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normative theory  

Definition

  • The term normative theory gained currency in American political science in the post–World War II (1939–1945) period as a consequence of the behavioral revolution and the rise of positivist-empiricist political science. Behavioralists sought to draw a distinction between scientifically oriented political inquiry and evaluative forms of political inquiry that they claimed focused on questions of what the political system ought to look like. [Source: The Encyclopedia of Political Science; Normative Theory]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/normative_theory

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