political theory vs ideology

political theory and ideology both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
political theory	Yes	No	No	No
ideology	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, political theory and ideology are synonyms defined as:

political theory and ideology: an orientation that characterizes the thinking of a group or nation

Other synonyms of political theory include political orientation.

political theory (noun)	ideology (noun)
an orientation that characterizes the thinking of a group or nation	an orientation that characterizes the thinking of a group or nation
	imaginary or visionary theorization