POLITICAL THEORY

Meaning of political theory :- Political theory is a branch of political science that is defined as the “science of
the state.” It is defined as “the branch of social science dealing with the theory , organization ,government and
practice of the state .”

According to David Held , “ Political Theory is a network of concepts and generalizations about the key features
of government , state and society .”

Scope of Political Theory :-.Political Theory studies the following ideas

1. Constitutionalism
2. Forms of Government – Democracy, Monarchy, Dictatorship ,Autocracy, Aristocracy, Parliamentary,
Presidential, Constitutional Monarchy
3. Rule of Law and Judicial Independence
4. Values of Freedom, Equality, Justice
5. New Rights
6. Study of Power
7. Study of Political Ideology – Marxism, Liberalism, Socialism,
8. Study of Associations, Institutions as they should exist in principle

Significance and Utility of Political theory :-

1. Helps us to solve the problems of our social life . Just as the knowledge of Physics enables us to
generate electricity from our thermal and water resources , so knowledge of political science enables
us to bring about development of society from our human resources
2. Political theory helps in creating good society and moralizing politics .
3. Greatly helpful in proposing public policies . Like a compass political theory also gives a proper
direction and is very useful in finding out the way things are likely to shape up in future.
4. Political theory teaches mankind the purpose and goal for which it exists as a society .
5. Helps understand political reality
6. Develops and expands intellect and intelligence levels of individual
7. Helps understand and explain social change
8. Helps makes predictions keeping in mind past experience, present circumstances,and needs of the
future
9. Important for researchers to develop a conceptual frame work
10. It legitimises the government and its actions and policies

Political theory generates mutual respect and toleration among us and prompts us to resolve differences.

Scope of Political Science

1) Study of State and Government 2) Study of Political Theory: 3) Study of Political Institutions: 4) Study of
Political Dynamics: 5) Study of adjustment of individual with the state: 6) Study of international relations
and international law: 7) Study of disagreements and their resolution:

Difference between Political Science and Political Philosophy George Catlin has observed that political
theory itself is divided into political science and political Philosophy

Political science relies on empirical and logical statements , which are capable of verification . It insists on
'value free' approach .

Political Science studies the following ideas

1. Political science deals with ‘real' while political philosophy deals with the 'ideal' .
2. Political science inquires into what individuals 'do' in a political situation while political philosophy
tries to determine what they 'ought to do' to achieve the ultimate goal or purpose of human life .
Study of Politics

1. Politics as a Science
2. Politics as an Art

Dimensions to the Study of Politics

1. Greek view – Politics as an Ideal

2. Traditional View – Study of State and Government
3. Modern View - Politics as Multi-dimensional – covers everything associated with the
political life of an individual, art and practise of governance, , law order justice
4. Liberal View – Politics as Conciliation of interests
5. Marxian View – Politics as a Study of Class power
6. Politics as study of common good
7. Politics as study of behaviour
8. Politics as a study of power

Social Reality

1. Relationship between political theory and political practice takes into account social reality
2. Social reality is the country’s class caste, community, religious realities which conditiond the
functioning of political values and institutions
3. It transcends individual aims to cover societal goals
4. Examples from India – Rights of children , minorities, backward classes, Equality/ preferential
treatment for senior citizens, disabled, daily wage labourers

Distinction between Political Theory and Political Science

1. Political Science is an Independent subject- has branches such as politics, political

philosophy, political thought, political theory

Political Theory is a part of political science and not an independent discipline

2. Political Science is an Institutional study- it studies state , government, past and present
political institutions

Political Theory is a conceptual study of values – such as Equality, Liberty, Justice on which a
state should be established

Distinction between Political Science and Politics

POLITICS POLITICAL SCIENCE

1.Deals with current problems of government Deals with the academic aspect of governments
2.it is an art of governance It imparts knowledge about states, government,
3.it deals with the practical aspect It is moral based
4.It is flexible It is principled and rigid
5.it decides whether to implement the principles It has to follow its own principles and
/ conclusions of political science conclusions
The Study of Politics -       Definitions, Nature and Scope

Introduction:

Politics exists everywhere. It is all-pervading and as old as human beings. Politics prevails in every
sphere of human life. Whether one likes or not virtually no one is completely beyond the reach of
some kind of political system.

