Political Theory

vs
Political Philosophy
 What is Political Theory?
 Political theory is the study of politics,
which refers to the practice of governance
and political organizations.
 Political theory is also more philosophically
oriented than political science.
the German philosopher Hegel’s political theory cannot be
realized without his idealistic perspective. Likewise, Karl
Marx’s theory of class struggle makes sense through his
dialectical materialist view.
 What is Political Philosophy?
 Political philosophy is the study of
philosophical foundations of political
science.
 Is the study of human social organization
of the nature of the man/woman in
society.
The di erence between Political Philosophy and political theory .
Political theory is the determinant, of independent power. There
is no independent existence of theory in state philosophy.
Although political theories come from political philosophy, they
are not based on science or information. Political theory relies
entirely on information.
Political philosophy depends on customs, traditions, and values.
Political theory is value-neutral and rational.
While political theory plays a constructive role, theory cannot go
beyond established beliefs in political philosophy. Mystery and
superstition have no place in political theory.
Types of political theory
1.Normative Prescriptive or Traditional
Political Theory.
2.Empirical or Modern or Scienti c or
Descriptive Political Theory.
3.Contemporary Political Theory.
1. Normative Prescriptive or Traditional Political
Theory
In a sense, normative political theory is a kind of
political theory through which certain formulas are
given for the transformation of an imperfect social
order to a perfect one.
Normative political theory is like a doctor’s
prescription where some way is said about what an
ideal state or society should be. And through the
implementation of that way, a sick state system will
be healed. That’s why this political theory is also
called a prescriptive political theory.
The normative theory is a systematic thinking
about government, state, and other
government institutions.
Plato’s ideal state, Hegel’s dialectics, Thinkers
of the divine theory of the state, and
socialcontract theorists, all these thinkers
build their theories based on values and
ideas and their prime goal is to establish a
good order in society.
2. Empirical or Modern or Scienti c or Descriptive
Political Theory
Empirical political theory focuses on the political
behavior of individuals. Proper observation of a
person’s political behaviour .
3. Contemporary Political Theoryl
Contemporary political theory is concerned with the
systematic elaboration of the underlying structure
of our moral and political activities, as well as
examination and reconstruction of the principal
political values such as jus
The Source of the Di erence between Political
Philosophy and Political Theory
The main reason for the distinction between
political theory and political philosophy is the
emergence of positivism in the nineteenth century.
The application of positivism in political science led
to an attempt to di erentiate between political
philosophy and political theory.
Why is it important political theory and political
philosophy?
The political philosophy is important,because it allows
to critically examining the political decisions and
policies of a society. It provides a comprehensive
understanding of the matters like justice, liberty,
freedom and equality while Political theory helps in
comprehending and clarifying complex political
concepts such as power, authority, democracy, justice,
and liberty it helps good citizens and good leaders.