Questions tagged [political-theory]
Political theory is the study of the concepts in politics. Use this tag for questions regarding political philosophy or scientific theories.
279
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How many political ideologies exists in total numbers? [closed]
How many political ideologies exists in total numbers when you count all the different democratic, anarchistic etc variants altogether?, i would like to write this number in a paper i am doing, but i ...
0
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2answers
175 views
Why fight political polarization? [closed]
Political polarization is one of the key topics in politics and society today, and there seems to be a consensus on the opinion that political polarization is something bad. The ability to “reduce ...
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0answers
141 views
Can you know your political views are correct? [closed]
Which criteria should one take in consideration when evaluating if one's political views are correct?
1
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0answers
92 views
Political cost of choosing the safest option early in case of health threat [closed]
This article in the Guardian argues that most European countries were not as well prepared as some Asian countries because:
(1) There was no recent experience of a serious epidemic in the country, ...
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votes
1answer
140 views
Would it be political suicide to suggest reducing Social Security payments to help fund economic stimulus packages? [closed]
I am wondering if it may be tempting for President Trump, or the Democrat presidential candidates, or members of Congress to suggest temporarily reducing Social Security payments in order to help free ...
1
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2answers
148 views
Term for shifting positions toward the center during an election
I was thinking about various politicians who, at the beginning of their campaigns (usually presidential campaigns), held opinions typically associated with "left" or "liberal" ideology, and who, over ...
1
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1answer
344 views
To what extent is Marxism a liberal ideology?
It's been asserted in another answer here that:
Marxism is, of course, part of the spectrum of Liberal ideologies, though it is often maligned as being something 'other.'
Looking at the SEP page ...
0
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1answer
140 views
Is there an elaboration on Roger Martelli's conclusion that left-populism is doomed to fail?
In reading an article about Chantal Mouffe's work, some of which advocated for left-populism, I found this bit interesting:
According to Mouffe, who is also a philosopher of art, only Jean-Luc ...
-1
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5answers
398 views
In what ways is Marxism not (left-wing) populism?
On a certain level, Cas Mudde's definition of populism (the most accepted in academia today, it seems), namely an
ideology that considers society to be ultimately separated into
two homogeneous ...
3
votes
1answer
168 views
What is the freezing hypothesis, and is it still applicable today?
I came across the term, which seems to refer to a theory initially introduced by Lipset & Rokkan in 1967. It appears to refer to a way of categorising voters into 'frozen' blocs that don't shift ...
32
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6answers
5k views
What is the difference between totalitarianism and authoritarianism?
Both ideologies seem to have a dictatorship-like system of governance, no tolerance of dissenting opinions, and an executive which holds absolute power.
What is the difference between these two ...
2
votes
2answers
206 views
Do any countries practice a system of proportional funding/budgeting that combines everyone's funding choices?
As far as I know, most countries write up budgets like they write laws: organs of government declare what they need for the next year, someone makes a proposal, and other people add to the proposal, ...
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4answers
300 views
What prevents organizations that implements mainstream center-left, social democratic policies from becoming popular?
After seeing the first answer, I realized that the question was poorly formed and edited this from socialist organizations existing to mainstream center left organizations becoming popular
In a free ...
1
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0answers
78 views
According to Selectorate Theory, which dictatorship type is best-equipped to survive? [closed]
I understand that selectorate theory can be used to distinguish between democracy and authoritarian regimes (due to difference in winning coalitions) and between the types of dictatorship (due to ...
1
vote
1answer
154 views
Which (subjective) measure of corruption is the best predictor for an outsider winning a major election?
There's a (somewhat vague) theory that once the electorate starts to believe the political system is corrupt, it is more likely to vote for an outsider (someone who hasn't had a long political career) ...
2
votes
1answer
248 views
Are there any proposed systems to bring more long-term planning into (democratic) government?
In much of the world, (liberal) democracy (in a broad sense) is seen as the best (or least bad) system of government, and in the 20th and 21st century, living standards have improved markedly in ...
0
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3answers
75 views
Have some concrete/operational definitions been proposed for the term “shadow war”?
