A comprehensive introduction to the history of Western political thought written by a line-up of internationally renowned scholars from four continents. This definitive collection provides an overview of the canon of great theorists from Socrates and the Sophists to contemporary thinkers such as Habermas and Foucault. Each contributor critically discusses the ideas and significance of each thinker and gives a summation of the best contemporary scholarship in the area. This volume will become the major resource for all students of political thought over the next generation.