NATURE AND SIGNIFICANCE
distinction between political theory and political thought, political philosophy
and political science.
As stated above, political theory is the study of the phenomena of the state both from
philosophical as well as empirical points of view. In this context, certain similar terms are also
used such as political thought, political philosophy, political science. Although all of them are
concerned with explaining the political phenomena, yet political theory is distinct from them.
The distinction of political theory from other terms is as follows.
political theory and political thought
It is generally believed that political thought is the general thought comprising of theories and
values of all those persons or a section of the community who think and write on the day-do-day
activities, policies and decisions of the state, and which has a
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bearing on our present living. These persons can be philosophers, writers, journalists, poets,
political commentators etc. Political thought has no 'fixed' form and can be in the form of
treatise, speeches, political commentaries etc. What is important about political thought is that it
is 'time bound' since the policies and programmes of the governments change from time to time.
Thus we have Greek thought or Roman thought of ancient period or the political thought of the
medieval ages.7 Political theory, on the other hand, is the systematic speculation of a particular
writer who talks specifically about the phenomena of the state. This speculation is based on
certain hypothesis which may or may not be valid and may be open to criticism. Theory provides
a model of explanation of political reality as is understood by the writer. As such there can be
different political theories of the same period. Also, political theory is based on certain
discipline-be it philosophy, history, economics or sociology. And lastly, since the task of theory
is not only to explain the political reality but also to change it (or to resist change), political
theory can be conservative, critical or revolutionary. According to Barker, while political thought
is the immanent philosophy of a whole age, political theory is the speculation of a particular
thinker. While political thought is implicit and immersed in the stream of vital action, political
theory is explicit and may be detached from the political reality of a particular period.8
Political theory and political philosophy
Philosophy is called 'science of wisdom'-wisdom about this world, man or God. This wisdom
is all-inclusive and tries to explain everything. When this wisdom is applied to the study of
political phenomena or the state, it is called political philosophy. Political philosophy belongs to
the category of normative political theory. It is concerned with not only explaining what 'is' but
also what 'ought' to be. Political philosophy is not concerned with contemporary issues but with
certain universal issues in the political life of man such as nature and purpose of the political
organisation, basis of political authority, nature of rights, liberty, equality, justice etc. The
distinction between political philosophy and political theory is explained by the fact that whereas
a political philosopher is a political theorist, but a political theorist may not necessarily be a
political philosopher.9 For example, David Easton is an eminent
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political theorist but is not considered a political philosopher. Though theory deals with the same
issues as political philosophy, it can explain them both from philosophical as well as empirical
points of view. In other words, while political philosophy is abstract or speculative, political
theory can be both normative and empirical. A political theorist is as much interested in
explaining the nature and purpose of the state as in describing the realities of political behaviour,
the actual relations between state and citizens, and the role of power in the society. As has been
pointed out by Arnold Bretch, philosophical explanations are theories too, but they are nonscientific.
10 Political theory is concerned both with political institutions and the ideas and
aspirations that form the basis of those institutions. However, we must not forget that though we
can analytically distinguish between philosophy and theory, yet if political theory is separated
from political philosophy, its meaning will appear distorted and it will prove barren and
irrelevant. Theory must be supplemented by philosophy.
political theory and political science
As a discipline, political science is much more comprehensive and includes different forms of
speculation in politics such as political thought, political theory, political philosophy, political
ideology, institutional or structural framework, comparative politics, public administration,
international law and organizations etc. With the rise of political science as a separate discipline,
political theory was made one of its subfields. However, when used specifically with emphasis
on 'science' as distinct from 'theory', political science refers to the study of politics by the use of
scientific methods in contrast to political philosophy which is free to follow intuition. 'Political
theory when opposed to political philosophy is political science'. Political science is concerned
with describing and explaining the realities of political behaviour, generalizations about man and
political institutions on empirical evidence, and the role of power in the society. Political theory,
on the other hand, is not only concerned about the behavioural study of the political phenomena
from empirical point of view but also prescribing the goals which states, governments, societies
and citizens ought to pursue. Political theory also aims to generalize about the right conduct in
the political life and about the legitimate use of power.11
Thus political theory is neither pure thought, nor philosophy,
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nor science. While it draws heavily from all of them, yet it is distinct from them. Contemporary
political theory is trying to attempt a synthesis between political philosophy and political science.
characteristics of political theory
Political theory is an intellectual and moral creation of man. Generally it is the speculation of a
single individual who is attempting to offer us a theoretical explanation of the political reality i.e.
the phenomena of the state. Every theory by its very nature is an explanation, built upon certain
hypothesis which may be valid (or not) and which are always open to criticism. So what we find
in political theory is a number of attempts made by thinkers from Plato onwards to unravel the
mysteries of man's political life. They have given so many modes of explanations which may or
may not convince us but to which we cannot pass any final judgement. Political theory is largely
an attempt to seek the truth as the thinker sees it and it is usually expressed through a treatise
such as Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Politics, Hobb'es' Leviathan, or Rawls' A Theory of
Justice.
