Nation and nationalism

By Miller, David

No one observing political events in the world today could deny the continuing potency of nationalism. Many of the most intractable conflicts arise when one national community tries ...

Nation and nationalism

No one observing political events in the world today could deny the continuing potency of nationalism. Many of the most intractable conflicts arise when one national community tries ...

Global Justice

By Tan, Kok-Chor

For introductions to the current debate on global justice, the obvious entries to start with are Simon Caney’s Global Justice, recent work on and Charles Beitz’s International Relations, ...

Legitimacy

By Beetham, David

Legitimacy refers to the rightfulness of a powerholder or system of rule. The term originated in controversies over property and succession, and was used to differentiate children born ...

Global justice, recent work on

By Caney, Simon

Until recently the prevailing view among many political philosophers was that global justice required that states honour each other’s independence, keep their treaties, and comply with the rules ...

State, the

By Nicholson, Peter P.

States are inescapable, powerful and fundamentally important in the modern world. They spend a substantial portion of their members’ wealth; they tax, confiscate or compulsorily purchase private property; ...

Justice, international

By Barry, Brian; Matravers, Matt

Although it has been denied (by, for example, F.A. Hayek 1976) that the concept of distributive justice has application within states, it is not controversial that there can ...

Culture

By O’Hear, Anthony

Culture comprises those aspects of human activity which are socially rather than genetically transmitted. Each social group is characterized by its own culture, which informs the thought and ...

Fascism

By Eatwell, Roger

‘Fascism’ is a term referring both to a political ideology and to a concrete set of political movements and regimes. Its most prominent examples were the Italian and ...

Citizenship

By Kymlicka, Will

Within political philosophy, citizenship refers not only to a legal status, but also to a normative ideal – the governed should be full and equal participants in the ...

Political philosophy

By Miller, David

Political philosophy can be defined as philosophical reflection on how best to arrange our collective life - our political institutions and our social practices, such as our economic ...

Ha’am, Ahad (1856–1927)

By Levy, Zeev

Ahad Ha’am (Asher Hirsch Ginzberg) was one of the most remarkable Jewish thinkers and Zionist ideologists of his time. Born in the province of Kiev in the Ukraine, ...

Herder, Johann Gottfried (1744–1803)

By Beiser, Frederick

Herder was a central figure in the German intellectual renaissance of the late eighteenth century. His achievement spanned virtually every domain of philosophy, and his influence, especially upon ...

Zionism

By Levy, Zeev

Zionism, the idea of Jewish nationality in its modern form, emerged towards the end of the nineteenth century, several decades after nationalism had taken hold among most European ...

Hungary, philosophy in

By Perecz, Laszlo

The situation of Hungarian philosophy can be best illustrated by two sayings: ‘there are Hungarian philosophers, but there is no Hungarian philosophy’, and ‘a certain period of Hungarian ...

Multiculturalism

By Ripstein, Arthur

Multicultural political philosophy explores ways of accommodating cultural diversity fairly. Public policies often have different consequences for members of different cultural groups. For example, given the importance of ...

Territorial rights

By Catala, Amandine

Inherent in the notion of territorial rights is the idea of exercising control over a geographically bounded area of land. The question of territorial rights as a philosophical, ...

Nishida Kitarō (1870–1945)

By Maraldo, John C.

Considered Japan’s first original modern philosopher, Nishida not only transmitted Western philosophical problems to his contemporaries but also used Buddhist philosophy and his own methods to subvert the ...

Secession

By Wellman, Christopher Heath

Secession occurs when a portion of a state breaks away either to form its own sovereign country or to join with another state. Because secessionist conflicts are essentially ...

Mazzini, Giuseppe (1805–72)

By Bellamy, Richard

Mazzini was a leading figure in the struggle for Italian unification during the nineteenth century. A theorist of nationalism as well as an activist, he also promoted nationalist ...

Lefebvre, Henri (1901–91)

By Shields, Rob

Henri Lefebvre was a Marxist and existential philosopher, a sociologist and a theorist of the state. His humanistic neo-Marxism has been influential throughout Europe. In the English-speaking world ...

International relations, philosophy of

By Beitz, Charles R.

The philosophy of international relations – or more precisely its political philosophy – embraces problems about morality in diplomacy and war, the justice of international practices and ...

Community and communitarianism

By Buchanan, Allen

Reflections on the nature and significance of community have figured prominently in the history of Western ethics and political philosophy, both secular and religious. In ethics and political ...

Immigration and refugees

By Gibney, Matthew J.

Immigration has emerged as one of the most controversial issues for liberal states in the current era of economic globalization. Debates over the entrance of non-citizens are contentious ...