How to Think about Politics
A Guide in Five Parts
Published on 27. March 2025
Book
Hardback
176 pages
978-0-19-767935-7 (ISBN)
Description
It can be easy to feel overwhelmed by politics. At a time when many of us want to grasp what is going on, it is getting harder to do so. Rather than becoming caught up in the swirl of day-to-day events, Peter Allen suggests that we instead return to the fundamentals and cultivate a set of tools and perspectives to help us interpret the political world. How to Think About Politics is his concise and accessible guide to doing so. Mixing contemporary political science research with real-life examples, the book focuses on five ideas that will help readers to consider political events in a new way. Exploring power, representation, knowledge, interests, and possibility, this book offers tools for thinking about politics that will help readers interrogate their own political choices. Underlining the importance of these five fundamental political ideas, Allen makes the case that the scope of what politics is and what it can achieve is often greater than we are told.
Reviews / Votes
In our chaotic era, our politics seems ever more volatile, and citizens ever less empowered. But Peter Allen's brilliant book reminds us to see from the forest from the trees-not to get caught up in this year's politicians and events but to see the core themes that have always driven how we organise, care for, and command each other. A wonderfully written guide to the fundamental forces that matter in our political lives." -Ben Ansell, Nuffield College One of the most lively and thought-provoking politics books I've read in a long time. Peter Allen writes with intelligence and humour and integrity and here he gifts the public that rare thing: a discussion of how to think about politics aimed, not at the denizens of Westminster, but the rest of us." -Aditya Chakrabortty, The Guardian In an age of cynicism about politics in general and politicians in particular, Peter Allen sets out to seduce his readers into thinking constructively about politics. * Michael Laver, Society *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 140 mm
Weight
327 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-767935-7 (9780197679357)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
05/2025
Oxford University Press Inc
€25.50
Shipment within 15-20 days
E-Book
02/2025
OUP eBook
€18.49
Available for download
E-Book
02/2025
OUP eBook
€18.49
Available for download
Person
Peter Allen is Professor of Politics at the University of Bath. His research focuses on political representation and political behaviour. His work has been funded by the ESRC, AHRC, and British Academy and he was a 2017 AHRC IPS Fellow at the Library of Congress, Washington D.C. His first book The Political Class was published by Oxford University Press in April 2018.
Content
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Breathe the Air Chapter 1: Think About Power Chapter 2: Think About Knowledge Chapter 3: Think About Presence Chapter 4: Think About What You Want Chapter 5: Think About Possibility Thinking About Politics in the Polycrisis Notes
Index
Introduction: Breathe the Air Chapter 1: Think About Power Chapter 2: Think About Knowledge Chapter 3: Think About Presence Chapter 4: Think About What You Want Chapter 5: Think About Possibility Thinking About Politics in the Polycrisis Notes
Index