"Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them."
The study of fundamental questions about politics and the nature of government, including the meaning of justice, rights, and the ideal form of government.
The state: This topic includes the nature, origin, and functions of the state. It looks at the different types of states such as democracy, monarchy, and dictatorship.
Power: Power refers to the ability to control and influence others. The topic looks at different forms of power such as coercion, persuasion, and authority. It also examines the relationship between power and legitimacy.
Freedom: This topic looks at the different types of freedom such as negative and positive freedom. It also examines the relationship between freedom and other political concepts such as justice and equality.
Justice: Justice refers to the fair and equitable treatment of individuals in society. This topic examines different theories of justice such as utilitarianism, liberalism, and communitarianism.
Equality: This topic looks at the different types of equality such as social and political equality. It also examines the relationship between equality and other political concepts such as justice and freedom.
Rights: Rights refer to the entitlements that individuals have in society. This topic examines different theories of rights such as natural rights and legal rights.
Democracy: Democracy refers to the system of government in which power is vested in the people. This topic examines different models of democracy such as direct, representative, and deliberative democracy.
Citizenship: Citizenship refers to the status of being a member of a state. This topic examines different theories of citizenship such as liberal, republican, and cosmopolitan citizenship.
Ideology: Ideology refers to the set of ideas and beliefs that guide political action. This topic examines different political ideologies such as conservatism, liberalism, and socialism.
Globalization: Globalization refers to the increasing interconnectedness and interdependence of nations and peoples. This topic examines the political and economic implications of globalization.
Liberalism: Emphasizes individual freedoms, limited government involvement in people's lives, and free-market capitalism.
Conservatism: Advocates for tradition, hierarchy, social stability, and free-market capitalism.
Marxism: Seeks to abolish capitalism and establish a socialist society that promotes collective ownership and equal opportunity.
Anarchism: Opposes all forms of hierarchy and government, and emphasizes individual freedom and self-regulation.
Communism: Aims to create a classless and stateless society where ownership and control of resources are shared by all.
Socialism: Advocates for collective ownership of resources and the means of production, with the intention of creating a more equal distribution of resources and opportunities.
Libertarianism: Advocates for individual freedoms, including personal autonomy, free markets, and non-interventionist government policies.
Feminism: Seeks to address the social, cultural, and political inequalities faced by women, and promoting gender equity.
Environmentalism: Advocates for protecting and preserving the environment and supporting sustainable policies in politics and economics.
Nationalism: Emphasizes the importance of national identity, sovereignty, and independence.
"Its topics include politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of laws by authority: what they are, if they are needed, what makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect, what form it should take, what the law is, and what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government, if any, and when it may be legitimately overthrown, if ever."
"Political theory also engages questions of a broader scope, tackling the political nature of phenomena and categories such as identity, culture, sexuality, race, wealth, human-nonhuman relations, ethics, religion, and more."
"Political philosophy is a branch of philosophy, but it has also played a major part of political science, within which a strong focus has historically been placed on both the history of political thought and contemporary political theory (from normative political theory to various critical approaches)."
"For a long time, the challenge for the identity of political theory has been how to position itself productively in three sorts of location: in relation to the academic disciplines of political science, history, and philosophy."
"Between the world of politics and the more abstract, ruminative register of theory."
"Between canonical political theory and the newer resources (such as feminist and critical theory, discourse analysis, film and film theory, popular and political culture, mass media studies, neuroscience, environmental studies, behavioral science, and economics) on which political theorists increasingly draw."
"[...] an interdisciplinary endeavor whose center of gravity lies at the humanities end of the happily still undisciplined discipline of political science."
"But in French and Spanish, the plural (sciences politiques and ciencias políticas, respectively) is used, perhaps a reflection of the discipline's eclectic nature."
"[...] between the academic disciplines of political science, history, and philosophy."
"[...] between the world of politics and the more abstract, ruminative register of theory."
"[...] politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of laws by authority."
"[...] the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them."
"[...] on which political theorists increasingly draw."
"[...] the history of political thought and contemporary political theory."
"[...] feminism and critical theory, discourse analysis, film and film theory, popular and political culture, mass media studies, neuroscience, environmental studies, behavioral science, and economics."
"[...] addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them."
"[...] what makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect, what form it should take, what the law is, and what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government."
"[...] both the history of political thought and contemporary political theory."
"[...] an interdisciplinary endeavor."