Various commentators have said that US and Iran and/or Israel and Iran are engaged in a "shadow war". Have there been works/proposals in political science/theory literature clearly defining this "...
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votes
2answers
182 views
Why do right-wing parties care about animals? [closed]
Donald Trump, Vlaams Belang(Belgium) and AfD(Germany) all seem to be particularly concerned with animal rights. Why is it that the right-wing cares so much about animals and does it tie into tribal ...
0
votes
1answer
258 views
Does any country “filter” otherwise eligible political candidates?
In Brazil, almost anyone can enter politics as long as they meet these conditions:
must have Brazilian nationality or be naturalized;
be in full exercise of political rights;
be listed in the ...
90
votes
15answers
7k views
What is the purpose of democracy?
In many modern political debates democracy is often considered an unalloyed virtue: things are good because they are democratic. Things the people have voted for are good because they represent the "...
4
votes
2answers
227 views
Are 'state religion' and 'official religion' the same things?
Are 'state religion' and 'official religion' the same things?
For example, Pakistan has state religion while Sri Lanka has official religion.
On https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_religion , it ...
8
votes
2answers
3k views
Is the US a welfare state?
Is the US considered a welfare state? If so, where would it be classified using the Esping-Andersen's welfare classification?
8
votes
1answer
143 views
What is the name of a doctrine that aims to solidify state loyalty by allowing minorities to secede?
Is there a name for a doctrine that states that a nation state would be better off by allowing minorities, such as the Arabs in Israel, Kurds in Turkey, or Albanians in Macedonia, to actually secede ...
1
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2answers
144 views
How widely accepted is the semi-parliamentary classification of executive-legislative relations that was espoused in Ganghof, 2018?
In Ganghof, 2018, the author argues that Australia and Japan both have a newly classified system of government that he dubbed the 'semi-parliamentary system'. In it, the legislative branch is split ...
1
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0answers
81 views
What are some good online good-faith venues for more opinionated political discussion? [closed]
I've had a rather difficult time leveraging this site for Q&A as a significant portion of my interest in politics is targeted more at formation of my own political beliefs outside the actual ...
47
votes
19answers
11k views
Is Communism intrinsically authoritarian?
As a consequence of the recent developments in China, I’ve heard a lot of commentary which characterises authoritarianism as an inevitable consequence of a Communist state.
How true is this statement?...
1
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2answers
264 views
What is the name of the (atheistic) political ideology where rulers are considered the highest moral authority?
In a theocracy, God, is considered the top of the hierarchy.
Then in some monarchies the line is blurred a bit because the monarch is considered appointed by God or to even be a living-God as in ...
3
votes
3answers
188 views
What is the difference between 'suzerainty' and 'federalism'?
What is the difference between 'suzerainty' and 'federalism’? I’ve found the following definitions, but they sound similar in many ways. What is the main difference between these 2 forms of government?...
1
vote
2answers
130 views
Can influence diagrams be an effective tool to mediate political disagreements?
From Wikipedia:
An influence diagram (also called a relevance diagram, decision
diagram or a decision network) is a compact graphical and mathematical
representation of a decision situation. It ...
2
votes
0answers
90 views
Differences between “political theory”, “political philosophy”, and “political thought”?
What're the differences between these terms:
political theory;
political philosophy;
political thought?
I ask because these terms seem to mean the same thing in common usage.
4
votes
0answers
118 views
Are there well-known democracy ranking/evaluation systems that penalize the fusion of powers (between the executive and legislative)?
Basically, I want to ask how accepted is the idea that fusion of powers between the executive and legislative, present in the Westminster-inspired systems, implies a democratic deficit of some kind. (...
6
votes
3answers
561 views
What is the meaning of “artificial borders”?
In the political analysis of many conflicts, especially regarding Africa or the Middle East, many people explain the conflicts as being caused, in part, by "artificial borders."
There are also ...
5
votes
3answers
238 views
Which political philosophy takes a situational approach as to whether government or private enterprise solves a problem better?
Background
There are several political philosophies that presume that government tends to be the solution to most societal problems as a major aspect of each philosophy.
