The concepts are the "tools" with which we think, criticize, argue, explain, and analyze.

Political concepts are nothing less than the building blocks of political understanding: the political world, in short, means what our concepts tell us it means. However, political concepts are also highly fluid and subject to debate. Indeed, political debate is often a debate about the proper use of political terms.

This book provides an accessible and comprehensive guide to basic concepts encountered in political analysis. Each concept is defined clearly and fully, and its importance for political debate and criticism is explored. The introduction explains how political concepts are used and why they are often subject to misuse.

"Basic Concepts of Political Science" is a valuable resource and an ideal handbook for the study of politics.