政治思想史を政治哲学・政治学の中の一分野に位置づけ、この分野が扱うテーマや疑問をラインハルト・コゼレック、レオ・シュトラウス、ミッシェル・フーコー、いわゆるケンブリッジ学派と呼ばれるクェンティン・スキナーやJ・G・A・ポーコックといった主な研究者たちの議論を通して紹介します。そして政治の歴史、理論、実践の現在の関係性を評価し、それが今日の政治とどのように関わりあっているかを分析します。
 

• Provides an overview of the history of political thought
• Assesses the interconnected relationships between political history, theory, and action
• Draws upon the work of key theorists such as Michel Foucault, John Pocock, Quentin Skinner, Hannah Arednt, and Judith Shklar, amongst others

   
Thinking about politics has tended to be historical in nature because of the comparisons and contrasts that can be drawn between past and present. Different periods in politics have used the past differently. At times political thought can be said to have been drawn directly from the study of history; at others, perhaps including our own time, the relationship is more indirect.
   
This Very Short Introduction explores the core concerns and questions in the field of the history of political thought. Richard Whatmore considers the history of political thought as a branch of political philosophy/political science, and examines the approaches of core theorists such as Reinhart Koselleck, Strauss, Michel Foucault, and the so-called Cambridge School of Quentin Skinner and John Pocock. Assessing the current relationship between political history, theory and action, Whatmore concludes with an analysis of its relevant for current politics.