SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY-DE

Q 1 Explain the Orthodox and Liberal perspective of political theory Answer- Orthodox Perspective
Orthodox political theory has positive explicit uniqueness. Firstly, it was dominated by philosophy. Great philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle were notable because of the comprehensiveness and scope of their thought. The digressions of political theory included description, explanation, prescription and evaluation. Secondly, there was no clear distinction between philosophical, theological and political issues. Political theory was not an autonomous subject as it is today. Thirdly, political theory was concerned with probing into issues, asking important questions and serving as a sort of conscience keeper of politics. Fourthly, classical tradition believed that political theory dealt with the political whole the theory must be all-comprehensive and all-inclusive.

Liberal (Broad-Minded) Perspective The long spell of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Cicero and other thinkers of the classical age was broken in a variety of ways after the twin revolutions of Renaissance and Reformation in Europe since the fifteenth century, coupled with the Industrial Revolution later on. The Renaissance produced a new intellectual climate which gave birth to modern science and modern philosophy and a new political theory known as liberalism. This new political theory found classical expression in the writings of Grotius, Hobbes, Locke, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Jeremy Bentham, J.S. Mill, Herbert Spencer and a host of other writers. While classical political theory considered the moral development of individual and the evolution of the community as co-terminus, the liberal political theory developed the concept of sovereign individual. The central theme of this political theory was individualism. The liberal theory declared that state is not a natural institution but comes into existence by mutual consent for the sole purpose of preserving and protecting the individual rights. The new liberal political theory dismissed the idea of common good and an organic community.

Q2. Critically analyse the institutional approach in comparative political analysis. Answer- The study of institutions goes a long way back, starting possibly with the
philosophical explorations of Platos Republic. In this section, we will get a general idea of the historical evolution of the institutional approach. We are, for the most part, concerned with studying the approach within the field of comparative political analysis. Therefore, our main concern is with the historical moment at which the institutional approach took on a comparative character. Ethnocentrism is a typical feature of this approach. Major portions of the works which represent the institutional approach in comparative politics have only taken into account governments and institutions in the West. Inherent in this approach is the belief that western liberal democratic institutions are dominant. Thus, according to this view, western liberal democracy is not only the best form of government, but it also has a normative and universal character. The widespread nature of western liberal democracy takes for granted that not only is this style of government the best, but also relevant across the world. The normativity of western liberal democracies is a consequence of this belief. If it is the best form of governance which is also appropriate in all contexts, liberal democracy is the form of government which should be implemented everywhere. But an important exception also arises from this prescribed norm of liberal democracy.

Q3 Explain the role of post-behaviouralism in the study of politics. Answer- David Easton, in 1969, in his presidential address to the American Political Science
Association announced a new revolution in political science a post behavioural revolution that represented a shift of focus from strict methodological issues to a greater concern with public responsibilities of the discipline and with political problems. Thus, post 1

SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY-DE behaviouralism is concerned with the reality of human life. The post-behaviouralism gave two slogans: relevance and action. However it did not completely depart from behaviouralism; rather it stood for consolidating its gain and applying them from problem-solving crisis management. Easton lamented the overreliance of behaviouralists on methodology. He says that intellectuals have a great role to play in protecting the human value of civilization. He emphasized that behaviouralists should not ignore this role. He reminded them of their responsibility to reshape society. He argued that scientists could adopt a rational interest in value construction and application without denying the validity of their science. It placed less emphasis on the scientific method and empirical theory, and laid more stress on the public responsibilities of the discipline. In a nutshell, post-behaviouralism seeks to reintroduce a concern for values in the behavioural approach itself. Post-behaviouralism challenged the idea that academic research had to be value neutral and argued that values should not be neglected. Post behaviouralism claimed that behaviouralisms bias towards observable and measurable phenomena meant that too much emphasis was being placed on easily studied trivial issues at the expene of more important topics. Research should be more relevant to society and intellectuals have a positive role to play in society. For the post-behaviouralists, a theory, in order to be treated as an explanatory theory, in the first place has to be evaluated, i.e., tested empirically. Easton pointed out that dissatisfaction with behaviouralism led to revisions in the method and content, favouring a revival of interpretive understanding and historical analysis, and a complete rejection of systematic methodology, while at the same time emphasizing the need to introduce formal modelling and rational actor deductivism. He announced the beginning of neo-behaviouralism in order to bring about a new unity in the theoretical focus of the discipline.

