The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory--Review and Evaluation

Dryzek, J.S., Hong, B., & Phillips, A. (Eds.). 2006. Oxford Handbook of Political Theory. New York: Oxford University Press.

            The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory is a well-rounded, well-researched political science resource. The Handbook is published by the Oxford University Press, a reputable publisher of academic materials with a long and respected history. Furthermore, the contributing authors for the handbook are all professors or other respected political theorists from major academic institutions from around the world. Finally, in performing a quick scan of the sources each of the contributing authors use to write their articles, it can be quickly seen that they are all pulled from other reputable publications and resources. Consequently, the Handbook is a highly authoritative work. The information that it presents is clearly backed by rigorous scholarly study, and is presented by excellent authors coming from esteemed institutions.

            As an authoritative work, the documentation contained within the Handbook is superb. All of the contributing authors’ sources are included in references appended to each article, and the editors include their own reference list for their introduction. Moreover, as previously mentioned, the documented sources are from reputable publications and institutions.

            The scope of the Handbook is quite broad. In the introduction the editors state that their goal is to provide information on everything from the core of political theory to its cutting edges as they existed at the time of the book’s publication (Dryzek et al. 2006, pg. 34). And it seems that this is a goal that they accomplish. The book includes articles on every major aspect of political theory as it existed in the early part of the twenty-first century. The book is not designed to be a historical retrospective on political theory, however. The articles are focused on the major parts of political theory from the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first centuries (Dryzek et al. 2006, pg. 31). Furthermore, because the Handbook is written to provide a broad-spectrum look at political theory, it does not delve too deeply into any one aspect of the discipline. Consequently, the scope of the work provides the reader with a good understanding of major, recent issues in political theory, but does not provide an historical or granular examination of political theory as a discipline.

            The broad scope of this work makes it a relatively objective resource as well. Even though individual contributing authors within it may have biases, the editors selected and arranged the works so that multiple viewpoints on a variety of topics are presented. This enables the reader to make up their own mind about the theories and issues being presented. Thus, the individual parts of the work may lack in objectivity, but the Handbook as a whole is an objective piece.  

             The Handbook is written for an audience that is familiar and comfortable with political theory.  The lay reader would struggle to follow the discussions contained within, and the editors and contributing authors frequently reference theories and works that are not commonly known. The authors’ introduction provides some assistance in giving brief descriptions of the major theories presented, but it is not a resource that is designed to introduce its readers to the discipline. Rather, it is intended for academic political theorists who are already established in the study. The goal of the work is to keep its audience up to date on what is happening in the field of political theory.

            As this resource was written over eight years ago, the timeliness of the work is not as strong as it could be. Political theory is a discipline that tends to transform and move fast, as is commented on by the editors in their introduction (Dryzek et al. 2006, pgs. 14-15). Accordingly, it can be expected that there are already new theories, critiques, and revisions of the theories contained within this Handbook. Also, it is likely that there are a slew of new resources and authors that have arisen since its publication. In spite of this, however, the work is still recent enough to be a useful tool in political theory research, or to help acquaint the political theorist with the modern state of the discipline. Furthermore, the authoritativeness of the work means that it still stands as a relevant, powerful resource that accurately reflects the state of the discipline at the time it was written.