Within the discipline of political science, normative and empirical theories represent two fundamentally distinct yet interrelated modes of inquiry. These approaches differ not only in their conceptual foundations but also in their methodological orientations, epistemological assumptions, and the purposes they serve in political analysis. While normative theories focus on prescribing how political life ought to … Continue reading What are the conceptual distinctions between normative and empirical theories within the discipline of political science, and how do these divergent approaches shape the methodologies, objectives, and epistemological foundations of political analysis?