By contrast, there are also ...
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1answer
204 views
Why Marxists Parties Keeps so Strong in England While Doesn't in USA? [closed]
As we keep reading about the subject, seems clear that marxist Parties remains very strong in England, while don't in USA, remaining as allies of Democratic Party, which rivals Republican Party, for a ...
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votes
1answer
169 views
Were the SPD social fascists?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Germany
Throughout the Weimar era, the KPD viewed the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) as its main adversary,[8] and the KPD referred to ...
7
votes
2answers
292 views
Are there standardized ways to quantify political division?
Political division seems to be one of the main issues of our time, with countless articles, op-eds, and studies describing how the US and other countries (the UK comes immediately to mind) are ...
3
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3answers
254 views
Conservatism and Executive Power
The Economist cites the philosopher and political theorist Michael Oakeshott to describe conservatism as "To be conservative... is to prefer the familiar to the unknown, to prefer the tried to the ...
4
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3answers
705 views
Is there any study linking ignorance to political preference?
I was talking with a friend of mine and we got to a realisation that ignorant people (those uneducated) tend to look for the politicians of a specific side of the political spectrum in contrast to the ...
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1answer
116 views
Is the social contract invalid if I change jurisdiction? [closed]
Can I move to a different place and nullify the social contract (just somewhere else)?
Does this destroy the moral justification for taxes?
3
votes
4answers
637 views
The meaning of “right” in Italian Fascism
In laying out the foundation for fascism, Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini wrote two essays in the 1920s and 30s known as, "La Dottrina del Fascismo".
Gentile authored the first essay titled "...
0
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2answers
172 views
Is there a standard political process which a government uses to verify claims?
https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/456092-top-aide-names-seven-deadly-sins-china-must-end-to-stop-trade-war
“Stop stealing our intellectual property, stop forcing technology
transfers,...
2
votes
5answers
483 views
Does a best or most optimized system exist?
People have diverse views about what they think is moral, what economic policy is the best, what legislation is good, etc. But all of these views are opinions. By sharing our opinions, (most) people ...
5
votes
3answers
372 views
What is the difference between a “nation” and a “country”?
I often see certain territories/ semi-sovereignties alternatively referred to as a "nation" or a "country".
For example, Quebec (the province in Canada) likes to be referred to as a "nation". Native ...
4
votes
1answer
220 views
Do any countries or states require citizens to pass a knowledge-based test before voting?
In Against Democracy, Georgetown University political philosopher Jason Brennan presents his case for epistocracy.
Do any countries or states require citizens to pass a knowledge-based test before ...
42
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3answers
10k views
Why did the World Bank set the global poverty line at $1.90?
In early 2019 Bill Gates tweeted an infographic during the 45 meeting of the World Economic Forum at Davos that showed that the proportion of people living in poverty had decreased from 94% in 1820 to ...
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1answer
124 views
Who are the main interests behind a culture that Henry Giroux calls the dictatorship of Ignorance?
Henry Giroux, in an article in Salon.com writes:
The designers of a new breed of fascism increasingly dominate major political formations and other commanding political and economic institutions ...
6
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2answers
302 views
Why is the voter turnout at EU level so low compared to national elections?
The voter turnout in the European elections in Germany in 2019 for instance was only around 62%. Notable this is still much higher than it was in previous EU elections there…
Additionally the voter ...
3
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1answer
200 views
Are there influential theories why the Lib Dems have survived on the UK political landscape?
Generally a first-past the post FPTP electoral system favors a two-party system, aka Duverger's law.
In the UK however, the Lib Dems have managed to survive for (approximately) a century the ...
4
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2answers
163 views
Is the idea of governing for one's constituents at odds with good policy?
In the US legislator, the elected people govern to help their constituents. How does this work with governing for the greater good of everyone. Let’s use climate change as an example and assume it is ...
1
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3answers
264 views
What are some political philosophies/doctrines for deciding when violence is acceptable?
Recently some UK politicians have been getting milkshakes thrown over them. No injuries resulted, but the question of when violence, including relatively minor acts such as this, can be justified or ...
