Long recognized as one of the main branches of political science, political theory has in recent years burgeoned in many different directions. Close textual analysis of historical texts sits alongside more analytical work on the nature and normative grounds of political values. Continental and post-modern influences jostle with ones from economics, history, sociology, and the law. Feminist concerns with embodiment make us look at old problems in new ways, and challenges of new technologies open whole new vistas for political theory. This Handbook provides comprehensive and critical coverage of the lively and contested field of political theory, and will help set the agenda for the field for years to come. Forty-five chapters by distinguished political theorists look at the state of the field, where it has been in the recent past, and where it is likely to go in future. They examine political theory's edges as well as its core, the globalizing context of the field, and the challenges presented by social, economic, and technological changes.

长期以来，政治理论被认为是政治学的主要分支之一，近年来在许多不同的方向上蓬勃发展。对历史文本的严密文本分析与对政治价值的性质和规范性基础的分析工作并存。大陆和后现代的影响与来自经济学、历史学、社会学和法律的影响交相辉映。女权主义对体现的关注使我们以新的方式看待老问题，而新技术的挑战则为政治理论打开了全新的视野。这本手册对政治理论这一活跃而有争议的领域提供了全面而批判性的覆盖，并将有助于为该领域在未来几年的发展制定议程。由杰出的政治理论家撰写的45个章节探讨了该领域的状况，它在最近的过去所处的位置，以及它在未来可能的走向。他们研究了政治理论的边缘和核心，该领域的全球化背景，以及社会、经济和技术变革带来的挑战。