'This volume combines remarkable coverage and distinguished contributors. The inclusion of thematic, conceptual, and historical chapters will make it a valuable resource for scholars as well as students' - Professor George Klosko, Department of Politics, University of Virginia. This major new Handbook provides a definitive state-of-the-art review to political theory, past and present. It offers a complete guide to all the main areas and fields of political and philosophical inquiry today by the world's leading theorists.The Handbook is divided into five parts which together serve to illustrate: the diversity of political theorizing; the substantive theories that provide an over-aching analysis of the nature/or justification of the state and political life; the political theories that have been either formulated or resurgent in recent years; the current state of the central debates within contemporary political theory; the history of western political thought and its interpretations; and, traditions in political thought outside a western perspective. "The Handbook of Political Theory" marks a benchmark publication at the cutting edge of its field. It is essential reading for all students and academics of political theory and political philosophy around the world.