Secondly, political theory contains an explanation of man, society and history. It probes the
nature of man and society: how a society is made up and how it works; what are the important
elements; what are the sources of conflict in the society and how they can be resolved.
Thirdly, political theory is discipline based. It means that though the phenomena which the
theorist seeks to explain remains the same i.e. the state, the writer may be a philosopher,
historian, economist, theologian or a sociologist. Thus we are confronted by a variety of political
theories, each distinguished by a discipline on which it is based.
Fourthly, political theory not only comprehends and explains the social and political reality but is
also actively engaged in hastening the process of history. The task of political theory is not only
to understand and explain but also to device ways and means to change the society. As Laski put
it, the task is not merely one of description of what it is but also a prescription of what ought to
be.12 Thus political theory recommends agencies of action as well as means of reform,
revolution or conservation. It contains programmes that embody both ends and means. Political
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theory plays a double role: to understand society and to suggest how to remove the
imperfections.
And lastly, political theory also includes political ideology. Ideology in simple language means
'a system of beliefs, values and ideals by which people allow themselves to be governed'. We
find a number of ideologies in the modern world such as liberalism, Marxism, socialism etc. All
political theories from Plato to date reflect a distinct ideology of the writer. Political theory in the
form of political ideology includes a system of political values, institutions and practices which a
society has adopted as its ideal. For example, all political theories adopted by Western Europe
and America have been dominated by liberalism and the theories accepted by China and
erstwhile USSR were influenced by a particular brand of Marxism. Each brand of theory or
ideology in this sense claims for itself the attributes of universality and compels others to accept
it, leading to what is generally known as 'ideological conflicts'.
In short, political theory is associated with the explanation and evaluation of the political
phenomena and this phenomena can be examined as a statement of ideas and ideals, as an agent
of socio-economic change, and as an ideology.
issues in political theory
The nature of political theory can also be understood from the kind of issues it has been
grappling with during the long span of more than 2300 years. Different political issues have been
dominant in different epochs. Classical political theory was primarily concerned with the search
for a perfect political order. As such it analysed the basic issues of political theory such as the
nature and purpose of the state, basis of political authority, the problem of political obligation
and political disobedience. It was more concerned with what the state ought to be i.e. the ideal
state. The rise of modern nation-state and the industrial revolution gave birth to a new kind of
society, economy and polity. Modern political theory starts from individualism and made liberty
of the individual as the basic issue. Hence it was concerned with issues like rights, liberty,
equality, property and justice for the individual, how to create a state based upon individual
consent, and a right to change the government. At one time, it also became important to explain
the
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interrelation between one concept and the other such as liberty and equality, justice and liberty,
equality and property. The empirical political theory, particularly after the second world war,
shifted the emphasis from concepts to the political behaviour of man. It invented a number new
issues largely borrowed from other Social Sciences. Some of the important issue of empirical
political theory were authority, legitimacy, elite, party, group, political system, political culture
etc.
During the last twenty years, quite a number of different issues have come to dominate the scene
of political theory. With the resurgence of value-based political theory, there is once again an
emphasis on the issues of freedom, equality and justice. Apart from them, some new issues have
come to dominate the scene such as feminism, environmentalism, ecology, community, issue
concerning development, subalteranism etc. These are the issues which have been engaging the
attention of political theorists today. We shall touch upon these issues in the relevant chapters in
this book. Moreover traditional picture of studying the issues from a single perspective i.e. either
from liberal or Marxist point of view, is also changing. Though the method was not wrong but
today it is found inadequate. To give an example, both liberalism and Marxism have viewed
justice or freedom in the male dominated sphere of government and economy and ignored the
freedom of the traditional female spheres of home and family. An adequate theory of sexual
equality will involve considerations that simply are not addressed in the traditional right or left
debates. Similarly, communitarians have also exposed the weakness of single perspective
approach. Recent political theory is trying to redefine the issues of liberty, equality and justice in
the context of ultimate values of common good.15
significance
The significance of political theory can be derived from the purpose it serves or supposed to
serve and the task performed by it. Political theory is a form of all embracing system of values
which a society adopts as its ideal with a view to understand the political reality and, if
necessary, to change it. It involves speculation at higher level about the nature of good life, the
political institutions appropriate for its realization, to what end the state is directed and how it
should be constituted to achieve those ends. The
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significance of political theory lies in providing the moral criteria that ought to be used to judge
the ethical worth of a political state and to propose alternative political arrangements and
practices likely to meet the moral standards. The importance of political theory lies in providing
i) a description of the political phenomena, ii) a non-scientific (based upon philosophy or
religion) or a scientific (based upon empirical studies) explanation, iii) proposals for the selection
of political goals and political action, and iv) moral judgement. Examples of such a political
theory can be found in Plato's Republic, or Rawls' A Theory of Justice or Nozic's Anarchy,
State and Utopia.
