Introduction:

The Concepts of
POLITICS and
GOVERNANCE
____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
POLITICS
- denotes a social activity

- is the creation, maintenance and

amendment of social norms or rules.

- an art and science of the government.

- the realm of public affairs or the state.

- Accdg. to Plato, POLITICS is the study of

affairs of the Polis (city- state),which he
defined as the most sovereign and inclusive
association

- Accdg to Robert Dahl, POLITICS is the

existence of rules or authority within the
state.
- it is therefore the study of POWER relationship
among the people in a given society as well as
those relationships among states in the internal
community . (Lazo, 2009)

- The exercise of power, the science of

government, the making of collective decisions,
the allocation of scarce resources and the
practice of deception and manipulation.
ORIGIN OF POLITICS

POLIS – city-state

POLITES – citizens

POLITIKOS – government officials

As a concept, it is associated to the
culture of cooperation one side and
differing conflict on the oth.er side
POLITICS is…
- Exercise of power, making political
decisions, practice of deception and
manipulation, exercise of authority,
allocation of limited resources

- Use force to affect the behavior of another

person or group
Did you know?
- People who are unaware or are only partly
unaware and uninformed of what is going
on is called idiotes.

- Idiots for Ancient Greeks means a person

who: does not vote, does not discuss public
issues, and does not involve himself in
government affairs.
BASIC ISSUES IN POLITICS:
LEGITIMACY

SOVEREIGNTY

AUTHORITY
 LEGITIMACY
- Attitude of the people about what they
consider in mind that government is a
rightful ruler over them

- Legal and Psychological right to govern

- Compels people to believe and follow orders

 SOVEREIGNTY
- It is the right of the government to rule and
the right of a government of leadership to
exist

- The right of a leader to rule and control not

only his subjects but also the territory over
which citizens live and prosper
 AUTHORITY
- It is the power of the leader to rule and the
power to exact obedience on his people. It is
based on an acknowledged duty to obey
rather than on any form of coercion or
manipulation.
- It exists when subordinates acknowledged the
right of superiors to give orders.
- Right to act rather than the power to do so
Classifications of Authority (Max
Weber)
1. Traditional A. Inheritance a. Datu Puti
Authority or succession
2. Rational-Legal/ B. Legality of b. Pres.
Bureaucratic formal rules Rodrigo Roa
Authority Duterte

3. Charismatic C. Gift of grace c. Brother

Authority Eddie
Villanueva
Classifications of Authority (Max
Weber)
Type of Description Examples
Authority
Traditional - legitimate power
conferred by custom Datu Puti
and accepted
practice
Rational- - power made
Pres. Rodrigo
Legal/ legitimate by law
Roa Duterte
Bureaucratic
Authority
Charismatic - leader's exceptional
Bro. Eddie
Authority personal or
Villanueva
emotional appeal to
NOTE:

Authority relies on the obligation of

the people to obey their leaders by
virtue of the legitimate power of his or
her office. Effective authority requires
firm, fair, and wise leadership.
BASIC CONCEPTS OF
POLITICS
ORDER

POWER

JUSTICE
1. ORDER
- the central to the study of politics
because it shows different
components of human society
Structures of Order
a. Community - the central to the study of
politics because it shows different
components of human society
b. Government - the central to the study of
politics because it shows different
components of human society
c. State- is the largest social order today
and in which the term politics originally
derived.
2. POWER
- The main source of reign of the
government. The possession to
govern or rule the state.
3. JUSTICE
- The process of legalizing and
penalizing the abuse of political
power and power to rule.
“ If the government gives
what people need, protect
and respect their rights,
and put the common good
VALUE OF POLITICS
will help you to know your rights
clarifies what you yourself believes
is a living, breathing subject
helps you to understand our nation's parties
prepares you for adult life
Why do we need to study
Politics?
It enables us…
- to understand how Political
System works

- to understand the functions and

role of the government
- to develop political awareness

- to understand socio-political issues

and their implications

- to cultivate responsive citizenship

and effective participation in
government
 TWO
APPROACHES to
the STUDY of
POLITICS
1. POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

- It is the traditional approach

in which the primary goal is to
understand the essence or the truth
about politics.
2. POLITICAL SCIENCE
- It is the empirical/ objective
approach in which it places little
emphasis on abstract and
normative question, and
concentrates on a dispassionate
and objective of the realities of
politics.
Important Personalities:
Jean Bodin
 French Philosopher, who first called the study
of state as Political Science

Niccolo Machiavelli
 Father of Modern Political Science

Jean Jacques Rousseau

 Father of Modern Democracy
GOVERNANCE
Is the exercise of power/ authority by
political leader for the well being at their
country’s citizens or subject.

