the more concrete and relevant the theory, the better. Presenting theory in an abstract fashion makes it daunting for students who can find it difficult to see the links between theory and practice. The definitions in this glossary therefore relate political ideas to political realities (i.e. everyday controversies) in an attempt to make them as lively, stimulating and accessible as possible. Terms are selected based upon the concepts most regularly used in teaching. John Hoffman is Emeritus Professor of Political Theory at the University of Leicester. He is author of numerous books including Sovereignty (1998), Gender and Sovereignty (2001), Citizenship Beyond the State (2004) and Introduction to Political Theory (with Paul Graham, 2006). Edinburgh POLITICAL THEORY HOFFMAN A GLOSSARY OF A GLOSSARY OF POLITICAL THEORY M537 - HOFFMAN PRE M_UP 13/12/06 1:19 PM Page i Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gary:P Politics Glossaries Series Editor: Keith Faulks This series introduces key terms within the core subject areas of politics. The aim is to provide a brief, clear and convenient A–Z guide to the central concepts of the various branches of politics. The series provides thorough, authoritative and concise ref- erence works which offer clear and consistent coverage of both traditional and contemporary terminology. Students and teachers of politics at all levels of study will find the books invaluable, though the books are aimed primarily at readers new to a subject area. In addition to appealing to mainstream politics students, the series will also appeal to those studying courses in sociology, journalism, media studies and social policy that include elements of politics. Volumes in the series provide: ■ Dedicated coverage of particular topics within politics ■ Coverage of key terms and major figures ■ Practical examples of the terms defined ■ Cross-references to related terms Titles in the series include: John Hoffman, A Glossary of Political Theory Alistair Jones, A Glossary of the European Union Alex Thomson, A Glossary of US Politics and Government Duncan Watts, A Glossary of UK Government and Politics M537 - HOFFMAN PRE M_UP 13/12/06 1:19 PM Page ii Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gary: A Glossary of Political Theory John Hoffman Edinburgh University Press M537 - HOFFMAN PRE M_UP 13/12/06 1:19 PM Page iii Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gary © John Hoffman, 2007 Edinburgh University Press Ltd 22 George Square, Edinburgh Typeset in 10.5/13 Sabon by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Manchester, and printed and bound in Great Britain by Cox & Wyman Ltd, Reading A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 0 7486 2803 2 (hardback) ISBN 978 0 7486 2260 3 (paperback) The right of John Hoffman to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. M537 - HOFFMAN PRE M_UP 13/12/06 1:19 PM Page iv Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gary: Contents Acknowledgements vi Introduction vii A Glossary of Political Theory 1 Bibliography 194 M537 - HOFFMAN PRE M_UP 13/12/06 1:19 PM Page v Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gary:P Acknowledgements I am very grateful for the help and advice given to me by Keith Faulks in writing this glossary. I would like to thank David Cox and Morten Fugelvand of Pearson’s Education Press for allowing me to draw upon some of the work I have done with Paul Graham in our Introduction to Political Theory. Gratitude needs also to be expressed to Bryan Turner, editor of the Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology, for permission to make use of some of my entries in this present volume. Also those who refereed the project, had kind things to say, and Edinburgh University Press who are very efficient and thoughtful publishers to write for. I would like to dedicate this book to the memory of Lisa Bloxham (the partner of James Hamill, a good friend of mine). Lisa died suddenly on 2 April 2005. M537 - HOFFMAN PRE M_UP 13/12/06 1:19 PM Page vi Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gary: Introduction This work assumes that politics cannot be studied without theory. All our statements about parties, movements, states and relationships between them presuppose theoretical views, so that political theory is an integral part of the study of politics. Why then are students of politics so nervous about theory? One reason has to be that political theory has traditionally been presented in an abstract fashion. By this I don’t mean that theory looks at concepts and movements in general terms. It is perfectly true that theory is not simply concerned, for example, with democracy in the UK in the 1990s, but with democracy as such. This generality can make students feel nervous and unanchored, but this problem can be (at least partly) offset by specific references and examples, and by the use of a language that avoids awkward terms – or carefully explains them where they are necessary. What makes political theory abstract in the pejorative sense of the word is a remoteness from reality and what the ordin- ary person in the street thinks of as political controversies. A major cause of this kind of abstraction is the idea that there is an unbridgeable gulf between facts and values, the empirical and the normative. I see this as a dogma that either treats theory as an analysis of data (in the tradition that prevails in much of the writing by political scientists in the USA) or regards it as ‘purely’ normative so that theory is disdainful of the facts. Contrived examples are used instead of instances from history or contemporary controversies. All political M537 - HOFFMAN PRE M_UP 13/12/06 1:19 PM Page vii Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gary statements combine the normative and the empirical, values and facts, and it is impossible in my view to say anything about politics that does not have an ethical implication. Even statements about individuals and freedom are controversial for those who espouse anti-liberal and fundamentalist views. The more that political ideas and theorists can be related to political realities (in the sense of everyday controversies), the more lively and interesting they become. Context is crucial and it needs to be continually spelt out. This view of politics inevitably affects the choice of con- cepts and the theorists listed. The key factor underpinning my choice has been the theorists and concepts that I have found central to my own teaching. I have tried to bring the theorists to life by saying something about their background as well as their publications, and the concepts chosen, of course, express my own values and outlook. This is