POLITICAL THEORY : MEANING, NATURE AND SCOPE

THE WORD POLTICAL THEORY IS MADE UP OF TWO WORDS:

POLITICAL AND THEORY
POLITICAL IS THE WORD WHICH MEANS ANY ACTIVITY THAT
IS RELATED TO STRUGGLE FOR POWER BECAUSE THE
MEANING OF POLITICS IS STRUGGLE FOR POWER.
NOW THIS STRUGGLE FOR POWER MAY BE PEACEFUL OR
VIOLENT. SO DEMOCRATIC COMPETITION AMONGST
DIFFERENT POLITICAL PARTIES FOR VOTES OR A CIVIL WAR IN
A COUNTRY OR WAR BETWEEN TWO NATIONS IS ALSO
POLITICS.
THEORY IS A SCIENTIFIC TERM WHICH SEEKS TO EXPLAIN THE
CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF ANY SOCIAL PHENOMENON.
THEORY IS A COLLECTION OF GENERALISATIONS OR RULES
ABOUT SOCIAL PHENOMENON WHICH ARE DISCOVERED
THROUGH THE SCIENTIFIC DATA BY OBSERVING THE DATA IN
A SCIENTIFIC, SYSTEMATIC WAY.
THUS , POLITICAL THEORY MEANS A THEORY WHICH SEEKS
TO EXPLAIN ANY POLITICAL EVENT, BEHAVIOUR OR
PHENOMENON.
FOR EXAMPLE
1) DEMOCRATIC THEORY WHICH EXPLAINS DEMOCRACY
2) ARISTOTLE’S THEORY OF REVOLUTION WHICH STATES
THAT IF SOCIAL INJUSTICE INCREASES IN A SOCIETY
 BEYOND A CERTAIN POINT THEN THE SOCIETY WILL
BURST INTO A REVOLUTION OR POLITICAL VIOLENCE.
NATURE OF POLTICAL THEORY:
1) POLTICAL THEORY IS NOT HUNDERED PERCENT PRECISE
OR ACCURATE AS COMPARED TO SIMILAR THEORIES IN
SAY MATHEMATICS. THIS IS DUE TO THE FACT THAT
NUMBER OF CAUSATIVE FACTORS AND THEIR POSSIBLE
EFFECTS IN SOCIAL SCIENCES IS HUGE AND THIS
COMPLEXITY MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT TO PRODUCE
HUNDRED PERCENT ACCURATE THEORIS IN POLITICAL
SCIENCE.
THE THEORIES IN POLITICAL SCIENCE ARE GENERALLY TRUE.
THAT IS THEY ARE TRUE IN MOST CASES BUT IN SOME CASES
THE THEORY MAY FAIL. SUCH CASES ARE CALLED
EXCEPTIONAL CASES TO A THEORY.
2) THE LABORATORY FROM WHERE THE DATA IS
COLLECTED IN POLITICAL SCIENCE IS NOT A
CONTROLLED ROOM LABORATORY OF SAY CHEMISTRY.
BUT THE LABORATORY IN POLITICAL SCIENCE IS
SOCIETY. SO ALL THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENTIST S
CONDUCT EXPERIMENTS IN THE SOCIETY AND COLLECT
DATA FROM HERE. THUS MARX’S IDEAS AND JJ
ROUSSEAU’S IDEAS WERE A SORT OF EXPERIMENT IN
EXPERIMENT IN THE SOCIETY REGARDING POLITICS.
3) THE PERSONAL EMOTIONS OF THE SCIENTISTS AND THE
MORAL VALUES ARE NOT USED WHILE MAKING
 SCIENTIFIC RULES OR GENERALISATIONS IN POLITICAL
THEORY
4) THE MODERN POLTICAL THEORY ie POLITICAL THEORY
IN OUR CONTEMPORARY TIMES IS MOSTLY
CONCERNED WITH DEMOCRACY, DEVELOPMENT , AND
SOCIAL JUSTICE.
