 Dear learners, welcome to this lecture on the unit titled Nature and Significance of Political Theory from the course, Recent Political Theory, from the AIME First Semester Program in Political Science under KK Handik State Open University. I am Dr. Avijit Pnya, Assistant Professor in the Discipline of Political Science at KK Handik State Open University. Political theory is a core component of the discipline of political science. While theory refers to a body of systematic knowledge, political refers to matters of public concern. At the most general level, political theory is a body of knowledge related to the phenomenon of the state. Thus, political theory denotes a systematic knowledge of political phenomena. In other words, political theory is a study of the concepts and principles that people use to describe, explain, and evaluate political events and institutions. Political theory is basically a generalized statement of our political life, which outlines the conceptual framework for synthesizing knowledge. There are different connotations of different theories and their concepts. There are different views on political theory forwarded by various scholars at different times. Some of them include the views put forward by Aristotle, Cobain, Germino, Held, Eastern, Weber, Hume, and so on. Now, the study of politics and political phenomena has had a very long tradition. It originated in ancient Greece. Political theory has been evolving since its inception. Aristotle asserted, man by nature is a political animal and he who by nature and not by mere accident is without state is either above humanity or below it. Political theory mainly deals with normative and theoretical questions and debates issues like liberty, justice, equality, democracy, et cetera. It analyzes certain basic questions such as how should the society be organized? Why do we need government? What is the best form of government? Does law limit our freedom? According to David Held, quote unquote, political theory generally aims to explain things coming out of political life. Then Karl Popper says, theory is like a net with the help of which one can catch the world to understand it. Andrew Hacker defines it as a combination of disinterested search for the principles of good state and good society on the one hand and a disinterested search for knowledge of political and social reality on the other. Political theory deals with the ideas and principles that shape constitutions, governments, and social life in a systematic manner. It clarifies the meaning of concepts such as freedom, equality, justice, democracy, secularism, and so on. It proves the significance of principles such as rule of law, separation of powers, judicial review, et cetera. This is done by examining the arguments advanced by different thinkers in defense of these concepts. Now, let us examine the distinction between political theory and political thought on the one hand and political philosophy and political science on the other hand. Political theory is the study of the phenomenon of the state, both from the philosophical as well as empirical points of view. The terms such as political thought, political philosophy, and political science all are concerned with explaining the political phenomenon. Yet, political theory is distinct from them. The distinction of political theory from other terms such as political thought, political philosophy, or political science for that matter are as follows. Political theory and political thought. It is generally believed that political thought is the thought comprising of the theories and values of all those day-to-day activities, policies, and decisions of the state and which is a bearing on our present living. Political thought has no fixed form and can be in the form of treatises, speeches, political commentaries, et cetera. What is important about political thought is that it is based on a particular period of time since the policies and programs of the governments keep changing from time to time. Thus, we have Greek political thought or Roman political thought of ancient period or the political thought of the medieval ages. Political theory, on the other hand, is a systematic speculation of a particular writer who talks specifically about the phenomena of the state. This speculation is based on certain hypothesis which may or may not be valid and may be open to criticism. Theory provides a model of explanation of political reality as is understood by the particular writer or thinker. As such, there can be different political theories of the same period. Also, political theory is based on certain disciplines, be it philosophy, history, economics, or sociology. Lastly, since the task of theory is not only to explain the political reality but also to change it or to resist change, political theory can be conservative, critical, or revolutionary. Political theory and political philosophy. Philosophy is called the science of wisdom, wisdom about this world, human beings, or God. This wisdom is all-inclusive and tries to explain everything. When this wisdom is applied to the study of political phenomena or the state, it is called political philosophy. Political philosophy belongs to the category of normative political theory. It is concerned not only with explaining what is but also what ought to be. Political philosophy is not concerned with contemporary issues but with certain universal issues in the political life of man, such as nature and purpose of the political organization, the basis of political authority, nature of rights, liberty, equality, justice, et cetera. The distinction between political philosophy and political theory is explained by the fact that whereas a political philosopher is a political theorist, a political theorist may not necessarily be a political philosopher. For example, David Easton is an eminent political theorist but is not considered a political philosopher. Though theory deals with the same issues as political philosophy, you can explain them both from the philosophical as well as empirical points of view. In other words, while political philosophy is abstract or speculative, political theory can be