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Political Theory

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Political Theory Basics: Power and Justice Learn the fundamentals of political theory including power, justice, authority, liberty, and the major traditions that … 7 min Ancient Political Thought: Plato to Cicero Explore the foundations of Western political thought from Plato and Aristotle through Cicero, whose ideas shaped two … 8 min Social Contract Theory: Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau Understand social contract theory through Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau — how consent, natural rights, and the general … 8 min Liberalism: Individual Rights and Limited Government Explore the history, principles, and varieties of liberalism from Locke to Rawls, including individual rights, limited … 8 min Conservatism: Tradition, Order, and Authority Understand conservatism as a political ideology through Burke, tradition, order, authority, and the varieties of … 7 min Marxism and Critical Theory: Inequality and Change Explore Marxism and critical theory including Marx's critique of capitalism, historical materialism, alienation, the … 8 min Democracy: Theory, Practice, and Challenges Explore democracy as a political system — its origins in ancient Athens, competing models, core principles, and the … 7 min Justice and Equality: Philosophical Foundations Examine the major philosophical theories of justice from Aristotle to Rawls including distributive justice, equality of … 8 min Rights and Liberty: Foundations of Freedom Discover the philosophical foundations of rights and liberty including natural rights, positive and negative liberty, … 8 min Feminist Political Theory: Gender and Power Explore how feminist political theory challenges traditional power structures by centering gender, exposing patriarchy, … 9 min Nationalism: Identity, Belonging, and Conflict Explore the political theory of nationalism, its historical emergence, its competing forms, and its powerful role in … 8 min Anarchism: Against the State Explore anarchist political theory, its critique of state authority, its vision of voluntary association, and its … 8 min Comparative Politics: Systems of Government Explore how comparative politics analyzes systems of government — democracies, authoritarian regimes, and hybrid systems … 8 min International Relations: States and Global Order Explore international relations theory — realism, liberalism, constructivism — and how states interact in an anarchic … 8 min Sovereignty and Legitimacy: Foundations of Authority Explore sovereignty and legitimacy — the twin foundations of political authority — and how theorists have justified or … 9 min Constitutionalism: Law and Limited Government Explore constitutionalism as a political theory — how constitutions limit government power, protect rights, and … 9 min Political Ideologies: Competing Visions Explore the major political ideologies — liberalism, conservatism, socialism, fascism — and how each offers competing … 8 min Contemporary Political Theory: Current Debates Explore the key debates in contemporary political theory — global justice, identity, postcolonialism, democratic crisis, … 9 min