Английский для политической теории

"social contract"

A theoretical agreement among individuals to form a society and submit to its authority in exchange for protection and order.

"Rousseau argued that the social contract should reflect the general will of the people, not merely the interests of the powerful."

"state of nature"

A hypothetical condition of humanity before the establishment of political society or government.

"Hobbes described the state of nature as a war of all against all, making life "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.""

"political legitimacy"

The right of a government or authority to exercise power and be recognized as valid by those it governs.

"The regime lost political legitimacy after rigging the elections, and mass protests erupted across the country."

"sovereignty"

Supreme authority within a territory, including the exclusive right to make and enforce laws.

"Bodin defined sovereignty as the absolute and perpetual power of a commonwealth to make law without the consent of others."

"general will"

Rousseau's concept of the collective will of a community directed toward the common good, distinct from the sum of individual preferences.

"Critics argue that invoking the general will can be used to justify authoritarian policies in the name of the collective."

"natural rights"

Rights that individuals are believed to possess by virtue of their nature as human beings, prior to and independent of any government.

"Locke held that natural rights to life, liberty, and property are inalienable and cannot be legitimately taken by the state."

"political obligation"

The moral duty of citizens to obey the laws and institutions of the state in which they live.

"Philosophers debate whether political obligation arises from consent, fair play, or the benefits citizens receive from the state."

"civic virtue"

The moral qualities and active participation required of citizens for a republic or democracy to function well.

"Republican theorists insist that civic virtue — not merely self-interest — must motivate citizens to engage in public life."

"distributive justice"

The fair allocation of goods, benefits, burdens, and opportunities within a society.

"Rawls's theory of distributive justice permits inequalities only when they benefit the least advantaged members of society."

"veil of ignorance"

Rawls's thought experiment in which individuals choose principles of justice without knowing their place in society.

"Behind the veil of ignorance, rational agents would choose fair principles since they cannot know whether they will be born rich or poor."

"difference principle"

Rawls's principle that social and economic inequalities are just only if they benefit the least well-off members of society.

"According to the difference principle, a policy that raises overall wealth is unjust if it leaves the poorest worse off."

"recognition"

The acknowledgment of a person or group's identity, status, or worth as a precondition of full participation in society.

"Honneth argues that struggles for recognition — not merely redistribution — are at the heart of modern social conflicts."

"procedural justice"

Fairness in the processes by which decisions are made, as distinct from the fairness of outcomes themselves.

"A trial satisfies procedural justice if the defendant has legal representation, an impartial judge, and the right to present evidence."

"civil rights"

The rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality, guaranteed and protected by law.

"The civil rights movement in the United States fought to secure equal voting rights and end racial segregation."

"positive rights"

Rights that require others — typically the state — to provide goods or services, such as healthcare or education.

"Critics of positive rights argue that they impose obligations on others and may require significant redistribution of resources."

"negative rights"

Rights that protect individuals from interference by others, requiring restraint rather than active provision.

"Classical liberals emphasise negative rights, arguing that freedom means primarily being left alone by the state."

"deliberative democracy"

A form of democracy in which legitimate decisions arise from public reasoning and debate among free and equal citizens.

"Habermas defends deliberative democracy as the form of government most consistent with communicative rationality."

"separation of powers"

The division of governmental authority into distinct branches — typically legislative, executive, and judicial — to prevent tyranny.

"Montesquieu's doctrine of the separation of powers profoundly influenced the framers of the United States Constitution."

"checks and balances"

Mechanisms by which different branches of government limit each other's power to prevent any single branch from becoming dominant.

"Without robust checks and balances, even democratically elected leaders can consolidate power and undermine civil liberties."

"tyranny of the majority"

The risk that in a democracy, a majority may use its power to oppress or neglect the interests of minority groups.

"Mill warned of the tyranny of the majority and advocated for strong protections of individual liberty against collective coercion."

"polyarchy"

Dahl's term for a system of government characterised by wide political participation and open contestation for power.

"Dahl argued that real-world democracies are best described as polyarchies, falling short of the ideal of full popular sovereignty."

"hegemony"

Dominance by one group, class, or state over others, maintained through cultural and ideological means as well as force.

"Gramsci's concept of hegemony explains how the ruling class maintains power not just through coercion but by shaping public values and norms."

"democratic backsliding"

The gradual erosion of democratic institutions, norms, and practices by elected leaders from within the system.

"Political scientists have documented democratic backsliding in Hungary, Turkey, and several Latin American countries over the past decade."

"popular sovereignty"

The principle that the authority of the state is created and sustained by the consent of the people.

"Popular sovereignty underpins modern democratic theory: governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed."

"negative liberty"

Isaiah Berlin's concept of freedom as the absence of external constraints or interference by others.

