The Main Contributions of Critical Theoretical Approaches to the Study of Politics (Term Paper Sample)

THE MAIN CONTRIBUTIONS OF CRITICAL THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF POLITICS
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What you consider the main contributions of critical theoretical approaches to the study of politics
The critical theory originated from multiple thoughts that can be traced back to the connected and insightful writings of Hegel, Marx, and Karl. In essence, the ideology refers to a philosophical view of culture, mainly presented in written form (Daddow 2013). Furthermore, the studies seek to confront the historical, ideological and social structures and forces that constrain and produce various perceptions. Notably, the term is significantly applied to the Frankfurt school of thought (Reus-Smit & Snidal, 2010). In essence, this point of view sought to understand the primary features of the traditional society from social to historical development. Furthermore, the theologians attempted to trace present contradictions and open up various possibilities of surpassing the modern society and their inbuilt pathologies (Hobden & Hobson 2002). In essence, the latter intended to eliminate any form of ideological abuse that dominated the present culture.
Feminist perspectives contributed significantly to developing the critical theory. In this discussion, the main contributions to the theoretical approaches will be sought from the feminist viewpoint. The essay presents findings from empirical feminism, analytical feminism and normative feminism and their significance in the study of politics, particularly, international relations. Empirical feminism primarily focused on women and presented gender as a critical dimension in international relations. Analytical feminism explored gender in revealing biases in global politics. Normative feminism reflected on how the different theories took part in the normative agenda of political and social change. The feminist ideas presented fresh thinking and new ideas to critical theoretical approaches that were gender related.
Feminism
In essence, the feminist perspective permeated the studies about world politics in the early 1990s. Notably, the scholars who dared present their ideas did so to break through the powerful concepts that were mainly male dominated (Wyn Jones 2001). The theorists introduced insightful theories that were gender related, which became a relevant analytical and empirical tool in understating global relations. Together with a variety of concepts in international politics such as constructivism, postmodernism and green politics, feminist theories contested in the power of information and knowledge. Notably, the contributing scholars deflected from the mainstream liberal and realist perspectives and presented fresh and new ideas (Cox & Sinclair 1996). Important to note, feminist criticism offered literal views that analyzed the questions of how males and females relate to global politics.
Feminist perspectives shifted the study of international politics from a singular focus to a comprehensive analysis. Like other scholars, feminism not only studied about the inter-state relations but also broadened their research to cover transnational structure and actors (Steans et al. 2010). Furthermore, their literature presented information on how the two variations transformed global politics. Important to note, previous studies on international relations focused on conflict and war during commerce and trade expansion at a global level. Notably, most literature paid no, or had minimal attention to the involved people (Dunne, Kurki & Smith 2013). In essence, the focus on states and systems removed people from their research outcomes, yet they were significant contributors to historical and social development. With an emphasis on the various actors, feminist concepts presented new information about the marginalized people and the conceptualization of power in an uncertain and decentralized world.
Scholars in feminism offered intriguing and original information on global politics, specifically in the gender aspects. Notably, international relations significantly contributed to various patterns and dynamics of gender relations. Important to note, the two are correlated because various changes in gender conceptualization influenced certain global processes such as economic globalization and militarization (Burchill et al. 2013). Following the worldwide acceptance of feminist perceptions, the relationship was elaborated and revealed insights that previous scholars failed to deliver. For instance, Cynthia Enloe, a feminist scholar contended that international relations involved personal identities, private lives and intimate relationships (Burchill et al. 2013). She added that her idea, which she referred to as informal politics, was less evident in the literary documents that previous researchers presented as official politics. Furthermore, the researcher purported that in many occasions such ideas were ignored and were never explored in the studies on international relations.
In essence, feminist efforts reinterpreted the concept of power, particularly the persuasiveness of authority in influencing world politics. For instance, various scholars revealed cases such as experiences of diplomatic wives in hierarchical structures of authority among state officials, particularly men. Furthermore, the literature focused on issues such as sex trafficking, marital contracts, money laundering and western capitalism (Dunne, Kurki & Smith 2013). The feminists found new ways to research on the interconnectedness of such issues and how various actors manipulate the global environment to marginalize other people. Notably, the feminist conceptualization of power, particularly on the margins of world politics could help scholars recognize and understand new politically driven endeavors.
The new generation of feminist scholars developed previous ideas on international relations while making gender the central analytic category. In essence, various researchers advanced the philosophies on security, the global political economy, and foreign policy through keen exploration of particular geographical and historical contexts (Dunne, Kurki & Smith 2013). More so, the precise and analytic study of gender was closely tied to critical developments of post-Marxist economic perceptions, constructivism, anthropological approaches and feminist historical methods. Notably, the new feminist scholarship provided empirical, analytic and normative support that presented a comprehensive study on world politics as further developed in this section.
Empirical Feminism
The feminist idea turned people’s attention to gender and women based on observable aspects of international relations. In this perspective, the scholars contended that studies in world politics often excluded women’s experiences and lives in their literature (Burchill et al. 2013). Furthermore, the sexist exclusion resulted in studies that presented a partial outcome of masculine view. Notably, the feminist perspective showed a significant contribution to research on world politics because previous literature provided ideas from misleading assumptions of male experiences. In essence, the new view sought to correct the misinterpretations of men and women’s experiences in global relations. In addition, the studies presented new information that solved the challenge of denial or absence of women involvement in world political activities (Burchill et al. 2013). The feminists contended that females had significant contributions to various global processes and therefore, their participation should not be disregarded. For this reason, the empirical perspective presented observational research in women involvement in international matters.
Empirical feminism held that the economic globalization process marginalized women causing gender inequality. According to the scholars, the shift caused intensified economic and social polarization within and across different states. Notably, the transition caused global inequality that caused marginalization of women who retreated into poverty. Furthermore, the feminists referred to the deprivation state as a “feminization of poverty.” Important to note, the scholars contended that structural changes in policies after the Third World debt issue caused the marginalization (Burchill et al. 2013). Notably, the economic policy became increasingly controlled by global aspects of financial markets, comparative labor expenses, and export earnings that challenged states in meeting their commitments in ensuring citizen’s well-being and full employment. From a feminist perspective, the women suffered more from this phenomenon because of the disproportionate provision of services from a local to a global level (Wyn Jones 2001). For this reason, the global context resulted in a gender-based international policy on the division of labor. Essentially, bringing gender relations and women’s lives in empirical research has significant effects on policymaking.
Analytical Feminism
In this approach, various scholars presented their ideas on how previous theoretical works in global politics had a gender bias. Furthermore, the open frameworks inhibited comprehensive and accurate understanding of world relations. In essence, analytical feminism sought to present gender concepts in an asymmetrical way that involved social constructs of femininity and masculinity (Burchill et al. 2013). According to this ideology, masculinity was associated with sovereignty, objectivity, autonomy, universalism and the capacity for logic. On the other hand, femininity was linked to the lack or absence of the named characteristics. For this reason, the feminists sought to elaborate on such biases using women experiences in international relations.
The feminist held that cert...