Political science is a social science and like its sister subjects it revolves around man and his social
(Political) environment. Being one of the oldest social sciences its nature and scope of the study
have undergone several changes over the centuries. 

Political Science first began with the Greeks. The term ‘Politics’ is derived from the Greek
word ‘Polis’which means ‘city-states’ (Polity meaning Government, politeia meaning Constitution)
and each city in those days was an independent state, a principality in its own right. E.g. Athens,
Sparta, Corinth etc.

Aristotle is regarded as “the father of Political science” on account of his far reaching and
permanent contribution to the field of politics. He called politics the Master Science because politics
determines the environment within which every person will organize his life.  No one can escape
from the parameters set by politics. In his famous book ‘Politics’ Aristotle wrote , “ Man is by nature
a Political Animal and he who is by nature or by accident is without state is either above humanity or
below it.” Politics is the control room of all human activities.

Definitions of Politics or Political Science:

The word politics has different interpretations. From Plato to Easton it has been interpreted in
different ways. Definitions of politics vary according to the variety of activities that have been
considered political from time to time. Though the study of politics existed in some form since the
time of Aristotle, the discipline was indistinguishable from moral philosophy and the study of society
in general until early 19thcentury. Its independence as a field of study was established only in the
later part of 19th century.

 Early Definitions of Politics:

According to the traditional political scientist from the early part of 20 thcentury such as J W Garner,
Henry Sidgwick, R G Gettel and others Politics deals mainly with study of state and government or
related institutions.

R G Gettel defined Politics as “the study of the state in the past, present and future, of political
organization and political function, of political institutions and political theories.”

According to Laski “the study of politics concerns itself with the life of man in relation to organized
states.”

According to Garner, “Political science begins and ends with state.”

According to Leacock, “Political science deals with government.”

Thus from above definitions it is clear that the traditional view of politics was narrow, static and
limited and included only the study of state and government, its structure and organisation etc.

Modern view of Political Science:

The dawn of the 20th century saw fresh ground being covered by political scientist such as Laswell,
Powell, Merriam, Morgenthau, weber etc. A more realistic analysis of political activity is contained in
the definitions of politics in terms of power.

Harold Laswell defining politics in empirical terms maintains that politics is the study of the shaping
and sharing of power. The fundamental issue in politics according to him is who gets what, when and
how?

Robert Dahl holds that, “politics involves to a significant extent power, rule or authority.”

What do we study in Political Science / Elements in the study of Political science

1.Power

According to Shaw politics is the struggle for power to make authoritative decisions for the whole
society. and Pierce 

Definitions emphasizing power focused attention on the fact that functions are more important than
forms or structures. Power is indeed a central idea of politics and examining this element takes
political enquiry into the core of the matter.

2) Legitimacy of the government:

As the power view of politics was found to be defective and inadequate, attempts were made to
modify it by an appeal to the legitimacy of the government.  It was said that only legitimate power
would become the basis for the acceptance of the government. David Easton assigned a moral
function to the exercise of power by asking for the “authoritative allocation of values for the
society.” This view also suggests that modern political analysis is concerned with political system.
Demands are made on the system and they are processed and policy decisions are made. This has to
be done under the authority of the government i.e. policies have to emanate from legitimate or
rightful sources. 

3) Controversy and Conflict:

Another important element in the study of politics is controversy and conflict. Vermon von dyke
observes, “Politics consists of struggle among actors pursuing conflicting desires on public issues.”
Conflict is basic to politics. Therefore conflict resolution or reconciliation of antagonistic interest
becomes essential in political studies.

