14 Best Political Science Books

Through conversations between Socrates and his companions, Plato examines justice and the relationship between an ideal community and its citizens. The inquiry expands into questions about goodness, knowledge, education, and the kind of rulers a well-ordered society requires.

Angus Campbell and his coauthors investigate American voting behavior through a systematic account of political attitudes and social influences. The study examines party identification, candidates, turnout, ideology, economic circumstances, and group membership to explain electoral choices and their broader political significance.

Niccolò Machiavelli examines how rulers acquire power, retain authority, and respond to political threats. Drawing on historical examples, he considers loyalty, fear, force, and the difficult relationship between effective rule and conventional morality.

Alexis de Tocqueville examines American society and democratic institutions through observations from his travels. His analysis considers equality, majority power, civil associations, religion, and individualism, exploring both the opportunities of democratic life and the dangers it poses to liberty.

Edited by Robert Goodin, this handbook surveys major branches and debates within political science. Contributors examine political theory, institutions, parties, behavior, psychology, international relations, political economy, and public policy, connecting the discipline’s development with directions for further inquiry.

Elinor Ostrom examines how communities manage natural resources shared by many users. Comparing successful and unsuccessful arrangements, she investigates the institutions supporting collective action and questions assumptions that only privatization or central government can govern common resources.

Thomas Hobbes develops his account of human nature, society, and political authority in this seventeenth-century treatise. He argues for a social contract under a powerful sovereign, examining the conditions of order and the relationship between civil and religious power.

Kenneth Waltz examines explanations for war through three perspectives: human nature and individual leaders, the internal organization of states, and the international system. Engaging with political thinkers, he considers how these different accounts shape proposed paths toward peace.

John Stuart Mill examines the limits society may place on individual freedom, defending thought, discussion, and different ways of living. He argues that coercion requires harm to others rather than mere disapproval of a person’s choices.

John Locke sets out an account of limited government, private property, and the right to resist political authority. The treatise examines the foundations and proper extent of civil power and the conditions under which government may be challenged.

Theda Skocpol compares the French, Russian, and Chinese revolutions to explain major transformations of states and societies. Her historical analysis emphasizes how state structures, international pressures, and class relations interact, challenging explanations centered primarily on revolutionary ideology or leadership.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels set out their account of class conflict and call for working people to organize against capitalism. The pamphlet explains their theory of communism and proposes a transformation of property relations and political power.

John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt examine American support for Israel and argue that pro-Israel lobbying shapes US foreign policy. They assess the coalition’s influence on debate and Middle Eastern policy, questioning how these decisions relate to American and Israeli interests.

Robert Dahl investigates the distribution of political power through a close study of New Haven, Connecticut. He challenges the idea of a single ruling elite, examining how groups with competing interests participate in decisions within an American city.