PLC3701 May June Portfolio (ALL QUESTIONS ANSWERS) Semester 1 2026 - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED

PLC3701 May June Portfolio (ALL QUESTIONS ANSWERS) Semester 1 2026 - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED Answers, guidelines, workings and references. In your own words, define and provide relevant examples from political philosophy of the following concepts: Question 1 Empiricism [5] Question 2 Teleology [5] Question 3 Existentialism [5] Question 4 Phenomenology Modern Western philosophers have universalized their conceptions of freedom as timeless truths. John Locke's negative freedom, individual autonomy and non-interference have shaped Western liberalism. Yet decolonial thinkers like More, Fanon and Mills argue that Western theories fail Black reality because Black people inhabit the zone of non-being. Using the above statement, critically analyse Locke's notion of freedom and its limitations for Black reality through More and Fanon. Drawing from the four required readings your answer must: (a) briefly explain Locke's negative freedom (10 marks); (b) using Fanon’s distinction between pseudo- and real independence, evaluate whether Mandela and Black South Africans were merely acted upon by de Klerk ,i.e., whether their freedom emerged externally, not internally (15 marks); (c) engage More's (2016) existentialist conception of freedom and death to explain why Locke's framework fails Black existential and material conditions. Why must Western theories be modified or rejected for Black reality? (15 marks); and (d) conclude: what would a decolonised conception of freedom require? What from Locke must be rejected or transformed? (10 marks). Political authority is a state's recognised right to make and enforce laws, generating a moral duty of obedience (political obligation). Yet COVID-19 revealed tensions when governments employed coercive measures, particularly for marginalised societies where colonial and apartheid legacies shape state-citizen relations. Using the pandemic as a case study, critically analyse the complexities of political authority and obligation from a decolonial perspective. Drawing from the four required readings, your answer must: (a) define political authority and obligation, explaining conditions for legitimate authority and how a decolonial lens challenges them (10 marks); (b) identify real-life lessons from COVID-19 about how political authority functioned for marginalised communities (12 marks); (c) using one African country of your choice, analyse at least two limitations experienced during the pandemic from a decolonial perspective (14 marks) ; and (d) conclude on conditions for morally justified disobedience and what revisions to traditional theories of political obligation are necessary in light of colonial legacies and structural inequality (14 marks). Western feminism, as a strand of liberal political theory, has been critiqued for its Eurocentric origins, universalist assumptions, and historical entanglement with colonialism. This question invites you to critically rethink feminism from the vantage point of political theory by interrogating its Western dominance and exploring alternative Afrocentric womanist frameworks offered by Oyěwùmí (1997), Hudson-Weems (1997), and Dove (1998). Drawing from the four required readings, critically evaluate whether these three theorists collectively offer a more relevant, liberatory, and ontologically grounded political theory than Western liberal feminism for women of African descent. Your answer must: (a) explain each theorist's core contribution (12 marks); (b) evaluate collective strengths (12 marks); (c) address at least two limitations of Afrocentric womanism (14 marks); and (d) conclude on its viability as a distinct political theory of liberation (12 marks). Libertarian political theorists like Nozick's Entitlement Theory of distributive justice assumes voluntary transfers and just acquisition, yet Southern African land history was forged through conquest, violence, and legislated dispossession. Critically assess whether Nozick's theory can address Southern African land injustice from a decolonial perspective by drawing on Ramose's Ubuntu restorative justice and relational ontologies of land, with historical evidence from countries within the Southern African region; like South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Drawing from the four required readings, your answer must: (a), explain Nozick's three principles of justice (10 marks); (b), using Namibia, Zimbabwe or South Africa, provide historical evidence demonstrating the limitations of applying Nozick's Entitlement Theory within settler colonial contexts (10 marks); (c), explain Ubuntu and decolonial alternatives, synthesising these with the historical evidence to show how Ubuntu addresses Nozick's failures (15 marks); and (d), evaluate whether Ubuntu offers a more adequate approach than Nozick, address at least one limitation of Ubuntu, and conclude on Nozick's viability (15 marks). In your own words, discuss how the study of this module on Political Ideas has contributed to your understanding of contemporary politics and its relevance to you as a university student. Using the Study Guide, discuss, in your own words, the normative dimension of knowledge by explaining what normative statements are, why they cannot be directly empirically tested, and how the coherence theory of truth provides a criterion for ascertaining their truth. In your own words, explain the core assumptions of the natural, divine and social contract theories on the origin of the state. In your answer, identify at least one key thinker associated with each theory and briefly articulate their ideas regarding the purpose of the state. In your own words, discuss the similarities and differences between political philosophy and ideology. Your answer must define both concepts, explain at least two similarities and two differences, and provide at least one example of each to illustrate your answer. Empiricism Teleology Existentialism Phenomenology