4) Consensus & General Arrangements:

The study of politics also includes the element of consensus and general arrangements of society.
Politics is necessitated because diversities in social environment cause conflicting demands on the
common good. “If men were angels no government would be necessary.” Governments and political
system act as mediator to generate consensus in the society.

5) Internationalism:
Another view is that politics is concerned with internationalism. The study of internationalism is
necessary for world peace, and to have modern welfare state.

6) Behavior

Almond Powell and other modern American writers have studied political science by sociological,
anthropological and psychological methods and criticised the traditional theory of political science
on the grounds of parochialism and formalism. Their contention is that the political theorist in the
past concentrated mainly on the state, government, institutions and their legal norms, rules,
regulations or political ideas and ideologies. They did not concern themselves with the performance
of institutions, their interaction and political behavior of man. This marked the beginning of
Behavioural approach in politics and later also adopted a comparative studies of different political
systems across continents.

 Changing nature of Politics: Is Political science a Science or Art?

Whether politics can be considered a science has been a long standing controversy.

Aristotle adopted a scientific approach to the study of the discipline. He separated the study of
politics form ethics and law, examined and compared constitutions (158) and classified governments
into meaningful categories.

On the other hand James Bryce, Charles Beard and Harold Laski are of the opinion that politics is not
a science. It is said that the nomenclature Political Science owes its origin to William Godwin and
Mary Wollstonecraft.

Science is systematised body of knowledge about any phenomenon which is governed by its own
laws. Science is based on collection of data, generalisations, accuracy and verification or
experimentations.

Let’s try to test political science on these grounds.

Political Science is not a Science: Because of the following reasons

1) Lacks Precise and Uniform Definitions:

A Science has a set of its own terms and their precise and standard definitions.  Political science lacks
precise definitions, terminologies and methods. There is no general agreement among political
scientist regarding these. Methods and principles of political science are not universally acceptable
and applicable. E.g. terms like freedom, democracy, nationalism do not have uniform definitions.
They can be and have been defined and interpreted in different ways.

2) Lacks Investigation and generalistions:

Political science also lacks scientific method of investigations, observations and generalisations. It is
possible to obtain exact results in science which is not the case with political science. E.g. Democracy
is regarded as the best form of government by many but in reality it is not a success in countries
where there are ignorant and incompetent masses.

3) Lacks Experimentations:

Another difficulty in political science is that it not possible to have laboratory experiments in political
science. Political researcher has to deal with human beings. The habits, sentiments, moods, and
temperament of people differ from place to place and from time to time. They cannot be controlled
as well under any circumstance. E.g. electoral behavior of voter is determined by various factors
such as caste, class, religion etc. No government can claim that its people will react in a particular
way to a policy or programme announced.

4) Lacks Objectivity:

While there is objectivity in the study of physical sciences, it is lacking in studying problems related
to state and government. A completely impartial, indifferent, unbiased attitude may not be possible
to analyse political problems and questions. A political scientist has to deal with human beings in
relation to sate, society and government and in such relations the element of subjectivity is most
conspicuous. Views of political thinkers are bound to be prejudiced or coloured on account of racial,
religious, linguistic or nationalistic factors.

 5) Lacks Predictability:

Is is nearly impossible for a political thinker to predict the future course of events. In fact events take
course quite contrary to the expectations of the observer. This happens because politics studies
human behaviour and social constructs which are vulnerable to change. Constantly changing socio-
economic and political situations restrict a political observer form making predictions.

Political Science is a Science:

1) If by the term science we mean a systematized body of knowledge political science can certainly
be called as a science. Political science has been able develop a systematised body of knowledge on
broad terms like state, government etc. after due observation, comparison and some sort of
experimentation.

2) It is possible to conduct some experiments through which political scientist can benefit. It is well
known that Aristotle based his ‘Politics’ on his study of the working of 158 constitutions. Likewise,
Lord Bryce compared the working of democracy in various countries and then came to conclusions
with regard to relative merits and demerits of democracy. B N Rau constitutional advisor to the
government of India also made a comparative study of various constitutions and presented a report
to the constituent assembly.