Q4. Briefly discuss the forms of legitimate governments. Answer- Philosopher Walter Bryce Gallie (191298) suggested that political legitimacy is
basically a challenged idea and offered this suggestion to aid the comprehension of the various applications and interpretations of qualitative and evaluative ideas for example art, social justice, etc., as employed in aesthetics, political philosophy, the philosophy of religion and the philosophy of history. The following are the examples of the forms of legitimate governments: 1. Constitutionalism The contemporary political idea of constitutionalism sets up the law as supreme over the individual will, by integrating nationalism, democracy and restricted government. The political legitimacy of constitutionalism is obtained from the well-known belief and recognition that government deed is legal for abiding the law codified in the political constitution. Political scientist Carl Joachim Friedrich said that constitutionalism, by dividing power among the organs of government, successfully limits governmental action with codified law. 2. Monarchy In a monarchy, the ruling legitimacy of the king or the queen is obtained from the popular discernment (tradition and custom) that he or she is the legal ruler, owing to the divine right of kings. In the modern, twenty-first-century world, such political legitimacy is apparent in the absolute monarchy of the House of Saud in Saudi Arabia. Its alternative, the constitutional monarchy, is based upon an amalgamation of traditional authority and legal rational authority, to uphold nationalist unity (one people) and democratic administration (a political constitution). 3. Democracy In a democracy, government legitimacy is obtained from the well-known outlook that government abides democratic rules in ruling, and is lawfully answerable to its people. 4. Communism Communist countries maintained governmental legitimacy for having earned a rebellion or for having won a poll, and, therefore, their actions are legal, authorized by the public. In the beginning of the twentieth century, communist parties based their debates upon the scientific nature of Marxism.

SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY-DE 5. Fascism In the 1920s and 1930s, fascism, which was based upon conventional authority arguments, the German National Socialists and Italian fascism, in that order, claimed political legitimacy by theoretically refuting the political legality of elected liberal democratic governments.

Q5 Explain the following: i) Natural Rights vs. Legal Rights. ii) Claim Rights vs. Liberty Rights Answeri) Natural rights can be defined as the rights which are natural, i.e., they are not artificial, or man-made. They are the rights which are derived from deontic logic, from human nature, or from the edicts of a god. They are universal, i.e., they are applicable to all people, and do not derive from the laws of any specific society. They are inherent in every individual and cannot be taken away. For example, it has been argued that humans have a natural right to life. They are sometimes called moral rights or inalienable rights. In contrast, legal rights are based on the customs, laws, statutes or actions by legislatures of society. An example of a legal right is the right to vote of citizens. Citizenship, itself, is often considered as the basis for having legal rights, and has been defined as the right to have rights. Sometimes, legal rights are called civil rights or statutory rights. They are culturally and politically relative as they are dependent on a specific societal context to have meaning. Some thinkers view rights in only one sense, i.e., either as natural or legal, while others accept that both senses have a measure of validity. Throughout history, there has been considerable philosophical debate about these senses. A claim right can be defined as a right which necessitates that another person has a duty to the right-holder. Somebody else must do or refrain from doing something to or for the claim holder, such as perform a service or supply a product for him or her. Every claim-right requires that some other duty-bearer should perform some duty for the claim to be satisfied. This duty can be to act or to refrain from acting. For example, several jurisdictions recognize broad claim rights to things such as life, liberty, and property; these rights impose an obligation upon others not to assault or restrain a person, or use their property, without the permission of the claim-holder. Similarly, in jurisdictions where social welfare services are provided, citizens have legal claim rights to be provided with those services. On the other hand, a liberty right or privilege is a freedom or permission for the right-holder to do something. There are no obligations on other parties to do or not do anything. For example, if a person has a legal liberty right to free speech, that simply means that it is not legally prohibited for them to speak freely. However, it does not mean that anyone has to help enable their speech, or to listen to their speech, or even refrain from stopping them from speaking. Nevertheless, other rights, such as the claim right to be free from assault, may strictly limit what others can do to stop them.

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Q6 The underlying principle of the State is that it is a tool for serving the citizens. Discuss with a focus on Gandhijis views on Swaraj Answer- Swaraj usually means self-governance or self-rule. It was used synonymously
with home-rule by Mahatma Gandhi. However, the word commonly refers to Gandhijis idea for Indias independence from British domination. Swaraj lays emphasis on governance not by a hierarchical government, but self-governance by individuals and through community development. Its stress is on political decentralization. As this opposed the political and 3

SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY-DE social systems practised by British colonial government in India, Gandhijis idea of Swaraj focused on India giving up British political, economic, bureaucratic, legal, military and educational systems. Although Gandhijis objective of completely implementing the ideas of Swaraj in India was not attained, the charitable work organizations, which he had established for this aim, did serve as precursors and role models for peoples movements, voluntary organizations and a few non-governmental organizations. The Bhoodan movement led to the reform of legislation activities all over India. This movement led to the rejection of the Zamindari system. It was also motivated by the concepts of Swaraj. However, Swaraj necessitated a stateless society. Gandhiji termed the State as a soulless machine, which eventually does the greatest harm to humanity. The underlying principle of the State is that it is a tool for serving the citizens. However, Gandhiji feared that in the name of moulding the State into an appropriate instrument of serving people, the State would abrogate the rights of the citizens and assume the role of grand guardian and demand abject acquiescence from them.