Political Theory and Thoughts

Concept of Welfare State

• What is welfare state?
• Nature of the welfare state
• Essential elements of welfare state

Theory of Sovereignty

• Definition of Soverignty
• Sovereignty in the view of John Austin
• Criticism of Austin’s Sovereignty
• Characteristic features or attributes of sovereignty
• Kinds of Sovereignty
• Characterstics of Sovereignty
• Pluralist Theory of Sovereignty

Political Party

• Concept of Political Party
• Formation of Political party
• Function of Political parties

State

• Nations or States ? Definition
• Statehood and Elements of State
• Contemporary Theories of the State
• The Scope of State Functions
• Origin of State
• Theories on Origin of State
• The Nature of State

Election/franchise/suffrage

• Development Process of Franchise
• Methods of Elections
• Other Methods of Election

Concept of Good Governance in Modern Regime

• Introduction
• Generally accepted criteria for good governance

Relations of political science with other social sciences

• Background
• Relationship of political science with history
• Relation between Political science and Economics
• Relation between Political science and Sociology
• Political science and ethics (based on conduct and morality)

Introduction to Political Science

• Evolution of Political Science
• Classical Political Science
• Modern or New Political Science

Plato

• Plato’s Concept of Justice

Aristotle

• Aristotle General Background
• Aristotle’s Conception about State
• Classification of Government by Aristotle
• Aristotle’s Conception of Citizenship
• Criticism of Aristotle’s Citizenship

Cicero

• Introduction to Cicero
• Cicero’s Concept of Law of Nature

Machiavelli

• Machiavelli’s Statecraft
• Criticism of Machiavelli

John Locke

• John Locke

John Stuart Mill

• Introduction to John Stuart Mill
• Views on liberty

Jean Jacques Rousseau

• Introduction to Jean Jacques Rousseau
• Concept of Popular Sovereignty

Manu

• Rajdharma

Kautilya

• Saptanga Theory
• State and Statecraft in Kautilya’s Arthasastra
• Origin and Framework of Arthasastra
• Concept of the State
• Elements of the State and the Role of the King
• Taxation
• System of law
• Bureaucracy
• Conclusion

Karl Marx

• Introduction to Karl Marx
• Different Stages of Human Civilization
• Law of unity of opposites
• The law of Negation of Negation
• Marx’s View on State
• Comments on Marx

Decentralization, deconcentration and devolution

• Decentralisation
• Deconcentration
• Devolution
• Delegation

Democracy

• Meaning of Democracy
• Types of Democracy
• Perquisites of Democracy
• Merits of Democracy
• Criticism on Democracy
• Civil Society in Democracy
• Factors Influencing Democracy in Nepal
• History of Democracy in Nepal