War and Border Crossings brings together renowned scholars to address some of the most pressing problems in public policy, international affairs, and the intercultural issues of our day. Contributors from widely varying disciplines discuss cross-cultural ethical issues and international topics ranging from American international policy and the invasion and occupation of Iraq to domestic topics such as immigration, the war on drugs, cross-cultural bioethics and ethical issues involving American Indian tribes. The culture clashes discussed in these essays raise serious questions about what principles ought to inform the negotiating of conflicts in order to achieve, or at least approach, outcomes that are fundamentally just, fair, responsible, and ethical.

Now in its twelfth edition,Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal continues the book's tradition of offering a clear, concise, and comprehensive introduction to the ideas and ideals that shake and shape our political world. The text outlines a framework defining each ideology in terms of the four functions ideologies performs — explanation, evaluation, orientation, and political program — allowing students to compare, contrast, and analyze the various ideologies, developing their own unique views and critical thinking skills.

New to this Edition

A new co-author, Jennet Kirkpatrick, recognized for her teaching and scholarship in political theory, feminist theory, and resistance.

Chapter 2; updated material on voter suppression and populism.

Chapter 3; expanded discussion of the relationship between Adam Smith’s moral and economic theories; how John Stuart Mill’s views on free speech might apply to contemporary controversies; differences between John Rawls and Robert Nozick, and between neoclassical and welfare liberals more generally. Updated; discussion of the “Great Recession” and broader issues of economic inequality.

Chapter 4; extended discussion of Edmund Burke’s place within the conservative tradition. Updated; assessment of contemporary conservatism in light of Donald Trump’s presidency; new section on Christian Nationalism.

Chapter 5; extended discussion of Marx’s theory of history.

Chapter 6; updated the status of the socialist and communist traditions in China, Russia, and the United States.

Chapter 7; charted the resurgence of far right and neo-fascist politics in Europe. Discussion of the “Alt-Right” in the United States has been expanded, including new sections on QAnon and the “Great Replacement” theory. Also expanded upon; discussion of whether fascism could gain serious traction in the United States, and a new section on the reasons why some critics say Donald Trump is either a fascist, or dangerously close to becoming one.

Chapter 8; updated sections on Black liberation and feminism, including reference to George Floyd’s murder and the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Also, new material on settler colonialism and on the issues for all liberation ideologies raised by the case of undocumented immigrants, and extended discussion of liberation theology.

Chapter 9; updated material on the severity of the climate crisis, and the variety of responses that have emerged to address it.

Chapter 10; a new section on Hamas, and extended discussion of protests against Islamist rule in Iran focusing on the responses to Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody. Also updated; sections on ISIS and the Taliban in light of the former’s erosion and the latter’s return to power, in addition to references to internecine conflicts among radical Islamists.

Chapter 11; updated reasons for the conclusion that there will be no end of ideological conflicts soon, especially with the continued power of religious worldviews, globalization, and---perhaps most especially---the return of fascism worldwide.

Table of Contents

Part 1. Ideology and Democracy 1. Ideology and Ideologies 2. The Democratic Ideal Part 2. The Development of Political Ideologies 3. Liberalism 4. Conservatism 5. Socialism and Communism: From More to Marx 6. Socialism and Communism After Marx 7. Fascism Part 3. Political Ideologies: Today and Tomorrow 8. Liberation Ideologies and the Politics of Identity 9. "Green" Politics: Ecology as Ideology 10. Radical Islamism 11. Postscript: The Future of Ideology

Seemingly there is no political debate which doesn't devolve into an argument over rights. For centuries a cornerstone of liberal theory, rights claims have become so over-used as to blur cases of real abuse. In this original and provocative study, Dagger argues for a republican liberalism that, while celebrating the liberal heritage of autonomy and rights, solidly places these within social relations and obligations, which while ubiquitous, are often obscured and forgotten.

While much has been written on both political obligation and the justification of punishment, there has been little sustained effort to link the two. In Playing Fair, Richard Dagger aims to fill this gap and provide a unified theory of political obligation and the justification of punishment that takes its bearings from the principle of fair play. To do this, he first establishes the principle of fair playthe idea that people in a cooperative venture have obligations to one another to shoulder a fair share of the burdens because they receive a fair share of the benefits of cooperationas the basis of political obligation. Dagger then argues that the members of a reasonably just polity have an obligation to obey its laws because they have an obligation of reciprocity, or fair play, to one another. This theory of political obligation provides answers to fundamental and still debated questions about how to justify punishment, who has the right to carry it out, and how much to punish. Playing Fair brings two long-standing concerns of political and legal philosophy together to rebut those who deny the possibility of a general obligation to obey the law, to defend the link between political authority and obligation, and to establish the proper scope of criminal law.

War and Border Crossings brings together renowned scholars to address some of the most pressing problems in public policy, international affairs, and the intercultural issues of our day. Contributors from widely varying disciplines discuss cross-cultural ethical issues and international topics ranging from American international policy and the invasion and occupation of Iraq to domestic topics such as immigration, the war on drugs, cross-cultural bioethics and ethical issues involving American Indian tribes. The culture clashes discussed in these essays raise serious questions about what principles ought to inform the negotiating of conflicts in order to achieve, or at least approach, outcomes that are fundamentally just, fair, responsible, and ethical.

In a time when liberal arts education is increasingly under attack, this volume reminds readers that dedicated teachers at colleges and universities are passing on the heritage of liberal education as well as constructing its future. Future citizens, businesswomen and men, scientists, artists and those working in educational or social programs will all benefit from the insights of this volume into historical, ethical, literary and philosophical perspectives provided by core text liberal arts education.