Synopsis Examining the concept of culture in contemporary social and political theory this well - argued book maintains that there has been a continuing tendency in the social sciences to view culture in a totalising idealist and apolitical manner. The author argues that culture is often treated as an ubiquitous given of social life, which influences but is not itself influenced by social structures and power. Drawing on the experiences and concerns of Third World societies like India this book discuses some important debates in contemporary political theory such as the liberal/communitarian debate colonial discourse analysis and the debate between communitarians and secularists in India.