A large number of case studies is employed, drawn both from professional political theorists and philosophers and from various instances of vernacular usage: politicians, political commentators, or protest groups. Both contemporary and historical evidence from different cultures is utilized in illustrating the theoretical framework of the book. This is the first systematic study of political thinking as a cluster of thought-practices, combining insights from political theory--traditional and recent--the study of language and discourse, and political science. This investigation of 'the political' as a mode of thinking challenges many conventional understandings of political thought in the current literature, teases out what is political--not philosophical or ethical--in political theory, and locates it as a complex and ubiquitous social practice present at all points of human interaction and at diverse levels of articulation.