Political Ideologies
Last updated: September 17, 2024
Ideology is a dirty word in some quarters, but politics would be unrecognisable (and probably undoable) without ideologies. We have experts recommending books on political ideology, covering Maoism, fascism, anarchism, Communism and every other "ism".
We cover what in the United States would be called “conservatism” and “liberal” or “progressive” politics extensively. E J Dionne, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, talks about the appeal of conservatism, Grover Norquist, founder of America for Tax Reform, chooses his best books on Tea Party conservatism. Anne Heller, biographer of Ayn Rand, talks about libertarianism and Mitch Daniels, former governor of Indiana, discusses how libertarians can govern. Journalist Sam Tanenhaus chooses his best books on conservatism and culture.
On the other side of the ledger, Matthew Taylor, former adviser to Tony Blair, talks about progress, Journalist Franklin Foer talks about the roots of liberalism and US Congressman Keith Ellison chooses his best books on progressivism. Former secretary of state John Kerry also talks about progressivism and former mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa chooses his best books on progressive America. Both Kerry and Villaraigosa choose The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
Beyond that, to mention only a handful, former UK Labour cabinet minister, James Purnell, chooses his best books on power and ideas, Professor Harvey Klehr chooses his best books on Communism in America. Richard McGregor, former FT Beijing correspondent, looks at the Chinese Communist Party, Nick Thorpe, the BBC’s central Europe correspondent, talks about the fall of Communism. Elsewhere, Iraqi poet Nabeel Yasin discusses democracy in Iraq, Professor Mary Habeck terrorism and Martin Sixsmith why Russia isn’t a democracy. Lastly, Professor Michael Kazin looks at the roots of the Occupy movement.
-
1
The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World
by Larry Diamond -
2
Ill Winds: Saving Democracy from Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency
by Larry Diamond -
3
How Democracies Die: What History Reveals About Our Future
by Daniel Ziblatt & Steven Levitsky -
4
Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition
by Robert Dahl -
5
Democracy in America
by Alexis de Tocqueville
The best books on Liberal Democracy, recommended by Francis Fukuyama
The best books on Liberal Democracy, recommended by Francis Fukuyama
Even some of the world’s most authoritarian rulers continue to pay lip service to democracy and people’s right to vote for their leaders, but the days when many social scientists believed that all countries at a certain level of prosperity would eventually turn to liberal democracy are over, says Francis Fukuyama, now a Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute. Here, he recommends books to better understand liberal democracy, and what those of us lucky enough to live in one can do to protect our form of government.
-
1
The Great Demarcation: The French Revolution and the Invention of Modern Property
by Rafe Blaufarb -
2
Gold and Freedom: The Political Economy of Reconstruction
by Nicolas Barreyre -
3
Citizenship between Empire and Nation: Remaking France and French Africa, 1945-1960
by Frederick Cooper -
4
Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India
by Nicholas B. Dirks -
5
The Emergence of Globalism: Visions of World Order in Britain and the United States, 1939–1950
by Or Rosenboim
The best books on Historical Change and Economic Ideology, recommended by Thomas Piketty
The best books on Historical Change and Economic Ideology, recommended by Thomas Piketty
Throughout history, social and economic inequalities have been fueled and justified by different ideologies. French economist Thomas Piketty’s latest book, Capital and Ideology, looks at the advent and fall of these ideologies, and how they could evolve in the future. He recommends five great books to better understand these complex and always-evolving ideas, and their consequences for the world.
-
1
Radical Right-Wing Populism in Western Europe
by Hans-Georg Betz -
2
Revolt on the Right: Explaining Support for the Radical Right in Britain
by Matthew Goodwin & Robert Ford -
3
The Politics of Fear: What Right-Wing Populist Discourses Mean
by Ruth Wodak -
4
The Extreme Gone Mainstream: Commercialization and Far Right Youth Culture in Germany
by Cynthia Miller-Idriss -
5
Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort
by Chip Berlet & Matthew N. Lyons
The best books on The Far Right, recommended by Cas Mudde
The best books on The Far Right, recommended by Cas Mudde
There’s nothing new about the far right and the unpleasant views that its supporters espouse. What’s changed is that some of those views have been embraced by the political mainstream and are now viewed as normal. Political scientist Cas Mudde, Stanley Wade Shelton UGAF Professor at the University of Georgia, talks us through the best books on the far right.
