The Centrality of the Regime for Political Science: Review of C. Bates Jr., The centrality of politeia for Aristotle’s Politics: Aristotle’s continuing significance for social and political science. Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 2016. 105 pages. ISBN 9788323526407. 29.00 zł (pb). BMCR 2018.06.53.

Authors

C. Sydnor Roy, Marshall UniversityFollow

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

5-2018

Abstract

Excerpt: The stated goal of Bates’ book is “to make the case for the centrality of what Aristotle called ‘the politeia’ and contemporary political scientists call ‘the regime’ in any attempt to have a science of politics” (7). To do this, Bates makes an argument for a shift in how we understand the relationship between the idea of the politeia and the idea of the state. Instead of equating the polis with the state, and finding imperfections in that comparison, Bates argues that scholars should compare the politeia to the state. He goes on to argue that the concept of the state is an outdated and static (and European) model, and that Aristotle’s concept of the politeia offers a means for thinking about regimes that is more flexible, dynamic, and without some of the biases present in current scholarship. Overall, Bates is successful in making his argument, but his means of getting there and some specific elements of his argument undermine his goal.

Comments

The copy of record is available from the publisher at https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2018/2018.06.53/. Copyright © 2018 The Author.

Recommended Citation

Roy, Sydnor (2018). The Centrality of the Regime for Political Science: Review of C. Bates Jr., The centrality of politeia for Aristotle’s Politics: Aristotle’s continuing significance for social and political science. Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 2016. 105 pages. ISBN 9788323526407. 29.00 zł (pb). BMCR 2018.06.53.