Political Analysis Examples

This essay will critically evaluate and explore the influence of concepts and theories precisely on political analysis. It will argue that concepts and theories influence political analysis through marginalising important aspects, stretching definitions to allow concepts to reach beyond their limits and are not value-free as they are based on underlying assumptions. However, this is not problematic as they allow us to think critically and widen our understanding of the political paradigm through analysing the concepts themselves and the nature through which they have been formed. The argument will be reinforced through referring to the works of Max Weber, Giovanni Sartori and W.B. Gallie with reference to concept of ‘Human Rights’. There will …show more content…
This then in turn marginalises other features that play a part. This is problematic as politics is complicated and intricate in its nature and requires every aspect to be explored. Concepts simply ignore the parts of political world which make politics political. Ultimately leading us to fail to investigate and explore that which defines the political world. Lisa Wedeen explores this further when showing us that when we try to look for ‘Democracy’ in the minimalist sense we constrain ourselves to looking at state level. Nevertheless, when looking at the concept of ‘Democracy’ further in the interpretive way we will be able to find it in places like Yemen in the Arab world which fail to be associated with …show more content…
Most concepts are either ‘normative’ or ‘descriptive’. Just like normative concepts, descriptive concepts include a range of ethical and ideological implications. This becomes a problem as a distinction between the two is needed for clear thinking when analysing. Human rights can be seen as ‘normative’ as they can be argued to have moral concerns seen in the very nature of their development. However, it is crucial to consider the ideological perspective of those who have advanced and used the concept. Therefore, concepts allow us to look critically at ‘facts’ and consider what may be a social construction. Ultimately allowing us to enforce an essential need to be critical and open-minded when analysing politics. This takes us to to an important aspect of theories, which similarly have assumptions embedded within them with a range of biases that become problematic when using them to analyse politics. “One has to be clear as to whether one aspires to empirical theory or value theory”. Hence, it is important to analyse the concepts and theories themselves to gain a full understanding of