Unit-2 Theorising The Political

This Unit deals with the various relevant concerns of political philosophising/theorising.

What are the ‘broad’ and the ‘narrow’ view of politics/political phenomenon?

Enumerate and describe the salient features of either the historical or the sociological approach to studying politics.

Distinguish between the philosophical and the integrated approaches to studying politics.

Comment on the autonomous character of political science.

Distinguish between normative and empirical political theory.

Comment on the contemporary relevance of classics of politics.

Discuss the views of either Michael Oakeshott or Hannah Arendt.

Discuss the views of either Eric Voegelin or Christian Bay.

Discuss the views of either Eric Voegelin or Christian Bay.

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Eric Voegelin: He does not make a distinction between political theory and political science –to him political theory would mean a critical reflection on politics, without which there can be no political science. Voegelin is strongly of the view that we never had the materials available and the intellectual climate suitable for great advances in theoretical analysis, as now. Voegelin is against system building in modern philosophy and believes that the system-constructors are ignorant of the basic experience of existence.
Christian Bay: He agreed with David Easton’s definition of politics as consisting of “all the processes by which public values are promoted and distributed by means of power and authority”, but objected to a virtual absence in such a definition of any reference to the relatedness of politics to human needs and problems. The mass of behavioural research in political science today, he writes, “deals with voting and with opinions and attitudes on social, political and economic issues.