📚 Cambridge University Politics and International Relations Recommended Reading List | 剑桥大学政治学与国际关系专业推荐书单
Preparing for a degree in Politics and International Relations at Cambridge, especially within the renowned Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS), demands more than just strong exam results. It requires an early engagement with the foundational texts that have shaped political thought and international order. This curated reading list draws on classics and modern works frequently referenced by Cambridge supervisors, offering prospective applicants a robust intellectual grounding. Each recommended title is accompanied by a brief reflection on its enduring significance.
为剑桥大学政治学与国际关系专业（特别是享有盛誉的政治与国际研究系 POLIS）做准备，远不止取得优异的考试成绩那么简单。它需要你尽早接触那些塑造了政治思想和国际秩序的基础性著作。这份精选书单汇集了剑桥导师们经常引用的经典与现代作品，为未来的申请者提供扎实的学术根基。每本书目都附有对其持久重要性的简要阐释。
1. The Republic by Plato | 柏拉图《理想国》
Plato’s ‘The Republic’ is the cornerstone of Western political philosophy. It poses the timeless question ‘What is justice?’ and constructs an ideal state ruled by philosopher-kings, where reason governs appetite and spirit.
柏拉图的《理想国》是西方政治哲学的基石。它提出了“什么是正义？”这一永恒问题，并构建了一个由哲学王统治的理想国，在这里理性驾驭着欲望和激情。
For Cambridge applicants, engaging with the allegory of the cave and the theory of forms sharpens critical thinking about truth, education, and the purpose of political life. Tutors often use it to test a student’s ability to interrogate fundamental assumptions about governance.
对于剑桥申请者而言，研习洞穴寓言和理型论能磨砺他们对真理、教育以及政治生活目的的批判性思维。导师们常以此书来考察学生质疑治理基本假设的能力。
2. Politics by Aristotle | 亚里士多德《政治学》
Aristotle’s ‘Politics’ offers a systematic, empirical study of different constitutions and the concept of the polis. His famous assertion that ‘man is by nature a political animal’ underscores the intrinsic link between human flourishing and civic participation.
亚里士多德的《政治学》对不同的政体以及城邦的概念进行了系统的、经验性的研究。他那句“人天生是政治的动物”的著名论断，凸显了人类繁荣与公民参与之间的内在联系。
Cambridge supervisors value Aristotle’s method of comparative analysis and his classification of governments into monarchy, aristocracy, and polity, along with their corrupt forms. Understanding his notion of the ‘best practicable state’ remains essential for any serious student of political theory.
剑桥的导师们重视亚里士多德的比较分析方法，以及他将政体分为君主制、贵族制和共和制及其堕落形式的分类法。理解他关于“最可行的国家”的观点，对于任何严肃的政治理论学生来说依然至关重要。
3. The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli | 尼科洛·马基雅维利《君主论》
Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince’ shattered medieval political idealism by focusing on power as it is exercised, not as it ought to be. It introduced a realist vocabulary of statecraft, emphasizing virtù and fortuna in the acquisition and maintenance of power.
马基雅维利的《君主论》打破了中世纪的政治理想主义，它专注于权力实际是如何运作的，而非应该如何运作。它引入了治国术的现实主义语汇，强调在获取与维持权力过程中的能力与命运。
This text is a gateway to understanding modern political realism and the autonomy of the political sphere from moral theology. Cambridge interviewers frequently ask applicants to reflect on the ethical implications of Machiavelli’s advice and its relevance to contemporary leadership.
这部著作是理解现代政治现实主义以及政治领域相对于道德神学的独立性的入门书。剑桥的面试官经常要求申请者反思马基雅维利建议的伦理含义及其与当代领导力的相关性。
4. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes | 托马斯·霍布斯《利维坦》
Hobbes’s ‘Leviathan’ presents a stark vision of the state of nature as a ‘war of all against all’, leading individuals to contract with one another to establish an absolute sovereign for the sake of peace and security. The frontispiece of the great artificial man encapsulates the unity of the commonwealth.
霍布斯的《利维坦》描绘了一幅自然状态是“一切人反对一切人的战争”的冷酷图景，这促使个人为了和平与安全而相互订立契约，建立一个拥有绝对权力的主权者。这卷首插画中巨大的“人造人”形象概括了国家的统一性。
Cambridge’s Politics course scrutinises the social contract tradition, and Hobbes’s rigorous logical deduction from human psychology to political obligation is foundational. Debating the legitimacy of a sovereign’s absolute power and the right of resistance stimulates precisely the kind of analytical rigour expected at Cambridge.