both normative and empirical. A political theorist is as much interested in explaining the nature and purpose of the state as in describing the realities of political behavior, the actual relations between state and the citizens and the role of power in the society. As has been pointed out by Arnold Prech, philosophical explanations are theories too but they are non-scientific. Political theory is concerned both with political institutions and the ideas and aspirations that form the basis of those institutions. However, we must not forget that though we can analytically distinguish between philosophy and theory, a political theorist is as much interested in explaining the nature and purpose of the state as in describing the realities of political behavior, the actual relations between the state and citizens and the role of power in the society. As has been pointed out by Arnold Prech, philosophical explanations are theories too but they are non-scientific. Political theory is concerned both with political institutions and the ideas and aspirations that form the basis of those institutions. Now, coming to the distinction between political theory and political science, we find that as a discipline, political science is much more comprehensive and includes different forms of speculation of politics, such as political thought, political theory, political philosophy, political ideology, institutional structural framework, comparative politics, public administration, international law and organizations, et cetera. With the rise of political science as a separate discipline, political theory was made one of its subfields. However, when used specifically with emphasis on science as distinct from theory, political science refers to the study of politics by the use of scientific methods in contrast to political theory which is free to follow intuition. Political science is concerned with describing and explaining the realities of political behavior, generalizations about man and political institutions on empirical evidence and the role of power in the society. Political theory, on the other hand, is not only concerned about the behavioral study of political phenomena from empirical point of view but also describing the goals which states, governments, societies and citizens ought to pursue. Political theory also aims to generalize about the right conduct in political life and about the legitimate use of power. Thus, political theory is neither pure thought nor philosophy nor science. While it draws heavily from all of them, yet it is distinct from them. Contemporary political theory is trying to attempt a synthesis between political philosophy and political science. Now, let us discuss the significance of political theory. The objective of political theory is to train citizens to think rationally about political questions and assess correctly the political events of our time. The importance of political theory lies in providing, firstly, a description of the political phenomena. Secondly, it provides a non-scientific explanation based upon philosophy or religion or a scientific explanation based upon empirical studies. Thirdly, it provides proposals for the selection of political goals and political action. And, fourthly, it provides a kind of model judgment. Examples of such a political theory can be found in Plato's Republic or Raus's Theory of Justice or Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia. Now, the significance of political theory may be discussed as follows. Firstly, it helps us to explain various concepts. The significance of political theory lies in the clarification of various concepts used in our day-to-day social and political life. That clarification of concepts is very much necessary in each area of study, whether philosophy or science. Political theory examines systematically and clarifies about the values that inform political life, values such as freedom, equality, and justice. It explains the meaning and significance of these concepts and other related concepts. It clarifies the existing definitions of these concepts by focusing on some major political thinkers of the past as well as present. Political theory helps us to understand and manage social life. Political theory helps in planning the future and maintaining peace and harmony in the society. A very scientific analysis of our political life enables us to control our social life by understanding and solving its various problems. The study of political science facilitates the understanding of the causes of conflict and violence in society and provide insights for preventing them. Political science helps us to live in a political society by providing us ways to prevent political and social crisis. Social criticism. Political theory engages itself with various problems and provide solutions. Primarily, political philosophy is concerned with what is right and wrong in our social life. Anything that occurs in a society is deliberated upon and political philosophy addresses and analyzes normative concerns in the context of the basic norms of a particular society. Social reconstruction. Political philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, McCavilly, Mill, MacPherson, and others have discussed the issue of social reconstruction. The proposals of the political thinkers gave insights of various social instabilities and their possible solutions, though their concepts cannot be taken as the absolute truth. These insights from their thoughts are valuable in solving the problems of our society. Political theory depicts the effort to attain knowledge through various goals and processes in a political society. The significance of political theory has come to acquire center stage in the contemporary world as present day issues assume a global dimension. So dear learners, in our lecture, we have tried to investigate the meaning of political theory. Then we have also tried to examine the distinction between political theory and political thought on the one hand and political philosophy and political science on the other hand. And finally, we have also tried to analyze the significance of political theory. Thank you, dear learners.