Research Guides: Political Science: Political Theory

Introduction

Political Theory

How should a state be governed? What is the best form of government for a society? How should we choose our political leaders? These are typical questions posed in the area of political theory. This section list major databases useful for locating information and articles in the areas of political philosophy and political theory.

Use a subject encyclopedia such as the Encyclopedia of Political Theory to learn key political theory concepts.
Search for research articles in a general, multidisciplinary database such as ProQuest Central.
Use philosophy subject-specific databases such as Philosopher's Index.

Background Resources

Encyclopedia of Political Theory
The online edition of the Encyclopedia of Political Theory examines the ideas of the major political theorists from before Plato to our own times. Key Themes include: Ancient Thought; Applied Ethics; Biographies; Comparative Theory; Constitutional Thought; Critical Theory; Democratic Thought; Early Modern Thought; International Theory; Justice; Liberal Theory; Medieval Thought; Modern Theory; Power and Authority; Religious Thought; Self and Community.
The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory
The electronic edition of The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory provides comprehensive and critical coverage of political theory. In this book, forty-five articles by distinguished political theorists look at the state of the field, where it has been in the recent past, and where it is likely to go in future. They examine political theory's edges as well as its core, the globalizing context of the field, and the challenges presented by social, economic, and technological changes.
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy by Edward Craig (Editor)
The REP consists of ten volumes of the world's most eminent philosophers writing for the needs of students and teachers of philosophy internationally. Over 2000 entries ranging from 500 to 15,000 words in length - thematic, biographical and national 10 volumes consisting of over 5 million words of text plus considerable bibliographic material.
The Shorter Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy by Edward Craig
The Shorter REP presents the very best of the acclaimed ten volume Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy in a single volume. It makes a selection of the most important entries available for the first time and covers all you need to know about philosophy, from Aristotle to Wittgenstein and animals and ethics to scientific method. Comprising over 900 entries and covering the major philosophers and philosophical topics.
The Encyclopedia of Political Thought by Michael T. Gibbons
Examines the history of political thought from antiquity to contemporary political theory and political philosophy. This and other resources listed will provide the following: explanations of the main concepts of political theory; titles of important books written about topic; names of authors who have written about topic, information about major political theorists and their key theories and methods; lists of related articles or additional political theory resources.

Key Political Theory Reference Databases

Cambridge Histories Online This link opens in a new window
Over 250 of these well-known, used and trusted volumes published since the 1960s are available online; covers 14 subject areas, including General History, Regional History, Literary Studies, Philosophy, and Religious Studies.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Online collection of dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographical sources, quotations, bilingual dictionaries, and measurement conversions covering topics from the arts to the sciences.
Oxford Bibliographies This link opens in a new window
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Oxford Bibliographies presents constantly updated articles that contain citations (with annotations) and commentaries for sources across the disciplines. Users can search topics and gather relevant journal article and book citations, online resources, data sources, and more.
Oxford Handbooks Online This link opens in a new window
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Oxford Handbooks Online contains the complete text of the Oxford Handbooks series, including titles in business, history, literature, music, philosophy, and more. Oxford Handbooks Online also contains pre-print articles.
Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text access to dictionaries, language reference, Islamic studies and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy organizes scholars from around the world in philosophy and related disciplines to create and maintain an up-to-date reference work. Provides full coverage of major political philosophers and theorists.

Article Databases for Political Theory

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR provides access to scholarly journals, primarily in the humanities and social sciences. In addition to journal articles, users can access book chapters, ebooks, and primary source documents.
Philosopher's Index This link opens in a new window
Philosopher's Index contains citations and abstracts of scholarly research in all areas of philosophy and related fields. Included are information about journal articles, books, book chapters such as contributions to anthologies, and book reviews. The publication dates covered are from 1940 to present, and the full text of items is often available.
PhilPapers: Philosophical Research Online This link opens in a new window
PhilPapers is a comprehensive index and bibliography of philosophy maintained by the community of philosophers. It monitors all sources of research content in philosophy, including journals, books, open access archives, and personal pages maintained by academics. It also hosts the largest open access archive in philosophy.
ProQuest Political Science This link opens in a new window
ProQuest Political Science gives users access to leading political science and international relations journals. This collection provides the full-text of core titles, many of which are indexed in Worldwide Political Science Abstracts. New to ProQuest Political Science are hundreds of recent, full-text, political science dissertations from U.S. and Canadian universities, as well as thousands of current working papers from the Political Science Research Network.
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts provides citations, abstracts, and indexing of the international serials literature in political science and its complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration.