political theory
Americannoun
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any theory concerning how political power is acquired and used in government, either generally or within a particular ideology.
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the branch of political science dealing with such theories.
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Trump also responded to a comment by Xi referring to the "Thucydides Trap," a political theory that war becomes more likely when a rising new power competes with an established great power.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
This is the sort of observation that makes Ms. Ypi, a professor of political theory at the London School of Economics, unpopular with many present-day Albanians.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2025
I base this not on any grand political theory but on how many times I stood next to members of Congress at urinals at DCA during my years living in D.C.
From Slate • Nov. 7, 2025
Carl Schmitt, a German legal scholar, was a supporter of the Nazi Party who sought to justify Hitler's policies in his writings on legal and political theory.
From BBC • May 30, 2025
His love of nature, in short, keen as it might be, was not the reflection of any philosophical, religious, or political theory.
From Hours in a Library New Edition, with Additions. Vol. II (of 3) by Stephen, Leslie, Sir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
