sociological theory,Marx,WeberandDurkheim, all of whom made serious
attempts at theoretical explanation of political phenomena.
Political Theory
Political theory really falls into two broad alternative disciplines, though many
of the past practitioners of the subject would have to be seen as belonging on
both sides of the divide. On the one hand it tends nowadays to connote a
philosophical examination of the meaning and logic of political values, to
concern itself with the ‘ought’ questions at the heart of political belief, as, for
example, with the perennial topic of the basis of a citizen’spolitical obliga-
tionto obey the state. On the other hand political theory increasingly is
coming to bear the same relationship to empirical political research as does, for
example, theoretical physics to applied physics. That is, political theory is
trying to weld together the insights, data and understandings of those who
study the actuality of political life into a coherent, explanatory theory or
theories of political behaviour capable, even, of generating predictions. Tra-
ditionally the classic political theorists likePlatoorHobbesin fact covered
both alternatives. Ideally political theory should probably be defined as trying
to combine the empirical truths about human political reactions with the
moral truths of what is politically desirable by designing institutions and
constitutions which will generate the desirable by harnessing human political
nature. That is clearly a massive undertaking, perhaps never capable of more
than limited achievement, but it is increasingly the goal of a united and
coherentpolitical science.
Political Union
Even though theEuropean Union (EU)was founded as a set of predomi-
nantly economic bodies in the 1950s, there have always been ambitions that a
political unity of some sort would grow as the member states increasingly
integrated their economies. Indeed the original impetus for a Western Eur-
opean movement after 1945 was essentially political, because it was seen as a
way of preventing future European wars. In recent years enthusiasm for some
degree of institutionalized political union has grown in some circles, especially
the European Commission—the EU’s civil service. Initially the demand was
just for much closer co-operation on foreign policy, to be achieved by
agreement betweenheads of governmentor in the Council of Ministers.
But as economic integration approached, culminating in the establishment of a
Europeancentral bankto administer the new single currency, the euro, in
1999 and the entry into circulation of its notes and coins in 2002, the demands
for political union increased. Much of the debate has focused on the concept of
Political Theory