Welcome to EarthTab Business School. My name is Chloe Mercier and I will be your course preceptor for the course Political Ideologies and Theories. “Political Ideologies and Theories” is an intellectually rigorous, historically grounded, and future-forward academic course that immerses students in the philosophical, analytical, comparative, and practical dimensions of ideational forces that structure human societies, guide political systems, and influence global decision-making frameworks. This course is designed to develop critical thinkers, analytical scholars, political practitioners, and informed citizens who are capable of dissecting the core assumptions, values, and propositions of different political worldviews.

At its heart, this course poses fundamental questions:

• What is ideology?
  
  

• How do ideologies shape our understanding of freedom, justice, equality, and power?
  
  

• Can ideologies both liberate and oppress?
  
  

• How do theories emerge in response to changing historical, economic, and social conditions?
  
  

• What happens when ideologies collide?

This course explores the evolution of political ideas from the ancient period through the classical, medieval, modern, and postmodern eras, analyzing how they responded to the prevailing material, social, and moral conditions of their time. You will engage deeply with the writings of seminal thinkers, Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Hegel, Marx, Engels, Mill, Nietzsche, Rawls, Fanon, and many more, placing them in dialogue with modern theories and ideologies.

The course critically examines ideologies as both belief systems and instruments of power, interrogating how elites, institutions, movements, and masses deploy ideological constructs to legitimize authority, mobilize support, suppress dissent, and inspire reform or revolution. Political ideologies are not treated as abstract concepts but as living, breathing systems of thought that have shaped empires, inspired revolutions, defined national policies, and ignited global conflicts.

The course’s core intellectual structure is comparative, emphasizing how ideologies vary across regions and political cultures. Western traditions (like liberalism, socialism, conservatism, and anarchism) are studied alongside African nationalism, Asian communitarianism, Islamic fundamentalism, Latin American liberation theology, and Indigenous ecological worldviews. This will provide you with global ideological literacy, the ability to engage in discourse beyond Eurocentric paradigms.

You will explore the distinctions between:

• Political ideologies (e.g., liberalism, conservatism, socialism, anarchism),
  
  

• Political theories (e.g., realism, structuralism, postmodernism),
  
  

• Political doctrines (e.g., Leninism, Maoism, neoliberalism),
  
  

• and political philosophies (e.g., utilitarianism, communitarianism, libertarianism).

Each module builds a cumulative intellectual journey, starting with the nature of ideology itself, progressing through classical roots, diving into modern and revolutionary currents, and culminating in post-ideological and hybrid ideologies that define the digital and post-truth era.

You will investigate the practical applications of ideologies in governance, law, policy, education, propaganda, civil society, elections, warfare, diplomacy, and resistance movements. Emphasis will be placed on ideological conflict and compromise, how societies negotiate deeply held differences and how ideologies mutate under pressure.

The course will also address contemporary challenges:

• the rise of authoritarian populism,
  
  

• identity politics and cultural wars,
  
  

• the role of ideological media,
  
  

• climate politics,
  
  

• post-truth societies, and
  
  

• the ideological implications of AI and surveillance capitalism.

Throughout the course, you will develop critical skills in:

• Comparative political analysis
  
  

• Ideological mapping and classification
  
  

• Philosophical argumentation
  
  

• Ideological deconstruction of political texts, speeches, policies, and manifestos
  
  

• Practical application in debate, public policy, journalism, political consulting, and activism

The ultimate goal is to cultivate a person who is not only capable of understanding ideologies but can intervene ideologically, questioning, rethinking, and generating new frameworks that align with justice, equity, sustainability, and collective human dignity.

Target Audience

• Undergraduate and postgraduate political science students
  
  

• Public policy and international relations scholars
  
  

• Aspiring politicians and civil servants
  
  

• Journalists, educators, and media analysts
  
  

• Activists and NGO professionals
  
  

• Anyone seeking to understand the ideological battles shaping today’s world

What Makes This Course Unique?

• Interdisciplinary approach (philosophy, sociology, history, economics, psychology)
  
  

• Global and comparative ideological perspectives
  
  

• Blend of ancient, modern, and postmodern theories
  
  

• Application to real-world political crises and contemporary debates
  
  

• Intellectually rigorous but practically oriented

I look forward to congratulating you upon completion of this course.