-
1
Violence and the Word
by Robert Cover -
2
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
by Michelle Alexander -
3
Black against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party
by Joshua Bloom & Waldo E. Martin Jr. -
4
Critique of Violence
by Walter Benjamin -
5
The Birth of Biopolitics: Lectures at the Collège de France, 1978–1979
by Michel Foucault
The best books on State, Power and Violence, recommended by Geoffroy de Lagasnerie
The best books on State, Power and Violence, recommended by Geoffroy de Lagasnerie
French philosopher and sociologist Geoffroy de Lagasnerie argues for a more realist political theory, one that fully acknowledges that state violence is the one thing in your life that you can never escape. His selection includes works by Michel Foucault and Walter Benjamin, as well as a history of the Black Panther Party.
-
1
Mao’s Last Revolution
by Michael Schoenhals & Roderick MacFarquhar -
2
Maoism at the Grassroots
edited by Jeremy Brown and Matthew D. Johnson -
3
Red Star over China
by Edgar Snow -
4
The Bullet and the Ballot Box: The Story of Nepal's Maoist Revolution
by Aditya Adhikari -
5
A Critical Introduction to Mao
by Timothy Creek
The best books on Maoism, recommended by Julia Lovell
The best books on Maoism, recommended by Julia Lovell
While researching Maoism, China expert Julia Lovell battled against two incorrect assumptions: “firstly that Maoism is a story of China; and secondly that Maoism is a story of the past.” Here she recommends five books for coming to grips with the global, still-relevant impact of Maoism.
The best books on The French Revolution, recommended by Lynn Hunt
It’s a revolution that still resonates and yet it resists easy interpretation. Lynn Hunt, a leading historian of the French Revolution, tells us what the events of 1789 and later years really meant, and what relevance they have for us today.
The best books on Fascism, recommended by Ruth Ben-Ghiat
In an era of Trumpism and fake news, the word ‘fascist’ is thrown around with increasing ease and little attention paid to its origins and history. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, political commentator and historian at New York University, recommends the best books for understanding fascism’s history and recognizing it today.
-
1
'Anarchism', in the Encyclopaedia Britannica
by Peter Kropotkin -
2
Gates of Freedom: Voltairine de Cleyre and the Revolution of the Mind
by Eugenia C. DeLamotte -
3
The Slavery of Our Times
by Leo Tolstoy -
4
Autonomy, Solidarity, Possibility: The Colin Ward Reader
by Chris Wilbert, Colin Ward & Damian F. White -
5
Anarchism and Syndicalism in the Colonial and Postcolonial World, 1870-1940
by Lucien van der Walt & Steven Hirsch
The best books on Anarchism, recommended by Ruth Kinna
The best books on Anarchism, recommended by Ruth Kinna
Sometimes vilified, often misunderstood, rarely taught in universities, anarchism is a political philosophy and social movement that’s far removed from today’s mainstream politics. But it was and remains a powerful motivator. Political theorist Ruth Kinna talks us through the best books to read to get a better understanding of anarchism.
The best books on Terrorism, recommended by Audrey Kurth Cronin
It’s hard to remember when in the midst of one, but terrorism campaigns do always end. Audrey Kurth Cronin, author of How Terrorism Ends, recommends the best books on terrorism.
-
1
Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story
by Martin Luther King Jr -
2
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
by Malcolm X and assisted by Alex Haley, Laurence Fishburne (narrator) -
3
The Two-Income Trap
by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Tyagi -
4
Winner-Take-All Politics
by Jacob S Hacker and Paul Pierson -
5
God’s Politics
by Jim Wallis
The best books on Progressivism, recommended by Keith Ellison
The best books on Progressivism, recommended by Keith Ellison
As American congressman Keith Ellison—the first Muslim elected to Congress—enters the race to chair the Democratic National Committee, reread this interview on the cause he stands for: progressivism — and the best books to read to fully understand it.