剑桥的政治学课程深入审视社会契约传统，而霍布斯从人类心理到政治义务的严谨逻辑推导正是其基础。辩论主权者绝对权力的正当性以及反抗权，恰恰能够激发剑桥所期望的那种分析严谨性。
5. Two Treatises of Government by John Locke | 约翰·洛克《政府论》（两篇）
John Locke’s ‘Two Treatises of Government’ is a powerful rebuttal of patriarchal absolutism and a defence of natural rights to life, liberty, and property. His labour theory of property and the argument for a right of revolution against tyranny profoundly influenced liberal democratic thought.
约翰·洛克的《政府论》是对家长式专制主义的有力驳斥，也是对生命、自由和财产等自然权利的捍卫。他的劳动财产权学说以及反对暴政的革命权论证，深刻影响了自由民主思想。
This text is indispensable for grasping the philosophical roots of constitutional government and the separation of powers. At a Cambridge supervision, you would be encouraged to compare Locke’s optimistic state of nature with Hobbes’s, and to evaluate the contradictions within his defence of private property.
这本书对于把握宪政政府和权力分立的哲学根源必不可少。在剑桥的辅导课上，你将被鼓励去比较洛克乐观的自然状态与霍布斯的自然状态，并评估他在捍卫私有财产时存在的矛盾。
6. The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau | 让-雅克·卢梭《社会契约论》
Rousseau’s ‘The Social Contract’ opens with the thunderous line, ‘Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.’ It seeks a form of association that defends the person and goods of each member with the whole common force, under which each individual, while uniting with all, nevertheless obeys only himself and remains as free as before.
卢梭的《社会契约论》以一句振聋发聩的名言开篇：“人是生而自由的，却无往不在枷锁之中。”它探寻一种能以全部共同力量来捍卫和保障每个结合者人身和财物的结合形式，使每一个与全体相联合的个人，不过是在服从其本人，并且仍然像以往一样自由。
The concept of the ‘general will’ is one of the most contested and influential ideas in political theory. Cambridge applicants should think carefully about how Rousseau distinguishes the general will from the will of all, and whether his vision is compatible with individual liberty.
“公意”概念是政治理论中最具争议也是最有影响力的观念之一。剑桥的申请者应当仔细思考卢梭如何区分公意与众意，以及他的愿景是否与个人自由相容。
7. On Liberty by John Stuart Mill | 约翰·斯图尔特·密尔《论自由》
John Stuart Mill’s ‘On Liberty’ is the classic defence of individual freedom against the tyranny of the majority and social conformity. Mill articulates the ‘harm principle’: the sole justification for exercising power over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.
约翰·斯图尔特·密尔的《论自由》是捍卫个人自由、反对多数暴政和社会从众性的经典之作。密尔阐述了“伤害原则”：对文明共同体中任何成员，违背其意志行使权力的唯一正当理由，就是防止对他人的伤害。
Mill’s arguments for freedom of thought, speech, and experiments in living are central to liberal political discourse. Cambridge tutors will expect you to analyse the scope and limits of the harm principle, and to consider its application to contemporary debates on censorship and paternalism.
密尔为思想自由、言论自由与生活试验所作的论证，是自由主义政治话语的核心。剑桥的导师期望你能够分析伤害原则的范围与局限，并思考它在当代关于审查和父爱主义的辩论中的应用。
8. The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels | 卡尔·马克思与弗里德里希·恩格斯《共产党宣言》
‘The Communist Manifesto’ is a revolutionary pamphlet that interprets all of history through the lens of class struggle. Marx and Engels vividly describe the bourgeoisie’s epochal role and predict its inevitable overthrow by the proletariat, ushering in a classless society.
《共产党宣言》是一本革命性的小册子，它通过阶级斗争的视角来解读全部历史。马克思和恩格斯生动地描绘了资产阶级划时代的作用，并预言它终将被无产阶级推翻，从而迎来一个无阶级的社会。
Beyond its historical impact, this text provides a powerful critique of liberal rights and free-market capitalism. Cambridge applicants studying political theory or international relations must grapple with the Manifesto’s conception of power, exploitation, and globalisation long before those terms were ever widely used.
