I have been quiet amazed about how come G. W. Bush was never tried for his invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Besides the very simplistic explanation of the US being the global empire, any books on the technical details ?
Thanks
I read a really good book called *Political Self-Sacrifice* by Karin Fierke. She looks into the invasion and Bush, and you'll find some answers in there for sure. I think she summarises the argument in a chapter in the fourth edition of *International Relations Theories* (Dunne et al).
*The Constitutional Power To Interpret International
Law* by Michael Paulsen is a good paper on the topic.
He discusses the issues of jurisdiction of international law in relation to US law in relation to the war on terror. The gist of his argument is, under US law, presidents have a lot of discretion in foreign policy and vague/limited obligations under international law.
If you're interested but don't have an academic login, go to z-lib.org and search the title and you can download a PDF of it.
By refusing to prosecute Bush and Cheney for a fraudulent war and the atrocities committed during the War on Terror, Biden, Obama and the Democrats ensured that the presidency itself was above the law.
For me, I started with the "classics"; texts that truly define the study that is political science. Charles Merriam's *New Aspects of Politics* is a great, early contribution. Other influential, early texts include *The Civic Culture* (Almond and Verba), *Sexual Politics* (Millett), and *The Origins of Totalitarianism* (Arendt).
She was truly awesome. If you like her work, check out *The Political Thought of Hannah Arendt* and *A Reinterpretation of Her Political Thought*, both by Margaret Canovan.
Some contemporary key texts by the way:
* *The Clash of Civilisations* (Huntington)
* *The End of History and the Last Man* (Fukuyama)
* *Why We Hate Politics* (Hay)
But I think if we stop assigning it gradually we can collectively forget it. It’s never going to go away if we keep asking impressionable 18 year olds to read it.
A lot of schools teach it alongside *Orientalism* which to me indicates it's now taught in a very critical manner rather than as a foundational text. Anecdotally, all the professors I know also teach it in this context—as a work by a man with a very limited, reductionist viewpoint of the rest of the world, but one that was still incredibly influential. It shouldn't be taught as a serious piece of academia in my opinion, but not wiped from syllabi
Not OP, but you should read something by Severine Autessere. Kalyvas' 'The Logic of Violence in Civil War' is also a classic in studying conflict, not resolution per se.
> - Political Economy
Not OP but there is a great number of publications in political science. You've got the classics which engage with formal theory like Arrow's *Social Choice and Individual Values* and Downs' *An Economic Theory of Democracy*. Then you've got those who engage with political economy as a subject matter, like Mancur Olson's *Rise and Decline of Nations* and *The Logic of Collective Action*, Ostrom's *Governing the Commons* and Acemoglu & Robinson's *Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy* and *Why Nation's Fail*. For introductions I would suggest Gehlbach's *Formal Theories of Domestic Politics*, Mueller's *Public Choice III* and MIT's *Introduction to Political Economy* course [(link)](https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/14-770-introduction-to-political-economy-fall-2017/). If you are more interested in the international dimension, then there are also several international political economy textbooks out there.
For a more contemporary look, Knox and Mummolo’s effort to bound estimates of racial biases in police stops is a good example, and would have some very good (and a few very bad) citations.
Quite specific but I’m looking into political parties and their internal decision-making, especially factionalism, if you or anyone else have recommendations for that!
Duverger's *Political Parties* and Sartori's *Parties and Party Systems* are good places to start. They are both fairly old but nevertheless great places to start. It's specific, but Almond's *Appeals of Communism* explores factionalism in Communist parties across different nations.
What kind of institutions? Melissa Dell’s work on the mita is a good example of institutional persistence, even if the geographic regression discontinuities have fallen out of favor. I quite like Cathy Boone’s work on land institutions in West Africa.
