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The Concept and Theories of Modern Democracy Birch Anthony H. London: Routledge, 1993. vii+260pp.

This book is designed to be an introduction to modern political theory. It includes chapters on nationalism, authority, democracy, representation, freedom, rights, power, pluralism, class, corporatism, and styles of political analysis. These chapters are clearly written and accessible. Unfortunately, the book is written from a perspective on the discipline that is 25 years out of date. Many of the references and studies cited are from the 1950s and 1960s. More seriously, the issues Birch identifies as central problems in modern political theory are no longer the ones that for the most part preoccupy political theorists. The book would seriously mislead undergraduates. For example, the book includes no systematic examination of distributive justice. There is not a single reference to, for instance, John Rawls. This is striking since no one seriously challenges the profound influence Rawls's 1971 book, A Theory of Justice, has had on shaping modern political theory. The neglect of the concept of equality in an introductory text on political theory seems indefensible. Often, when concepts are examined, there is little if any reference to innovations over the past 20 years. Although, for example, the concept of democracy is obviously central to the discussion of the book, there is no acknowledgment of the influential work done recently by theorists such as David Held, Adam Przeworski, or Charles Beitz. Moreover, Robert Dahl's widely acknowledged masterpiece, Democracy and Its Critics, published in 1988, is ignored. (Dahl's less mature work is cited, however.) Work done by