In 2001 I wrote a precursor of this book, titled De Kern van de Politiek, published by Het Spinhuis in Amsterdam. It aimed to be a conceptual introduction to political science, for use in undergraduate teaching. It has been extremely gratifying to see that it served its purpose well, as it has been used ever since at several universities.

Recently the demand increased for an English-language edition, which is provided by this book. It has the same aspiration as the original Dutch text: to provide an introduction to the conceptual underpinnings of political analysis. The themes, ideas and arguments remain the same, but the book has changed in detail. Chapter 4 of the original Dutch version has been expanded into two separate chapters in the current version. Minor changes have been made with respect to emphases, references and illustrations.

I owe debts of gratitude to various people. I happily acknowledge the encouragement given by Philip van Praag and Wouter van der Brug, colleagues at the University of Amsterdam; without their support this book would not have been written. Sue Pryce, my colleague at the University of Nottingham, commented on large parts of the text, which was extremely helpful. Annabelle de Heus, PhD candidate at the University of Nottingham, provided all kinds of practical support that allowed me to focus on the writing of the text. Finally, I am extremely grateful to Rene Bailey, who edited the manuscript (and identified a variety of minor infelicities for correction), managing to turn it into proper English while respecting my personal style.

I hope that this little book will be as useful an introduction to political science as its Dutch precursor has evidently been.