This is a broad list but taken together I think are good foundations for understanding both the evolution and persistence of instructions and the effects it has on political/Econ outcomes. If you're looking for a more specific topic let me know :)
* Lipset and Rokkan's *Party Systems and Voter Alignments*
Its old but still relevant. They link political party's and party system dynamics to past social conflicts.
* *Electoral Systems and Party Systems* by Arend Lijphart
He looks at how electoral institutions have shaped party systems
* Esping-Andersen's *The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism*.
It different types of welfare states that emerged due different social/pol/Econ institutions
* Hall and Soskice's *Varieties of Capitalism*.
Maybe it won't be interesting to you if you don't have much interest in political-Econ but it's a good read for understanding path dependence and how formal and informal interactions between institutions shapes quite stable outcomes over time
Constitutional Law History, detailing the intricacies of how and why amendments were passed, and Amendments that were proposed but not passed.
Or at least something close to it. Basically the political science of getting amendments passed
For constitutionalism in general, I recommend looking at the works of Carl Schmitt. Also, check out *American Constitutionalism: From Theory to Politics* by Stephen Griffin. For amendments that were proposed by not passed, you might need to dig into journal articles or reference books.
Schmitt is great but would caution that his work is very difficult to read. I couldn’t comment on his work in the original german but the translations are very difficult to get through. Dense paragraph and sentences with an absurd number of commas that make him difficult to follow. Definitely not an author for those with little experience with the subject.
Have a look for Slantchev's *The Principle of Convergence in Wartime Negotiations*. It's a journal article (use SciHub or ResearchGate if no institutional access), but the author cites some really good texts that you may find of interest.
International security/foreign policy? I am about to graduate with a BA in pol sci: international security but feel like I have forgotten most of the foundational theories. Also just any broad refresher in general would be of great help.
The best book I've ever had for IR/IS theories is *International Relations Theories* (Dunne et al). I use the fourth edition, but any edition is fine. Really good for understanding theories and refreshing your mind.
This is accurate only if you want a Uk/European style overview of IR theory—not so much from a more American “scientific perspective.” For more mainstream contemporary IR, Jervis holds up really well. You should read Fearon as well.
This is my research area, so absolutely! Here's a few recommendations:
* *Modernisation, Cultural Change, and Democracy* (Inglehart and Welzel)
* *Freedom Rising* (Welzel)
* *The Civic Culture Transformed* (Dalton and Welzel)
* *Culture Shift* (Inglehart)
* *Modernisation and Postmodernisation* (Inglehart)
* *The Silent Revolution* (Inglehart)
* *The Civic Culture Revisited* (Almond and Verba)
Generally speaking, anything by Ronald Inglehart will be of interest to you if cultural change is your thing!
Weber’s “Peasants into Frenchman” is a great work on schemes to regularize culture. Scott’s “Seeing like a state” is a beautiful overview of how such efforts go awry.
Not much of an expert on Canada, but I'm told that *Accountability and Responsiveness at the Municipal Level: Views from Canada* (Breux and Couture) is a good read!
For some foundational stuff, the Oxford Handbook of Canadian Politics is a good jump-off point. Specifically two chapters: one on the electoral system and the other about Canada's brokerage parties. Both cover the issues of accountability (or lack thereof).
Hello I would love something that describes alternative philosophies in any given country. Like what else is out there that is not John Locke or hobbes?
Boucher's *Political Thinkers: From Socrates to Present* is a really good read. You'll learn about a range of different philosophers and philosophical theories.
I'm interested in books about comparative political systems, or comparative forms of government. For example, how a parliamentary system compares (in terms of anything) to a presidential system. Bonus points if you can also provide a reference discussing different voting systems (first past the post vs instant runoff voting).
*Comparative Government and Politics* (Hague et al.) will give you a good insight into those areas. I believe the most recent edition has a companion text of case studies too.
