A Curated List of Essential Reading for Professional Political Scientists

For the professional political scientist, a solid understanding of the foundational texts of the field is essential. This list seeks to highlight some of the most important works that every political scientist should have read. We divide the list into different categories to provide a well-rounded perspective on the discipline.

Core Political Science Works

While our focus here is on the core body of knowledge in political science, we recognize that many individuals incorporate works from political philosophy or other related fields. However, we will not include those as they are better suited for other subfields.

“The Power Elite” - C. Wright Mills “Who Governs?” - Robert Dahl “The Just War” - Paul Ramsey “Tyranny and Legitimacy” - James Fishkin “Minority Government and Majority Rule” - Kaare Strom

Key Enduring Works

From the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the following works continue to be relevant and influential to the field of political science:

“The End of History and The Last Man” - Francis Fukuyama “The Clash of Civilizations” - Samuel Huntington “The Prince” - Niccolo Machiavelli “A Theory of Justice” - John Rawls “The Communist Manifesto” - Marx and Engels “Any Classic Treatise of Political Philosophy” - Books by thinkers like Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Smith, J.S. Mill, Plato, Aristotle, etc. “The Federalist Papers” “Rights of Man” - Thomas Paine “Common Sense” - Thomas Paine “Any Work by Noam Chomsky”

Weighted Towards Political Economy

Here is a list of books that, while not exhaustive, are particularly relevant and influential in the intersection of political science and political economy:

“Democracy in America” - Alexis de Tocqueville “Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance” - Douglass C. North “Governing the Commons” - Elinor Ostrom “Micromotives and Macrobehavior” - Thomas Schelling “The Calculus of Consent” - James Buchanan and Gordon Tullock “The Logic of Collective Action” - Mancur Olson “Exit, Voice, and Loyalty” - Albert Hirschman “On Politics” - Alan Ryan

A Forgotten Burgeoning Insight

While not widely read today, the following work offers a unique perspective that every political scientist should explore:

“La trahison des clercs” - Jean-Baptiste Doucet (translated as “The Betrayal of the Intellectuals”)

Reading these texts can provide valuable insights into the historical, philosophical, and economic underpinnings of political science. Each of these works plays a significant role in shaping the discipline and should be a part of every professional political scientist's reading list.