 |
Political terms
In discussions about political issues, technical terms are often used without being explained in detail. This means that different interpretations of the meaning of the terms can also lead to different interpretations of the conclusions to be drawn from the various arguments.
On this website, we describe the definition and origin of many terms. We base our definitions on the most widely used international definitions. Of course, we cannot always offer a clear definition, because in political science there is often no clear and uniform definition. For example, there are many different definitions of the term democracy, most of which include many criteria that constitute a democracy. However, we will limit ourselves to the most important criteria in our definitions. If a definition of a term contains a large number of criteria, the term in question can only be used to a very limited extent and a large number of different terms are required for the various variants of a thing.
We define democracy as the rule of the people. Whether this is achieved through free and fair elections of representatives of the people or whether the people express their interests in other ways is, in our view, irrelevant. We do not agree with the argument that the ancient Greeks had a different understanding of democracy because foreigners and slaves were not allowed to vote. For us, the difference between Greek democracies and today's democracies is a different definition of who belongs to the electorate, not a different understanding of democracy.
Other terms, such as fascism, have their own distinct definitions, even among authors who have studied the subject extensively. This is, of course, because Italian, German and Romanian fascism were very different. We have chosen the definition that we find most plausible. We see it as a policy made for people who meet certain criteria, which excludes others.
Definition of terms
When using terms, you should always work with the most widely used definition. Otherwise, when discussing a topic and using technical terms, it is always necessary to first define the terms, which usually means that the actual topic is neglected. Of course, every author should replace a poor definition with a good one if this represents a significant improvement.
Good definitions follow these rules:
- Name the genus to which a term belongs. For example: A penguin is a seabird.
- Name the distinction from other elements of the genus and the essential characteristics that connect the elements of this group. For example: A penguin is unable to fly.
- A definition must not be too broad or too narrow. There must be a clear distinction from other terms in the genus, but there should be no gaps in the naming of all elements of a genus. For example, the definition of a penguin must not include ducks or seagulls. However, there should also be no seabirds without a name.
- A definition must not contain circular reasoning. For example, not: A penguin is a penguin.
- There must be no logical contradictions. For example, not: A penguin is a flightless bird that flies long distances.
- A definition must not be solely negative. For example, not: A penguin is not a duck, a goose, a swan, a seagull, a booby or an albatross.
- A definition must not be ambiguous. For example: A penguin is a seabird that does not fly. Why does it not fly? Is it unable to fly, or does it not want to fly, but could it fly or is it not allowed to fly?
If, within the genus of a term, e.g. forms of government, one finds forms or elements that cannot be assigned to any definition of all existing terms, new terms can of course be defined. However, if this leads to a situation where, as in the case of the generic term ‘form of government’, many dozens or even hundreds of terms belong to one genus, the existing definitions should be checked to see whether they are too narrow.