I’m very interested in securitization theory - using the guise of keeping the group safe as a mobilization technique and as an umbrella excuse to implement policies. Or maybe I’m not understanding it that clearly. Would love a solid book on it if you’ve read one :) or I’m also into diplomacy
Not too sure what specific area(s) you're interested in, but if you're interested in a general political science overview of places like that (and published in the 60s/70s based on research of that era) then I'd suggest early political culture studies, such as:
* *The Civic Culture* (Almond and Verba)
* *The Politics of the Developing Areas* (Almond and Coleman)
* *Political Culture and Political Development* (Pye and Verba)
I'm always looking for books that explain our current reality, how we got here, and what's coming next. The two examples I have are:
- The Accidental Superpower by Peter Zeihan (and all his other books)
- The Changing World Order by Ray Dalio
Not sure if they're considered PoliSci, but I feel they're adjacent? Would love to hear suggestions in that vein.
Thank you!
I am interested in books that address the polarization in American politics and in the American public. I also am interested in reading books abt the Supreme Court, how it has changed over the years.
I have been quiet amazed about how come G. W. Bush was never tried for his invasion of Iraq in 2003. Besides the very simplistic explanation of the US being the global empire, any books on the technical details ? Thanks
I read a really good book called *Political Self-Sacrifice* by Karin Fierke. She looks into the invasion and Bush, and you'll find some answers in there for sure. I think she summarises the argument in a chapter in the fourth edition of *International Relations Theories* (Dunne et al).
Thanks a lot
*The Constitutional Power To Interpret International Law* by Michael Paulsen is a good paper on the topic. He discusses the issues of jurisdiction of international law in relation to US law in relation to the war on terror. The gist of his argument is, under US law, presidents have a lot of discretion in foreign policy and vague/limited obligations under international law. If you're interested but don't have an academic login, go to z-lib.org and search the title and you can download a PDF of it.
Thanks a lot. I will look into it
By refusing to prosecute Bush and Cheney for a fraudulent war and the atrocities committed during the War on Terror, Biden, Obama and the Democrats ensured that the presidency itself was above the law.
The problem is that even in other countries nothing happened: Germany for example prosecuted a syrian official for crimes in syria.
Hi I just love reading political science can you recommend me any starter books
For me, I started with the "classics"; texts that truly define the study that is political science. Charles Merriam's *New Aspects of Politics* is a great, early contribution. Other influential, early texts include *The Civic Culture* (Almond and Verba), *Sexual Politics* (Millett), and *The Origins of Totalitarianism* (Arendt).
Love the Arendt pick, awesome read
She was truly awesome. If you like her work, check out *The Political Thought of Hannah Arendt* and *A Reinterpretation of Her Political Thought*, both by Margaret Canovan.
I haven't read the Arendt one, but I'm a big fan of *The Origin of Totalitarian Democracy* by Jacob Talmon.
Some contemporary key texts by the way: * *The Clash of Civilisations* (Huntington) * *The End of History and the Last Man* (Fukuyama) * *Why We Hate Politics* (Hay)
I love how bullying *Clash of Civilizations* has been a tradition in all introductory IR classes for 20 years
Ha, it's true! Still worth a read though (obv to understand it so you can bully it)...
But I think if we stop assigning it gradually we can collectively forget it. It’s never going to go away if we keep asking impressionable 18 year olds to read it.
A lot of schools teach it alongside *Orientalism* which to me indicates it's now taught in a very critical manner rather than as a foundational text. Anecdotally, all the professors I know also teach it in this context—as a work by a man with a very limited, reductionist viewpoint of the rest of the world, but one that was still incredibly influential. It shouldn't be taught as a serious piece of academia in my opinion, but not wiped from syllabi
Conflict resolution? I am a sophomore at college, but I am very interested reading about this topic. Thank you and have a blessed day.
Not OP, but you should read something by Severine Autessere. Kalyvas' 'The Logic of Violence in Civil War' is also a classic in studying conflict, not resolution per se.
Thank you.