除了其历史影响之外，该著作还提供了对自由主义权利和自由市场资本主义的有力批判。学习政治理论或国际关系的剑桥申请者，必须深入思考《宣言》中对权力、剥削和全球化的理解，远在这些术语被广泛使用之前。
9. The Twenty Years’ Crisis, 1919-1939 by E. H. Carr | 爱德华·霍列特·卡尔《二十年危机（1919-1939）》
E. H. Carr’s ‘The Twenty Years’ Crisis’ is a seminal work in the discipline of International Relations. Carr demolishes the utopian idealism of the interwar period and makes a compelling case for a science of international politics grounded in the realities of power.
E. H. 卡尔的《二十年危机》是国际关系学科的开创性著作。卡尔击碎了两次世界大战之间的乌托邦理想主义，并以令人信服的论证，倡导建立一门植根于权力现实之中的国际政治科学。
Cambridge’s POLIS department considers this book essential for understanding the roots of the realist tradition and the dialectic between utopia and reality. It teaches students to question whether moral claims in international affairs merely disguise the interests of the powerful.
剑桥大学政治与国际研究系认为，这本书对于理解现实主义传统的根源以及乌托邦与现实之间的辩证关系至关重要。它教会学生质疑国际事务中的道德主张是否仅仅掩盖了强者的利益。
10. Man, the State, and War by Kenneth Waltz | 肯尼思·华尔兹《人、国家与战争》
In ‘Man, the State, and War’, Kenneth Waltz analyses the causes of war through three ‘images’: human nature, the internal structure of states, and the anarchic international system. His systematic exploration provides the classic framework for theorising conflict.
在《人、国家与战争》中，肯尼思·华尔兹通过三种“意象”来解析战争的起因：人性、国家内部结构以及无政府的国际体系。他的系统探究为战争的理论化提供了一个经典的分析框架。
This text is the perfect intellectual bridge between political theory and international relations. Cambridge supervisors use it to train students in levels-of-analysis thinking, encouraging them to weigh systemic constraints against domestic or individual factors when explaining foreign policy.
本书是连接政治理论与国际关系的完美思维桥梁。剑桥的导师们用它来训练学生进行层次分析的思考，鼓励他们在解释外交政策时，权衡体系性制约与国内或个人层面的因素。
11. Theory of International Politics by Kenneth Waltz | 肯尼思·华尔兹《国际政治理论》
Waltz’s later ‘Theory of International Politics’ establishes neorealism, or structural realism, by abstracting the international system as defined by its ordering principle (anarchy), the character of its units (functionally similar states), and the distribution of capabilities.
华尔兹后来的《国际政治理论》建立了新现实主义，也称结构现实主义，将国际体系抽象地定义为由其排序原则（无政府状态）、单元特性（功能相似的民族国家）以及能力分配所构成。
This is arguably the most debated book in modern IR, and Cambridge students are expected to master its parsimonious explanation of balances of power and the recurrence of great power conflict. Critical engagement with Waltz’s structural determinism is a hallmark of a successful Cambridge essay.
这可以说是现代国际关系领域争论最多的著作。剑桥的学生被期望能够掌握它对均势及大国冲突反复出现的简洁解释。对华尔兹结构决定论的批判性探讨，正是成功写出剑桥论文的标志。
12. After Hegemony: Cooperation and Discord in the World Political Economy by Robert O. Keohane | 罗伯特·O·基欧汉《霸权之后：世界政治经济中的合作与纷争》
Robert Keohane’s ‘After Hegemony’ challenges the pessimistic realist assumption that cooperation cannot survive the decline of a dominant power. Through the lens of neoliberal institutionalism, Keohane demonstrates how international regimes facilitate sustained cooperation by reducing transaction costs and providing information.
罗伯特·基欧汉的《霸权之后》挑战了悲观的现实主义假设，即合作无法在主导力量衰落之后继续存在。通过新自由制度主义的视角，基欧汉展示了国际机制如何通过降低交易成本和提供信息，来促进持续的合作。
Cambridge’s International Relations track places heavy emphasis on the study of international institutions and global governance. This book equips you with the tools to analyse why states create rules and abide by them, a crucial analytical counterpoint to realist power politics.
剑桥的国际关系方向十分强调对国际制度与全球治理的研究。这本书为你提供了分析国家为何制定并遵守规则的工具，这是与现实主义权力政治相对立的一个关键分析视角。
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