In this accessible yet provocative text Barry Hindess provides a new interpretation of concepts of power within Western social thought, from Hobbes' notion of "sovereign power" to Foucault's account of "government". This book will be welcomed as an important contemporary contribution to one of the key debates in social and political theory.

Barry Hindess is Professor at the Research School of Social Sciences at The Australian National University. His previous books include Politics and Class Analysis (Blackwell, 1987) and Political Choice and Social Structure (1989).