British Political Theory in the Twentieth Century

The British study of politics has perhaps exerted no greater influence than through the field of political theory. This volume offers a selection of writings from some of the greatest names in British political theory in the twentieth century. The chosen essays illustrate the variety and development of British Political Theory as it follows developments in British politics, from British Idealism to contemporary multiculturalism and pluralism.

Kelly begins with an interpretive essay that examines the ways in which political theory has been practiced and explores the reasons for its transformation. The main body of the book comprises essays and selections from some of the greatest names in British political thought and political science, including Bosanquet, Hobhouse, Laski, Cole, Oakeshott, Berlin, Hart and Barry to Carole Pateman, Anne Phillips and David Miller, amongst contemporaries. The editor provides an introductory essay which locates the work of each great thinker in the unfolding of the practice of political theory in British universities in the twentieth century. The editor’s selection and the interpretive essay demonstrate how the development of political theory follows the rise, transformation and challenge to the notion of the British state in the twentieth century.