Refersto the manner of steering/ governing

and or directing and controlling a group of
people/ the state.
3 Legs of Governance
1. Economic Governance - country's
economic activities and its relationships
with other economies

2. Political Governance - to formulate

policy

3. Administrative Governance - system

of policy implementation
Characteristics of
Good Governance
1. Participation
- participation by both men and women
- Participation is one of the strengths of
Philippine governance
- The 1987 Philippine Constitution is
replete of provisions dealing with
relational and inter-sectoral governance.
- The Local Government Act of 1989 was
borne out of the need for decentralization
in Philippine governance.
- As such, these and other related
legislations may be considered as
normative standards for good
governance.
2. Rule of Law
- legal frameworks should be fair and
enforced impartially
- Democracy is essentially the rule of law
- Rule of law demands that the people
and the civil society render habitual
obedience to the law.
- It also demands that the government acts
within the limits of the powers and functions
prescribed by the law.
- The Philippines does not fare well in this
aspect of good governance.
- In spite of being one of the oldest
democracies in the region, the Philippines
ranked as last among seven indexed Asian
countries according to the World Justice
Project Rule of Law Index.
- Generally, the reasons for ranking last are
“lack of respect for law,” “pervasive and
systemic corruption in the government,”
and “circumvention of the law.”
- Lack of respect for law is generally caused
by distrust on the integrity of law
enforcement agencies.
- Order and security are compromised and
criminal justice is rendered ineffectual.
3. Transparency
- Free flow of information
- Transparency, as an indicator of good
governance, means that people are
open to information regarding decision-
making process and the implementation
of the same.
- In legal terms, it means that information
on matters of public concern are made
available to the citizens or those who will
be directly affected.
- It also means that transactions involving
public interests must be fully disclosed
and made accessible to the people.
- Efforts were made in pursuit of
transparency in Philippine governance.

- As far as the government sector is

concerned, the current administration,
consistent with its drive of curbing
corruption, promotes honesty and integrity
in public service.
- It is currently pursuing the passage of the
Freedom of Information Bill and other
related legislations, as well as intensifying
people’s engagement in local governance.
- Transparency in budget and disbursements
are, however, still far from being
substantially implemented.
4. Responsiveness
- serve all stakeholders
- means that institutions and processes
serve all stakeholders in a timely and
appropriate manner.
- It also means that actors and structures
of governance easily give genuine
expression to the will or desire of the
people.
- Some of the important efforts made to attain
responsive governance in the Philippines are
decentralization, creation of citizen’s charter in
all frontline agencies (as required by ARTA), and
gender sensitivity programs.
- First, through decentralization, local
governments, which are more proximate to
their constituents, serve more promptly the
people, who in turn become more involved in
decision-making.
- Second, every government agency now
has it Citizen’s Charter, which provides
timeframes for every step in attaining
frontline services.
- Agencies now must also respond to written
queries sent by the stakeholders or
interested parties within a period of ten
days, otherwise there will be delayed
service.
- However, this aspect of governance still
remains to be one of the causes for the
decline of public’s confidence in the public
sector.
- Although the ARTA has been passed, there is
still so much delay in public service delivery.
- The failure of the government agencies to
explain the charters to the stakeholders is one
of the main reasons why there is still delay.
5. Consensus
Oriented
- mediates differing interests
6. Equity and
Inclusiveness
- all have opportunities to
improve or maintain their well-
being
7. Effectiveness and
Efficiency
- produce results that meet needs while
making the best use of resources
- actors meet the needs of the society
means that there is effective governance.
- That the valuable resources are utilized,
without wasting or underutilizing any of
them, means that there is efficient
governance.
- enhancement and standardization of the
quality of public service delivery
consistent with international standards,
professionalization of bureaucracy.
- Efforts were made to attain effectiveness and
efficiency in Philippine governance.
- The Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007 (ARTA), for
instance, was passed to require the setting up
of Citizen’s Charter for a simplified procedure
and to facilitate governmental transactions.
- Also, many government departments and
agencies pursued a rationalization program to
check excessive and redundant staffing.
8. Accountability

- accountable to the public

Importance of Studying
Governance
- Governance, the people, most
especially the citizens, will be aware
of the need for good governance.

- Consequently, such awareness should

move them to action
- For their continued empowerment and
sustainable development, they have to
know how to fight for their rights by
knowing what to expect from Philippine
governance.
 PROCESSES AND ACTORS IN
GOVERNANCE
 Decision-Making and Implementation
- Decision-making refers the process
by which a person or group of persons,
guided by socio-political structures, arrive at
a decision involving their individual and
communal needs and wants.
- Implementation is the process that
logically follows the decision.
 Actors and Structures
- An actor is a sector or group or
institution that participates in the process of
decision- making and implementation.
- A structure refers to an organization or
mechanism that formally or informally
guides the decision- making process and
sets into motion the different actors and
apparatuses in the implementation
process.
 Informal Actors and Bad Governance
- Their influence is felt more clearly in
local governments, such as organized
crime syndicates and powerful families, and
in rural and urban areas.
- Most often than not, these actors are
the cause of corruption, in that legitimate
government objectives are distorted by
their illegal and private interests.
- Worse, they manipulate government officials
and agencies, and cause widespread yet
organized violence in the community.
- In urban and rural areas, for example, the rich
and powerful families control the economy by
controlling the local government officials.
- They bring about a controlled environment so
that decisions must always favor them.