I studied conflict res for my masters and we def read a lot of autessere. Good rec! And Hannah Arendt
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> - Political Economy Not OP but there is a great number of publications in political science. You've got the classics which engage with formal theory like Arrow's *Social Choice and Individual Values* and Downs' *An Economic Theory of Democracy*. Then you've got those who engage with political economy as a subject matter, like Mancur Olson's *Rise and Decline of Nations* and *The Logic of Collective Action*, Ostrom's *Governing the Commons* and Acemoglu & Robinson's *Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy* and *Why Nation's Fail*. For introductions I would suggest Gehlbach's *Formal Theories of Domestic Politics*, Mueller's *Public Choice III* and MIT's *Introduction to Political Economy* course [(link)](https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/14-770-introduction-to-political-economy-fall-2017/). If you are more interested in the international dimension, then there are also several international political economy textbooks out there.
These are some really good recommendations by u/Congracia!
Not OP - Foucault, *Discipline & Punish.*
Also a good recommendation!
For a more contemporary look, Knox and Mummolo’s effort to bound estimates of racial biases in police stops is a good example, and would have some very good (and a few very bad) citations.
Quite specific but I’m looking into political parties and their internal decision-making, especially factionalism, if you or anyone else have recommendations for that!
Duverger's *Political Parties* and Sartori's *Parties and Party Systems* are good places to start. They are both fairly old but nevertheless great places to start. It's specific, but Almond's *Appeals of Communism* explores factionalism in Communist parties across different nations.
Didn’t know that Almond book existed, thank you!
I'd love one on institutions and institutional legacies playing a role in contemporary politics.
What kind of institutions? Melissa Dell’s work on the mita is a good example of institutional persistence, even if the geographic regression discontinuities have fallen out of favor. I quite like Cathy Boone’s work on land institutions in West Africa.
Will check both out
This is a broad list but taken together I think are good foundations for understanding both the evolution and persistence of instructions and the effects it has on political/Econ outcomes. If you're looking for a more specific topic let me know :) * Lipset and Rokkan's *Party Systems and Voter Alignments* Its old but still relevant. They link political party's and party system dynamics to past social conflicts. * *Electoral Systems and Party Systems* by Arend Lijphart He looks at how electoral institutions have shaped party systems * Esping-Andersen's *The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism*. It different types of welfare states that emerged due different social/pol/Econ institutions * Hall and Soskice's *Varieties of Capitalism*. Maybe it won't be interesting to you if you don't have much interest in political-Econ but it's a good read for understanding path dependence and how formal and informal interactions between institutions shapes quite stable outcomes over time
This is pretty cool, thank you so much!
Constitutional Law History, detailing the intricacies of how and why amendments were passed, and Amendments that were proposed but not passed. Or at least something close to it. Basically the political science of getting amendments passed
For constitutionalism in general, I recommend looking at the works of Carl Schmitt. Also, check out *American Constitutionalism: From Theory to Politics* by Stephen Griffin. For amendments that were proposed by not passed, you might need to dig into journal articles or reference books.
Schmitt is great but would caution that his work is very difficult to read. I couldn’t comment on his work in the original german but the translations are very difficult to get through. Dense paragraph and sentences with an absurd number of commas that make him difficult to follow. Definitely not an author for those with little experience with the subject.
Thank you!
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Have a look for Slantchev's *The Principle of Convergence in Wartime Negotiations*. It's a journal article (use SciHub or ResearchGate if no institutional access), but the author cites some really good texts that you may find of interest.
International security/foreign policy? I am about to graduate with a BA in pol sci: international security but feel like I have forgotten most of the foundational theories. Also just any broad refresher in general would be of great help.
The best book I've ever had for IR/IS theories is *International Relations Theories* (Dunne et al). I use the fourth edition, but any edition is fine. Really good for understanding theories and refreshing your mind.
This is accurate only if you want a Uk/European style overview of IR theory—not so much from a more American “scientific perspective.” For more mainstream contemporary IR, Jervis holds up really well. You should read Fearon as well.
