'The great merit of Andrew Heywood's book is that he takes ideology seriously, and explores patiently and with admirable clarity the different characteristics of the classic western ideologies, as well as the new themes and directions of recent ideological thought. He has produced one of the best available introductions to the subject anywhere in print.' - Professor Andrew Gamble, Sheffield University A clear and accessible introduction to the ideologies that have dominated world politics from the French Revolution to the collapse of Communism. Lucidly written and clearly structured it covers both 'traditional' ideologies like Conservatism, Liberalism and Socialism and more modern ones such as Feminism, Environmentalism and political Islam, taking a broad international view of the origins, development and the impact in the modern world of each.