“Book Descriptions: This dissertation examines how Leo Strauss, Richard Rorty, Jacques Derrida, and Alexander Dugin responded to Martin Heidegger’s inceptual thought when defining and relating philosophy and the political. The Introduction discusses the general concepts, motivations, and aims of the study. Chapter One provides a précis of Heidegger’s philosophy from The History of the Concept of Time to his middle-period writings. Chapter Two compares Strauss and Heidegger on the Idea of the Good in Plato. Chapter Three argues that Rorty is prevented from a philosophically serious reading of Heidegger by his a priori social-democratic commitments. Chapter Four distinguishes the spaces of Derridean and Heideggerian political philosophy. Chapter Five is an account of Dugin’s embrace and extension of Heidegger’s inceptual thought. The Conclusion analyses obstacles blocking access to Heidegger in political theory and argues for a new way forward.” DRIVE