Constructive apathy (20TH CENTURY)

Theory of the political inaction of the majority in democracies, developed by American political scientists in the second half of the 20th century. Only a small number, an elite, are politically active in democracies. Any great degree of activism on the part of the masses would be destabilizing, and subversive of democracy. Therefore the political apathy of

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Contingency theory

A skeptical theory of politics and history. Any historical situation or set of political events is as likely to be shaped by particular circumstances – contingencies – as by any general structures, rules, or frameworks. Understanding thus depends as much on looking at the peculiarities of the case as at the general conditions in

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Crisis management (20TH CENTURY)

Attempted general account of strategy in international conflict. A middle way requires to be found between total intransigence and surrender. Source: Graham Evans and Jeffrey Newnham, The Dictionary of World Politics (Hemel Hempstead, 1990) Introduction Crisis management is a situation-based management system that includes clear roles and responsibilities and process related organisational requirements company-wide.

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Crisis theory (20TH CENTURY)

Any theory which sees history or political events making their most significant advances through crises. Crises may be of many kinds: crisis of capitalism, legitimacy crisis, crisis of confidence amongst rulers, or of faith or support amongst subjects. Source: James O’Connor, The Meaning of Crisis (Oxford, 1987) Crisis theory, concerning the causes[1] and consequences of the tendency for

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Critical theory (20TH CENTURY)

An academic development of Marxism. Critical theory was developed in Germany and then America in the 1930s by the ‘Frankfurt School’. It stressed cultural and intellectual developments in place of the more traditional Marxist concern with the economy and with class. Critical theory (also capitalized as “Critical Theory” to distinguish the school of thought from a theory that

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Cybernetics (20TH CENTURY)

Application of mechanical and scientific models for the understanding of political life. The manner in which political systems and institutions co-ordinate and control their own actions can be explained principally in terms of their internal ‘mechanisms’, and their actions understood principally in terms of these internal processes, rather than by reference to outside pressures

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David Easton

American political scientist. Major works of David Easton – A Framework for Political Analysis, Prentice-Hall, 1965 – A Systems Analysis of Political Life, Wiley, 1965; re-issued University of Chicago Press, 1979 – Varieties of Political Theory,(ed.), Prentic-Hall, 1966 – Children in the Political System, (with J. Dennis), McGraw-Hill, 1969; re-issued, University of Chicago Press,

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Decision making theory (20TH CENTURY)

Theory of politics as rational. Government and politics can be treated as a series of decisions taken by persons and institutions who make rational decisions, or who act as if they made rational decisions, in the light of their interests and the circumstances in which they operate. Source: Patrick Dunleavy, Democracy, Bureaucracy and Public Choice (Hemel

Decline of the west (1918)

Historical theory of German writer Oswald Spengler (1880-1936). A version of cyclical theory which presents civilizations as having ‘seasons’, and Western Europe as entering its ‘winter’ in the 20th century, with predictions of war and despotic leadership. Source: David Miller et al., eds, The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought (Oxford, 1987) General context Spengler relates that

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Deference (20TH CENTURY)

Theory of political order, and of voting. In obeying laws and rulers, people are moved by ‘deference’ to those whom they regard as in some often unspecified sense their superiors. Similar attitudes explain the support given to conservative and right wing parties by voters who it might be argued would benefit from redistributive or

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Democracy

Majority rule. Democratic theory begins with the justification of government by the people, usually in terms either of the rights of individual citizens, or the need to protect their interests effectively. It then proceeds to the two questions of what government by the people means, and how, if at all, it can be implemented. Source: David Held, Models

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Democratic centralism (20TH CENTURY)

Theory of Communist Party organization. Power in Communist Parties was derived from the rank and file, but it could and should then be used to preserve disciplined orthodoxy. In practice this meant that central despotism over the membership could be justified by reference to the consent of those thus subjected. It is now of largely historical

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Democratic elitism (20TH CENTURY)

Theory of democracy set out by the American economist and political scientist Joseph Schumpeter(1883-1946). The theory of democracy had attributed power to the people; that of elitism had attributed it to minorities. In democracies this polarity is resolved, by elites competing for popular electoral support to enable them to exercise power subject to its being renewed at the next election. Source:

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Dependency theory (20TH CENTURY)

Theory of international and domestic politics. The third world, or the poor, or the working class, or women, have to choose within structures or societies where they are dependent on the industrial world, or the rich, or men, for the means of existence. Their ‘choice’ of subordinate roles is thus determined from the start.

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Deterrence (20TH CENTURY)

Theory of nuclear strategy. Nations can deter other nations from attacking them by the knowledge of certain retaliation. The most familiar form of such retaliation is possession of (sufficient) nuclear weapons. Also see: balance of terror, mutually assured destruction Source: Graham Evans and Geoffrey Newnham, The Dictionary of World Politics (Hemel Hempstead, 1990) Deterrence may refer to:

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Detonator theory (20TH CENTURY)

Theory of insurrection. Discontented populations, particularly under foreign occupation, are likened to explosive material which requires detonation by some additional action. This can be provided by trained elites, if necessary entering from abroad. The theory informed some of the activities of the Allies during World War II. Also see: foco theory Source: David Stafford, Britain

Development theory (20TH CENTURY)

The industrialized nations represent the most advanced form of society, and other nations are categorized in terms of their approximation to this model. They can thus be judged more or less developed, and their efforts should be directed towards approaching as close as possible to the ‘developed’ model in their political, social, and economic

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Dialectical materialism (19TH CENTURY- )

Term coined by German philosopher JOSEF DIETZGEN (1820-1888) and developed by Marx’s successors. History moved forward as a result of ‘argument’ between different material features of human society. Dialectical materialism was an ambitious and almost abstract attempt by Karl Marx’s successors to give an account of all human and natural events, and was subsequently largely discarded.

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Dictatorship of the proletariat (19TH CENTURY- )

Theory of course of revolution, coined by German social theorist Karl Marx (1818-83) but used most frequently by Russian revolutionary Vladimir I. Lenin (1870-1924). The capitalist state would be destroyed and replaced by a temporary dictatorship of the whole proletariat which, in abolishing capitalism, would itself then either away and be replaced by communism in which there would be neither coercive state

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Difference principle (1971)

Theory for applying equality, proposed by the American political theorist John Rawls (1921-2002). Treating people unequally is only justified if by so doing the least advantaged member of society is made better off. Source: David Miller et al., eds, The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought (Oxford, 1987) Theory Difference theory has roots in the studies of John

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