Understanding Political Theory

By Dr. Ashwini Kumar Sharma | Shri Atal Bihari Vajpai, Govt. Arts and College, Indore, MP.

Learners enrolled: 252

Politics:

An Introduction What is politics?

Almost every day we not only read and hear but also speak the word "politics". China is doing politics in Galvan American politics is not easy to understand Politics of Pakistan and ISI is always troublesome for us India should leave politics like soft state etc. etc.

So, what the politics is all about?

Mainly politics is the study of power. But A special kind of power. The power that humans exert over one another.

Let’s take an example - “A gun may be powerful but its power is only physical until a human takes control over it. After human control, the gun power turn from physical to political. “ Politics as a discipline addresses the concept of power. 1. What it is? 2. Who should have it? 3. Under What conditions? 4. when should it be exercised? 5. In what way and for whom? 6. is it more important that it is fair or effective?

Lots of questions are there.
The analysis of power in the form of political theory was born in Ancient Greece.

The legacy of thoughts was started from Socrates, which was then carried out by his student Plato and then transferred to his student Aristotle.

Aristotle ‘s politics contains the famous line “Men is a political animal”. It means that it is our nature to live in societies and to have power over one another but how we arrange these things, Aristotle says is up to us.

This theory of thoughts took a very interesting turn, when Aristotle passed this legacy to his student Alexander and made him one of the greatest warriors of the world. A same scenario was to be seen in India where Kautilya (which is also known as Chanakya) a political thinker trained his student Chandragupta Maurya to be his warrior.

These examples are proof that political theories can also be used as a practical weapon. Acharya Chanakya said it very wisely that, “The teacher is never ordinary, both catastrophe and creation play in his lap." As a student of politics, we will study the core paper of BA honours, that is Paper 1 - Understanding Political Theory

Summary

Course Status :	Upcoming
Course Type :	Core
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	12 weeks
Category :	Political Science
Credit Points :	5
Level :	Undergraduate
Start Date :	09 Jan 2025
End Date :	30 Apr 2025
Enrollment Ends :	28 Feb 2025
Exam Date :	25 May 2025 IST
NCrF Level	4.5
Industry Details :	Education Sector
Exam Shift :	I

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Lesson Plan

Week 1: 1. Political Theory : Meaning and Significance

2. Politics and Different Concepts

3. Liberalism

4. Socialism

5. Marxism

Week 2: 6. Anarchism

7. Concept of State – (Definition and Elements)

8. State - Functions and Justifications

9. Origin of the State - Divine Theory

10. Austin’s theory of sovereignty

Week 3: 11. Theory of Origin of State- Social Contract Theory

12. Evolutionary Theory of the Origin of the State

13. Theory of Origin of State- - Force Theory

14. Pluralism

15. Public welfare State

Week 4: 16. Nationalism Part -1

17. Nationalism Part -2

18. Concept of Power

19. Concept of Authority

20. Sovereignty

Week 5: 21. Law- Concept and Characteristics

22. Liberty

23. Laski and Mill’s Views on Liberty

24. Marxist Notion of Liberty

25. Concept of Equality

Week 6: 26. Concept of Justice

27. Concept of Rights

28. Bentham and Utilitarianism

29. Feminism Part-1 - Approach and Perspective

30. Feminism Part- 2 - Personal is Political

Week 7: 31. Meaning of democracy (Liberal, Direct and Indirect democracy)

32. Merits and Demerits of Democracy (Democracy in India)

33. Modern Approach- Foreign Policy Dimension (Democracy Promotion)

34. Classical Democracy

35. Participatory Democracy

Week 8: 36. Deliberative Democracy and Social Democracy

37. People’s Democracy

38. Pluralist Theory

39. Elitist Theory

Week 9: 40. Marxist Theory

41. Cosmopolitan Democracy

42. E-Democracy

43. Principles of Adult or Universal Franchise

44. Concept of Direct Election

Week 10:45. Concept of Indirect Election, Proportional Representation and Single Transferable Vote System

46. List System

47. Accountability

Week 11:48. Citizenship (Concept)

49. Types of Citizenship

50. Election Commission - Organizations, Powers and Functions

51. Electoral Reforms (Pre 2000)

52. Electoral Reforms (Post 2000)

Week 12:53. Electoral Reforms (Issues, Challenges and Suggestions)

54. The Party System (Single Party System)

55. The Party System (Multi Party System)

56. Public Opinion (Concept, Tools and Present Scenario)

Books and references

1. Acharya, A. and Bhargava, R. (Ed.) “Political Theory: An Introduction”, Pearson: New Delhi, 2008

2. Arblaster, A., “Democracy: Concepts in the Social Sciences”, New York: Open University Press,1994.

3. Bhargava, R., “What is Political Theory and Why Do We Need It?” Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.

4. Barry, N., “An Introduction to Modern Political theory”, London: Macmillan,1981.

5. Held, D., “Models of Democracy”, Polity Press, Cambridge, 1991.

6. Farrely, C.A. “Introduction to Contemporary Political Theory: A Reader”, London: Sage, 2004.

7. Heywood, A. “Political Ideologies: An Introduction”, London: Palgrave.2004.

8. Heywood, “A. Politics”, London: Palgrave Macmillan. 2013. 4th ed.

9. Mackinnon, C. “Issues in Political Theory”, New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.

10. Smits, K. “Applying Political Theory” London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016. 2nd ed.

11. Vincent, A. “The Nature of Political Theory”, New York: Oxford University, Press, 2004.

Instructor bio

Dr. Ashwini Kumar Sharma

Shri Atal Bihari Vajpai, Govt. Arts and College, Indore, MP.

Course certificate

The course is free to learn. Interested Learners can enroll and learn the course for free.

If You wish to get certified on this course you must register and write the proctored exam after payment of exam fee.
The exam is conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA) in various exam centres across India.
30 % will be allocated for Internal Assessment and 70 % will be allocated for external proctored examination.
A minimum 40 % passing marks are needed in internal AS WELL AS external for being eligible for certificate.

Exam pattern:
Computer Based Test (CBT)
50 MCQs (Each Set)

SWAYAM Helpline / Support