3) It is true that there is no consensus among experts regarding the method, principles and
conclusions of political science. But political science is a dynamic study of living subject-matter. It
deals with man and his institutions. As man is dynamic, the same is true of the institutions created
by him. The nature of man changes with the changing conditions.

The view of Lord Bryce is that political science is a science, although it is undeveloped and
incomplete.

Prof. R N Gilchrist believes that general laws can be deduced from given material and those are
useful in the actual problems of the government.

Scope of Political Science

There is no unanimity among scholars regarding the scope of political science. There is lack of
precision in the definitions and meanings of political science and that creates confusion regarding
the precise boundaries of the subject.

According to Willoughby, political science has to deal with three great topics: State, Government and
Law.
As the importance of political science is increasing day by day , its scope is also increasing and
becoming wider. Thus in general scope of political science includes following things:

1) Study of State and Government:

Political science is the science of state and government. It deals with the nature and formation of the
state and tries to understand various forms and functions of the government. Political science makes
a thorough investigation into the origin of the state. It also deals with the elements of the state,
sovereignty and law, ends and functions of state, the rights and obligations of the individual, political
institutions, forms of government, elections, political parties, public opinion, local bodies and
international bodies etc. it studies state as it is, as it has been and as it ought to be.

2) Study of Political Theory:

Political theory is a major branch of political science. On the basis of the political ideas or thoughts of
political thinkers, political theory formulates definitions of the concepts like democracy, liberty,
equality, ground of political obligation etc. It deals with some rudimentary concepts of political
science. Speculations of political philosophers and other ideologies are put together in one volume
which is given the title political theory.

3) Study of Political Institutions:

The study of political institutions includes a study of constitutions and comparative governments. It
deals with the nature of different political institutions, including government, explains their merits
and demerits, their structure and working and arrives at different conclusions on comparative basis.
The study of public administration and local governments may also be included under this heading.

4) Study of Political Dynamics:

The study of political dynamics has become important in the twentieth century. It means the current
forces at work in government and politics. It covers a wide range of and includes political parties,
public opinion, pressure groups, lobbies etc. A scientific study of the working of these political
dynamics helps us to explain the political behavior of individuals and groups. The study in this field is
often done in collaboration with other social sciences like sociology, anthropology and psychology
etc. Human nature is not static but dynamic. Hence the study of political dynamics becomes
extremely essential to understand changing concepts.

5) Study of adjustment of individual with the state:

It is interesting to study the nature of relationship between individual and state and to examine how
man adjusts within the society. Man is the root of politics. The state guarantees certain rights and
liberties to its citizens and also imposes certain reasonable restrictions on them. Maximum state
intervention can lead to loss of liberty and complete absence of the state intervention can lead to a
state of anarchy (Chaos). It is a difficult problem to adjust and reconcile the authority of the state
with the individual liberty.

6) Study of international relations and international law:

It includes wide range of topics like diplomacy, international politics, international law and
organisations like UN.  With technological advancement and progress in human knowledge the
world has come closed and become like one family. Human society today is viewed from a world
perspective. Therefore the study of international relations today has become an independent
discipline.

7) Study of disagreements and their resolution:

Disagreement is at the root of any political process on account of conflicting interests, contradictory
view and opinions, socio-economic inequalities and scarce resource available to resolve these issues.
Hence politics is all about making choices and arriving at policy decisions suitable to the broad
demands and needs of people in the society. Elections are said to be the most effective means of
resolving conflicts in any society. Apart from it Legislature, Judiciary, Pressure groups also are some
other means to resolve political conflicts at public level.

Thus political science over period of time has covered wide range of subjects under its scope.
Beginning from traditional study based on state, government, law and institutions to modern
study focusing on process, political dynamics, political socialization, political cultures, political
development and informal structures like pressure groups etc. It is not that traditional boundaries
in the study of political science have been obliterated they merely have been extended to give
sharpness and depth hitherto unknown.

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