Governing Subjects: An Introduction to the Study of Politics

This introduction to the study of politics explores the multiple meanings of "governance" as well as the several senses of what it means to be a "subject." It takes the reader on a journey through and across the domains of law and institutions, markets and power, and culture and identity, and shows how the understanding of any one of these domains demands an understanding of them all. The path through these related regions is marked by regular encounters with leading and competing thinkers—from the expected, such as James Madison, Robert Dahl, Michel Foucault, and Adam Smith, to the unexpected, such as Joseph Raz, Lisa Disch, Doug Henwood, and Joan Scott—that encourage the reader to evaluate their arguments for their internal coherence and explanatory power. Governing Subjects is at once a holistic and critical introduction to the study of politics.

Isaac D. Balbus is professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is the author of four previous books and has won several awards for excellence in teaching.

Preface; Acknowledgments; General Introduction; Part One: Law and Institutions 1. Law and the Rule of Law; 2. The Separation of Powers; 3. Judicial Review; 4. Conceptions of Democracy: "Thick" versus "Thin"; 5. The Concept (and Reality?) of Representation; 6. Political Parties; 7. Elections; 8. Civil Society Part Two: Markets and Power Introduction to Part Two; 9. Human Nature and the Market; 10. Freedom and the Market; 11. Justice and the Market; 12. Democracy and the Market I: Corporations and the State; 13. Democracy and the Market II: Corporate Governance; 14. Democracy and the Market III: Globalization and Governance; 15. The Concept of Power I: The Three Faces of "Negative" Power; 16. The Concept of Power II: Normalization versus Communication; Part Three: Culture and Identity Introduction to Part Three; 17. What is (a) Culture?; 18. Beyond Ethnocentrism and Relativism?; 19. Modernity; 20. Modernity and Identity; 21. Gender Identity; 22. Racial Identity; 23. National Identity; 24. Religious Identity; Part Four: Conclusion Introduction to Part Four; 25. The Subject; 26. The Subject in the Group; 27. Identity Politics Revisited; 28. The Subject in Nature; Glossary of Names; Bibliography; Endnotes