As mentioned earlier, the fundamental question facing human beings has been 'how to live
together'. Politics is an activity engaged with the management of the collective affairs of society.
The significance of theory lies in evolving various doctrines and approaches regarding the nature
and purpose of the state, the bases of political authority, vision of an ideal state, best form of
government, relations between the state and the individual and basic issues such as rights,
liberty, equality, property, justice etc. Again what has become important in our times is to
explain the inter-relation between one concept and another such as the relationship between
liberty and equality, equality and property, justice and property. This is as important as peace,
order, harmony-stability and unity in the society. In fact peace and harmony in the society very
much depends upon how we interpret and implement the values of liberty, equality and justice
etc.
Contemporary states face a number of problems such as poverty, over-population, corruption,
racial and ethnic tensions, environment pollution etc., conflicts among individuals, groups as
well as nations. The task of political theory is to study and analyse more profoundly than others,
the immediate and potential problems of political life of the society and to supply the practical
politician with an alternative course of action, the consequences of which have been fully
thought of. According to David Held, the task of political theorist is really demanding because in
the absence of systematic study, there is a danger that politics will be left to the ignorant and
self-seeking people who only want to pursue it as 'power.13
In short, the significance of political theory lies in the fact that it provides systematic thinking
about the nature and purpose of
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state and government. It helps us to establish a correlation between ideals and the socio-political
phenomena. It makes the individual aware of his rights and duties in the society. It helps us to
understand the nature or' the socio-economic system and its problems like poverty, violence,
corruption, ethnicity etc. Since the task of political theory is not only to understand and explain
the social reality but also to change it, political theory helps us to evolve ways and means to
change society either through reform or revolution. When political theory performs its function
well, it is one of the most important weapons of struggle for the advancement of humanity. To
imbube people with correct theories may make them
Generally political theory is the speculation of single individual who is attempting to offer us a theoretical explanation of the political reality i.e., the phenomena of the state .it is infact ,an attempt by the political theorist to seek the truth as a theorist see it .
Theory, as with all other sciences, forms the basis of not only the scale, scope, and techniques of political science, but how to meaningfully interpret its results. Without political theory, political science would have little direction and little direct application to reality. Political theory reminds us that philosophy, to some degree, underpins all of our research, and, as such, to carefully consider the philosophical assumptions, implications, and consequences of political science.
Studying political science is significant for law as it provides a foundational understanding of political systems, governmental structures, and the interaction between the state and its citizens. This knowledge is essential for legal professionals to navigate the complexities of lawmaking and policy implementation within the broader political context. Additionally, studying political science helps lawyers to better comprehend the underlying principles that shape legal frameworks and influence decision-making processes.
The Theory of Political Coalitions was created in 1962.
Some major branches of political science include political theory, international relations, comparative politics, political economy, political Psychology, political communication, and formal theory and methodology.
yes. these bboks are used in political theory
Systems theory in political science emerged in the mid-20th century, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s. It was influenced by the work of scholars such as David Easton and Karl Deutsch, who applied concepts from systems theory to analyze political processes and behavior.
European Journal of Political Theory was created in 2002.
the significance of duality theory of linear programming
The significance of political science is great. It is an indispensable tool for things such as social welfare and development. It helps political leaders to come together and work for the greater good of man.
He was the founder of the theory of evolution.
See the link below for the theory.
The objective of political theory is to study and analyze political systems, institutions, behavior, and power dynamics in order to understand and explain how political structures function, how decisions are made, and how societies are governed. It also aims to provide normative guidance on how political systems should operate in order to promote justice, equality, and freedom.
John S. Nelson has written: 'What Should Political Theory Be Now ? (Suny Series in Political Theory)' 'Tradition, Interpretation, and Science: Political Theory in the American Academy (Suny Series in Politicsl Theory : Contemporary Issues)' 'Tropes of politics' -- subject(s): Political aspects, Political aspects of Rhetoric, Political science, Rhetoric 'Together in His name'