5) POLITCAL THEORY ALSO USES MATHEMATICS AND
STATISTICS LIKE OTHER PHYSICAL SCIENCES TO ARRIVE
AT CERTAIN THEORIES. FOR EXAMPLE STATISTICAL DATA
TABLES AND CHARTS ARE USED TO CONDUCT OPINION
POLLS AND EVEN MATHEMATICAL TOOLS LIKE
ECONOMETRICS ARE ALSO USED IN POLITICAL THEORY.
SCOPE OF POLTICAL THEORY
POLITICAL THEORY INCLUDES AND IS CONCERNED WITH ANY
ACTIVITY WHERE STRUGGLE FOR POWER IS HAPPENING. SO
EVERY DAY CONFLICT OR COMPITITION AMONGST
COLLEGUES IN AN OFFICE OR AMONGST A GROUP OF
COLLEGE FRIENDS IS ALSO POLITICS.
1) POLTICAL THEORY INCLUDES ALL THE POLITICAL
STRUGGLE OR ACTIVITY WHICH IS HAPPENING AT THE
LEVEL OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT. SO PANCHAYAT
ELECTIONS AND ELECTIONS FOR THE MUNICIPAL
CORPORATIONS IS PART OF POLTICAL THEORY.
2) POLITICAL THEORY ALSO INCLUDES THE ATRUGGLE FOR
POWER AND GOVERNMENTAL SEATS AT THE STATE
 LEVEL. SO ELECTIONS FOR THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
IN A STATE ARE ALSOPART OF POLITCSL THEORY.
3) THE ELECTIONS OR THE STRUGGLE FOR POWER TO
FORM GOVERNMENT AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL IS ALSO
PART OF POLITICAL THEORY.
4) THE STRUGGLE FOR POWER AMONGST NATIONS AND
COUNTRIES IS ALSO PART OF POLTICAL THEORY. SO
EVENTS LIKE THE TWO WORLD WARS AND THE
FORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS TO TACKLE THE
PROBLEM OF WAR IS ALSO PART OF POLITICAL THEORY.
5) THE ECONOMIC RIVALRY BETWEEN VARIOUS MULTI-
NATIONAL COMPANIES AND THEIR RELATIONS WITH
THE THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS OF THE COUNTRIES
WHERE THEY OPERATE IS ALSO PART OF THE POLITICAL
THEORY. FOR EXAMPLE THE POLITICS IN THE AGE OF
GLOBALISATION AND THE CURRENT TRADE WARS
BETWEEN THE USA AND CHINA.
6) BESIDES THE SUBJECT MATTER OF POLTICAL THEORY IS
SCATTERED ALL OVER THE SOCIAL SCIENCES LIKE
HISTORY, SOCIOLOGY, ECONOMICS, PHILOSOPHY,
ANTROPOLOGY, LAW ETC. THESE ARE THE FIELDS FROM
WHERE THE POLITICAL THEORY GETS ITSSUBJECT
MATTER AND WHERE THE APPLICATIONS OF POLITICAL
THEORIES ARE MADE.
POLITICS VS POLITICAL THEORY VS POLITICAL SCIENCE
POLITICS IS ANY ACTIVITY WHERE STRUGGLE FOR POWER IS
HAPPENING, PEACEFUL OR VIOLENT.
POLITICAL THEORY IS SCIENTIFIC PROCESS OF THEORETICAL
FORMULATION REGARDING ANY POLITICAL ACTIVITY, EVENT,
OR PHENOMENA.
POLITICAL SCIENCE IS THE ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE OR THE
SUBJECT THAT SEEKS TO SCIENTIFICALLY, SYSTEMATICALLY
STUDY POLITCS AND POLITICAL THEORY.
RECENT ADDITIONS TO POLTICAL THEORY AFTER 1990’S
1) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND ENVIRONMENTAL
MOVEMENTS,
2) POLITICS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
3) GAY RIGHTS OR THE RIGHTS OF THE LGBTQ
COMMUNITY.
4) POLITICS OF MULTICULTURALISM.
5) POLITICS OF GLOBALISATION.
6) POLITICS OF FEMINISM OR WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
OR GENDER JUSTICE.