Middle East Technical University
Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences
Department of Political Science and Public Administration
2010-2011 Fall Term
QUALIFYING EXAMINATION
POLITICAL THOUGHT (MODERN)
Please answer two of the following three questions:
1.
Habermas, in his communicative action theory, attempts to solve problems resulting from questions after truth as well as resulting from normative questions after justice. As such, he elaborates on the deliberative function of communicative rationality. According to some scholars this subject-subject oriented approach challenges the Marxist focus on economics and its base oriented solution suggestions. Please explain and discuss.
2.
Write an essay on the early 20th century conceptions of the political. Explain and discuss the diversity of approaches with references to at least two thinkers.
3.
In contemporary political discourse it seems difficult to distinguish liberalism republicanism and democracy from each other. What may be the reasons for such difficulty? Answer by reference to three modern or contemporary thinkers each representing one of the three cited above.

§ Please explain and discuss the approach to the individual in the context of Renaissancehumanism in comparison with the metaphysical-organic image of the world of the Middle-agean
Christian thought.
§ Please explain and discuss Macchiavelli’s contribution to contemporary political theory.
§ What are the main symptoms of the transition from premodern” to “modern” thinking in the work of
N. Machiavelli? Discuss.
§ Please explain and discuss the problem of the shift from “pre-modern” to “modern” times/political thought in the work of N. Macchiavelli with reference to the works of Plato and Aristotle.
§ Please discuss and evaluate early forms of secular thinking in the context of the ideals of the
Renaissance.
§ Please discuss the problem of morality in Macchiavelli.
§ To what extent Hobbes is a liberal thinker? Please discuss.
§ How are the concepts of legitimacy, rights, consent, and the social contract linked together in classical liberal theory? Please discuss.
§ How are the concepts of freedom and sovereignty brought together in the theory of Thomas
Hobbes? Discuss.
§ Write an essay explorating different meanings attributed to the conception of freedom in Kant,
Hegel and Marx. Comment on their political implications in a comparative perspective.

§ Compare and contrast Locke’s and Marx’s ideas on private property and liberty. Do their conception on these issues have an influence on their understanding of the modern state, and if so, how?
§ According to many writers Rousseau is evaluated as a critic of liberalism. Is that true? In which respects are Rousseau’s ideas consistent with classical liberalism and where do they depart?
§ Critically evaluate the evolution of the concept of consent in modern political thought. What was the significance of this notion in relation to political authority? Answer by reference to Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau.
§ Please compare and contrast Rousseau’s and Marx’s understanding of social inequality. Do their differences entail different political projects?
§ Discuss and evaluate Hobbes’ interpretation of the natural law teaching.
§ Write an essay explicating different meanings attributed to the conception of freedom in Kant,
Hegel and Marx. Comment on their political implications in a comparative perspective.
§ Modernity involves a tension between the principle of individuality and the primacy given to the necessity of the state. In what ways this tension is dealt by Hobbes, Kant and Marx.
§ Explicate the views of Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau concerning human nature and discuss their political implications in each theorist in a comparative perspective.
§ Discuss and evaluate the significance of John Rawl’s idea of “justice as fairness” within the context of contemporary debates on freedom and equality.
§ Explain and discuss the topics of the New Right . To what extent and at what points do the New
Right theorists diverge from classical liberal ideas of freedom and equality?

§ Can Rawls’s contribution to political theory be seen as a grand solution to the problem of legitimacy? Discuss by giving one example (of a social-political situation) that affirms Rawlsian project, and another that falsifies his basic assumptions.
§ Discuss the meaning of the civil society debate within the context of the new global order.
§ Compare and contrast the significance of the concept of hegemony within the theoretical frameworks of Gramsci and Poulantzas.
§ How is the relationship between law and polical power portrayed in contemporary liberal tradition.
Answer by reference to Rawls and Habermas. How would Foucault criticize this tradition?
§ "What the state fear is not so much crime or brigandage, even on the grand scale of the Mafia or heavy drug traffic, as long as they transgress the law with an eye toward particular benefits, however important they may be. The state is afraid of fundamental, founding violence, that is, violence able to justify, to legitimate, or to transform the relations of law, and so to present itself as having a right to law".
§ Do you agree with the above statement. Answer by reference to the traditions of Political
Liberalism (Rawls), Critical Theory (Habermas), and Deconstruction (Derrida)
§ Please write an essay on the contribution of Antonio Gramsci to contemporary political theory.
§ What are the characteristics of the teleological views of nature and human action in ancient Greek political theory? What are the implications of this view for ethical and political conduct? Answer by reference to Plato and Aristotle.
§ I. Berlin states that the originality of Machiavelli lies in his criticism of certain Christian values (such as peace, obedience, humbleness. Otherworldliness) as anti-political and his attempt to associate political activity with certain pagan values (such as fame, glory. Victory). Do you agree? Why? Why not?
Discuss with reference to Machiavelli’s texts.

§ How are the concepts of freedom and equality brought together in the theory of Thomas Hobbes?
§ Discuss and evaluate the process of monopolization of violence in the foundation of the state in social contract theories by giving reference to at least two thinkers in a comparative perspective.
§ Discuss the civil society concept in Gramsci and its (possible) implications on current debates on this issue.
§ Foucault argues that more individualizing forms of power in modern societies also imply the possibility of more totalizing interventions. What does he mean? What is the significance of this argument from the angle of criticizing contemporary liberalism?
§ What are the points of continuity and discontunity between J.J. Rousseau's political theory and K.
Marx's thought?
§ Comment on John Rawls's views in Political Liberalism in terms of his position with respect to classical liberal ideals.
§ To what extent the conception of consent can be accepted as the criterion for political legitimacy?
Answer by reference to (at least) two thinkers.
§ For many interpreters, J. J. Rousseau is a genuinely anti-liberal thinker. Do you agree? Comment on the major themes of his work to evaluate the extent which he does, or does not depart from the premises of classical liberalism.
§ Explain and discuss the emergence of secularism in political thought by reference to the works of three well-known thinkers.
§ How is the relationship between law and political power portrayed in the theories of Rawls and
Habermas? Compare and discuss. What are the criticisms directed to the projects of these thinkers?

§ Please explain and discuss Machiavelli’s approach to religion within the context of his “amoral” conceptualization of politics.
§ Please explain and discuss the problem of motion and processuality in Hobbes’ thinking.
§ The Renaissance is often defined as a “shift away” from the theocentrical thinking of the Middle
Ages. Please explain and discuss.