Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal

Rate this book
The aggressively revised new edition of this best-seller provides a clear, concise, and comprehensive introduction to the ideas and ideals that shake and shape our political world. Written with the firm belief that ideology is the driving force of nation-states, history, and politics, this innovative text covers the range of contemporary political ideologies, from the standard categories of liberalism, conservatism, and socialism to newly emerging ideological alternatives. Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal provides an accessible overview of the origin and development of these ideologies, and illustrates how each interprets democracy and freedom.

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

36 people are currently reading
199 people want to read

About the author

Terence Ball

37 books3 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
47 (26%)
4 stars
71 (39%)
3 stars
44 (24%)
2 stars
16 (8%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Profile Image for Nate Cooley.
89 reviews18 followers
February 9, 2008
The author of this book was one of my political science professors at Arizona State University.

This book is a great introduction to the differing ideologies that have dominated and continue to dominate in the world today.
Profile Image for Oliver Eliassen.
34 reviews
November 22, 2024
Amerikanere som forklarer oss demokrati og ideologier, det sier nok en del. Mye interresante detaljer, fun facts, men også en god model på hvordan man kan prøve å sette ideologier i en bås, noe som viser seg å være vanskelig. Ideologier som de nevner er ikke statiske, derfor kan man spørre seg selv, er det i det hele tatt noe poeng å prøve å knytte politisk ledere og partier til én spesifikk ideologi?
67 reviews7 followers
September 27, 2009
This book gets an a-okay for two reasons.

First, it explains the major political ideologies in a succint and articulate way. I had to buy this book for an undergrad course. And you know what - I still occasionally read it to this day. That makes this book one of a few that I haven't cursed and thrown away. The edition I have is about 10 years outdated. Nevertheless, most of the information and analysis is spot on.

The second reason is that the authors of this book are named "Ball" and "Dagger". I couldn't make this stuff up. Okay, maybe I could. But I didn't; this happened independent of any sophomoric jokester.

t
Profile Image for Samuel J.
7 reviews
October 24, 2022
I had to read this book for school as and thought it was incredible. Textbooks do have a pattern of being dry, but this was not. I unfortunately did have to skim through some parts due to school work, but I would like to give this a second read just to get a full picture of political ideologies.
Profile Image for El H Pea.
20 reviews
August 5, 2022
Very insightful, I've learnt many things which I've partly known before. Also very up-to-date, a must-read for Political Science students and those interest in the subject...
Profile Image for Pelita Murumba.
9 reviews1 follower
March 14, 2017
Interesting and informative for those seeking a better understanding of the current political word across the first world countries. Quick read.
Profile Image for Heather Browning.
1,166 reviews12 followers
Read
July 28, 2011
As someone with very little knowledge in the area of politics and ideologies, I thought it was time I learned. This book proved perfect - it was easy to read, even though I had no background in the field, and provided exactly the information I needed to understand the major political ideologies now, throughout history, and on into the future. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to increase their knowledge in these areas.
Profile Image for Maha.
34 reviews30 followers
March 28, 2013
one really well-researched, very readable book... chock-full of political, philosophical and historical notions; it has it all... it also makes sense of many political terms we always come across in magazine/newspaper racks and on TV, making clear the nuance between ideologies in the past and nowadays... reading this book would help you understand better what moves the street since the Golden Age of Athens to the Mcworld we are living today!... I highly recommend it to those keen on politics.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.