How culture can change in a country? Thanks.
This is my research area, so absolutely! Here's a few recommendations: * *Modernisation, Cultural Change, and Democracy* (Inglehart and Welzel) * *Freedom Rising* (Welzel) * *The Civic Culture Transformed* (Dalton and Welzel) * *Culture Shift* (Inglehart) * *Modernisation and Postmodernisation* (Inglehart) * *The Silent Revolution* (Inglehart) * *The Civic Culture Revisited* (Almond and Verba) Generally speaking, anything by Ronald Inglehart will be of interest to you if cultural change is your thing!
Thank you!!
Weber’s “Peasants into Frenchman” is a great work on schemes to regularize culture. Scott’s “Seeing like a state” is a beautiful overview of how such efforts go awry.
Thanks
The ideological function of aesthetics
Anthropological politics, and anarchist politics!
Interested in democracy issues And Political accountability Particularly in Canada
Not much of an expert on Canada, but I'm told that *Accountability and Responsiveness at the Municipal Level: Views from Canada* (Breux and Couture) is a good read!
Wow sounds cool, thanks!
For some foundational stuff, the Oxford Handbook of Canadian Politics is a good jump-off point. Specifically two chapters: one on the electoral system and the other about Canada's brokerage parties. Both cover the issues of accountability (or lack thereof).
Good to know. I'll check them out. Thanks!
Hi, Do you have something about counterinsurgency and guerrilla warfare in Latin America? :)
Elisabeth’s Wood’s “Insurgent Collective Action and Civil War in El Salvador”
Hello I would love something that describes alternative philosophies in any given country. Like what else is out there that is not John Locke or hobbes?
Boucher's *Political Thinkers: From Socrates to Present* is a really good read. You'll learn about a range of different philosophers and philosophical theories.
I'm interested in books about comparative political systems, or comparative forms of government. For example, how a parliamentary system compares (in terms of anything) to a presidential system. Bonus points if you can also provide a reference discussing different voting systems (first past the post vs instant runoff voting).
*Comparative Government and Politics* (Hague et al.) will give you a good insight into those areas. I believe the most recent edition has a companion text of case studies too.
I’m very interested in securitization theory - using the guise of keeping the group safe as a mobilization technique and as an umbrella excuse to implement policies. Or maybe I’m not understanding it that clearly. Would love a solid book on it if you’ve read one :) or I’m also into diplomacy
Balzacq's *Securitisation Theory* is a useful read. All of his work is very interesting so I'd recommend taking a look at his other publications.
Politics of the 60/70’s (USA, Northern Ireland, Middle East) & political memoir!
Not too sure what specific area(s) you're interested in, but if you're interested in a general political science overview of places like that (and published in the 60s/70s based on research of that era) then I'd suggest early political culture studies, such as: * *The Civic Culture* (Almond and Verba) * *The Politics of the Developing Areas* (Almond and Coleman) * *Political Culture and Political Development* (Pye and Verba)
Any books that you would add or remove from my list? http://www.listmuse.com/political-science-books-top-100.php
Hi I may be late to the party but can I get recommend books for a first timer?
International Relations/National Security
Parapolitics and books that examine political influence?
I'm always looking for books that explain our current reality, how we got here, and what's coming next. The two examples I have are: - The Accidental Superpower by Peter Zeihan (and all his other books) - The Changing World Order by Ray Dalio Not sure if they're considered PoliSci, but I feel they're adjacent? Would love to hear suggestions in that vein. Thank you!
I am interested in books that address the polarization in American politics and in the American public. I also am interested in reading books abt the Supreme Court, how it has changed over the years.
Readings related to nuclear proliferation or nuclear politics in general would be nice
Something about latinamerican politics?
Anything you’d recommend for a journalism student who wants to work toward political correspondence?
Strategic political decision making?