"Berlin's negative liberty means that you are free to the extent that no person or institution prevents you from acting as you choose."

"positive liberty"

Isaiah Berlin's concept of freedom as the capacity to be one's own master and to realise one's potential.

"Defenders of positive liberty argue that poverty and ignorance constrain freedom as much as legal prohibition does."

"republican freedom"

Freedom as non-domination: being free means not being subject to the arbitrary will of another, even if that will is never exercised.

"Pettit argues that republican freedom differs from mere non-interference: a slave whose master is benevolent is still unfree."

"autonomy"

The capacity of individuals to govern themselves according to their own reason and values, free from coercion.

"Kantian ethics places autonomy at the centre of moral and political life: persons must be treated as ends in themselves, never merely as means."

"paternalism"

Interference with a person's liberty or choices for their own good, without their consent.

"Hard paternalism justifies overriding a fully informed and competent adult's choices for their own benefit, which many liberals reject."

"harm principle"

Mill's principle that the only legitimate reason to restrict individual liberty is to prevent harm to others.

"Under Mill's harm principle, drug use that affects only the user should not be criminalised by the state."

"toleration"

The deliberate choice to permit beliefs or practices one disagrees with or finds objectionable.

"Locke argued for religious toleration, contending that coercing belief was both ineffective and a violation of individual conscience."

"self-determination"

The right of peoples or individuals to determine their own political status and govern their own affairs.

"The principle of national self-determination became a cornerstone of international law after the First World War."

"liberalism"

A political ideology centred on individual rights, rule of law, limited government, and toleration of diverse ways of life.

"Classical liberalism emphasises free markets and limited state intervention, while egalitarian liberalism prioritises social justice."

"communitarianism"

A critique of liberalism that holds that individuals' identities and values are shaped by their communities and traditions.

"Communitarians such as Sandel argue that Rawlsian liberalism rests on an implausibly atomistic conception of the self."

"republicanism"

A political tradition that values civic participation, the common good, and freedom from domination by any individual or group.

"Neo-republican theorists draw on ancient Roman and Renaissance sources to argue for constitutions that prevent domination."

"egalitarianism"

The view that all persons are fundamentally equal and that political institutions should reduce or eliminate unjust inequalities.

"Egalitarian philosophers disagree about whether to prioritise equality of opportunity, welfare, resources, or capabilities."

"conservatism"

A political ideology that values tradition, social order, and gradual change, sceptical of radical reform.

"Burke insisted that a healthy society builds on inherited institutions and accumulated wisdom rather than abstract principles."

"critical theory"

A tradition of social and political thought aimed at exposing and challenging power relations, ideology, and domination.

"The Frankfurt School developed critical theory to analyse how culture and ideology reproduce social domination under capitalism."

"postcolonialism"

An intellectual framework that analyses the cultural, political, and economic legacies of colonialism and imperialism.

"Fanon's postcolonial theory examined how colonial domination distorts the identities and self-understanding of the colonised."

"feminism"

A political and philosophical movement that seeks to understand and challenge patriarchal structures and gender-based inequalities.

"Liberal feminism advocates equal rights within existing institutions, while radical feminism calls for restructuring patriarchal society itself."

"cosmopolitanism"

The view that all human beings belong to a single moral community and that obligations of justice extend across national borders.

"Cosmopolitan theorists argue that the global poor have a valid claim on wealthy nations to alleviate poverty, regardless of citizenship."

"global justice"

The application of principles of justice to relations among nations, peoples, and individuals across the world.

"Debates on global justice consider whether affluent states have duties to redistribute wealth to developing countries."

"just war theory"

A doctrine specifying the conditions under which warfare is morally permissible and how it must be conducted.

"Just war theory requires that military force be a last resort, proportionate, and directed only at combatants, not civilians."

"humanitarian intervention"

The use of force by one or more states in another state to protect civilians from severe human rights abuses.

"The NATO intervention in Kosovo in 1999 was defended as a case of humanitarian intervention to halt ethnic cleansing."

"normative theory"

Political theory concerned with how things ought to be — evaluating institutions and policies against moral standards.

"Normative theory asks not merely how power is distributed but whether its distribution is just and how it should be changed."

"responsibility to protect"

The principle that the international community has a responsibility to intervene when a state fails to protect its citizens from atrocities.

"The responsibility to protect was invoked to justify international action in Libya in 2011, though critics questioned its selective application."

"global governance"

The management of global affairs through international institutions, norms, and agreements in the absence of a world government.

"Effective global governance of climate change requires cooperation among states that have competing economic interests."

"statism"

The view that principles of justice apply primarily within states and that states have special obligations to their own citizens.

"Statists argue that the nation-state, not the global order, is the appropriate unit for applying distributive justice."