particularly true with con- cepts like the state, government, sovereignty and relation- ships. Where I have views that many reject, and the position adopted reflects my own particular eccentricity, I have tried to make this clear. I seek to explain both the traditional usage and why I depart from it. I have found it useful to formulate the notion of a ‘momen- tum concept’ – an idea that captures both the continuity a concept has with the past as well as the need to reformulate it in the light of changing historical conditions. Thus, the concept of freedom is a momentum concept because it has a future rather different from its past. In ancient times, it was linked to the state; then under the influence of classical libera- lism, it was defined as freedom from external interference. Today it needs to incorporate a positive dimension so that freedom involves both an absence of external interference and a capacity to do things. This, however, is not the end of the road. The idea of a momentum concept sees change as infinite since future generations will add to the notion of freedom, to continue our example, in ways that we cannot envisage today. viii INTRODUCTION M537 - HOFFMAN PRE M_UP 13/12/06 1:19 PM Page viii Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gar I passionately hold the view that introductory books do not need to be simplistic because they are introductory, or that a definition that is profound must for that reason be complex and elusive. I have sought to link the academically respectable with a lively and relevant presentation. How far I have suc- ceeded I must leave to others to judge. Where a word appears in bold, this indicates that it has its own listing within the glossary. INTRODUCTION ix M537 - HOFFMAN PRE M_UP 13/12/06 1:19 PM Page ix Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gary: [...]... 1:22 PM Page 6 Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gary:P POLITICAL THEORY A Z implies a humanist emanicipation, and he insisted that there were two Marxes – a young Marx, who was a humanist, and an older Marx, a scientist, and they were separated by what Althusser called an ‘epistemological break’ Marx, as he saw it, was not writing about capital as a material reality, but as an object of thought In Lenin and Philosophy... - HOFFMAN TXT M_UP 13/12/06 1:22 PM Page 1 Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gary:P A Glossary of Political Theory M537 - HOFFMAN TXT M_UP 13/12/06 1:22 PM Page 2 Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gary:P M537 - HOFFMAN TXT M_UP 13/12/06 1:22 PM Page 3 Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gary:P A abstraction This involves a search for generalities The word ‘chair’ abstracts ‘chairness’ from a large number of particular chairs so that we can... democracy He takes slavery and patriarchy for M537 - HOFFMAN TXT M_UP 13/12/06 1:22 PM Page 11 Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gary: POLITICAL THEORY A Z 11 granted His politics are authoritarian and his texts are important for an understanding of pre-liberal thought See also: Plato, natural, democracy, slavery, patriarchy, state Further reading: Mulgan 1977 authority A contentious concept that some see as a form of. .. wife in 1980 and was confined to an asylum and released three years later See also: humanism, Hegel, Feuerbach, Marx, alienation, Eurocommunism Further reading: Callinicos 1976 anarchism A theory that opposes all forms of rule over individuals Anarchists are opposed both to the state and social pressures of all kinds Although many anarchists are socialists, not all are Philosophical anarchists like... and Philosophy he advances the view that we should characterise education and the media as ideological state apparatuses as opposed to repressive state apparatuses, and his critics have argued that such a characterisation fails to account for the relative independence of society from the state in a liberal society He was influenced by Eurocommunism and argued that classical Marxism was in deep crisis... influence, has given way to an explosion of concern about the nature of citizenship, and debates about the market, equality, nation and the state are often conducted around the concept of citizenship See also: liberalism, Marshall, state, class, market, equality, nation Further reading: Faulks 2000 class An important category, class is a political as well as economic term It denotes not simply a person’s... The Control of the Arms Race In 1965 he became the director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Research Unit based in London and established by the Foreign Of ce, and two years later, he accepted the post of Professor at the Research School of Pacific Studies at the Australian National University in Canberra He travelled widely, spending a year at the Jawaharal Nehru University in India During this... that animals have the capacity to suffer, and animal rights advocates argue that while animals may not be able to speak or use reason, the fact that they can suffer makes them equal to humans The argument that humans are superior to animals is labelled as ‘speciesism’, a chauvinism akin to racism or sexism Animals are sentient beings who should not be made to suffer through experimentation for human... the capitalist Feminist critics of Marx have argued that labour as the source of value is often interpreted in a way that ignores value that is produced by workers (usually women) in the home More traditional critics have argued that value also depends upon risk-taking and M537 - HOFFMAN TXT M_UP 13/12/06 1:22 PM Page 23 Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gary: POLITICAL THEORY A Z 23 those who invest capital are... rights An argument that seeks to go beyond the question of welfare for animals, and argues that animals must be placed on a par with humans in terms of their suffering The concept – and the movement that it has generated – takes the view that to allow humans to dominate animals is profoundly wrong, and singles out Descartes’s characterisation as animals as mere machines for particular ridicule Bentham . to Political Theory (with Paul Graham, 2006). Edinburgh POLITICAL THEORY HOFFMAN A GLOSSARY OF A GLOSSARY OF POLITICAL THEORY M537 - HOFFMAN PRE M_UP 13/12/06 1:19 PM Page i Gary Gary's. include: John Hoffman, A Glossary of Political Theory Alistair Jones, A Glossary of the European Union Alex Thomson, A Glossary of US Politics and Government Duncan Watts, A Glossary of UK Government. Government and Politics M537 - HOFFMAN PRE M_UP 13/12/06 1:19 PM Page ii Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gary: A Glossary of Political Theory John Hoffman Edinburgh University Press M537 - HOFFMAN PRE