Political Science Fiction

by Donald M. Hassler (Editor), Clyde Wilcox (Editor)

Book by

Genres: Politics, Academic

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1996

Reviews

[Michael Catalano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Political Science concepts in Science Fiction works has been an interest of mine for several years. When I came across the edited compilation Political Science Fiction by Donald Hassler and Clyde Wilcox, I had high expectations that this would be the definitive work on which I could base my growing interest. I appreciate the interdisciplinary effort with perspectives from scholars studying film, literature, sociology, and political science. However, I found half the essays to be too loosely tied to Political Science concepts (instead focusing on the literary or artistic concepts). I will not say this is to the detriment of this edited compilation, simply it did not garner my interest. Fortunately, the essays improved and garnered far more of my interest as I went deeper into the book. My favorite essays include:

7. Prince versus Prophet - studying Machiavelli's The Prince and its concepts as exhibited in Frank Herbert's epic Dune.

10. Reality Transfigured - viewing the political realities of Latin America of the 1900s through Latin American Science Fiction writers

11. "In Every Revolution, There Is One Man with a Vision" - a comparative politics analysis of extraterrestrial governments/political systems using Robert Dahl's ideal types of political systems from his work Polyarchy.

14. "We Owe It to Them to Interfere" - detailing commentary from Star Trek on U.S. statecraft during the 1960s and the 1990s

I would definitely recommend this work for any interested in Political Science and Science Fiction, with the understanding that you may find some essays more compelling than others based on your interest in the artistic endeavors of these works or the Political Science concepts.