The Resurgence of Political Theory

Abstract

Political theory has flourished over the last 20 years but it has also become more fragmented. The critical study of classic texts has been replaced by a more narrowly historical approach, which seeks to locate texts in their political contexts. A very recent development, conceptual history, promises a closer relationship between historical and contemporary theory. Conceptual analysis has given way to normative political theory, concerned to find principled justifications for political arrangements. The major cleavage has been between individualists, who look for universal foundations in postulates such as human nature, and communitarians, who begin with persons embedded in contingent social relationships and practices. In applied political theory, the major shift has been from institutional questions to the analysis of issues in public policy, such as welfare provision and sexual and racial discrimination.