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Defining Politics and the Study of Political Science

The document discusses the nature of politics and the study of political science, emphasizing the importance of understanding individual needs and desires in the context of power dynamics. It outlines various concepts such as authority, legitimacy, and the distinction between the state and civil society, while also presenting different approaches to studying political science, including historical, normative, and empirical methods. Additionally, it highlights the scope of political science and its related disciplines, illustrating the complexity and multifaceted nature of politics.

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4 views

Defining Politics and the Study of Political Science

The document discusses the nature of politics and the study of political science, emphasizing the importance of understanding individual needs and desires in the context of power dynamics. It outlines various concepts such as authority, legitimacy, and the distinction between the state and civil society, while also presenting different approaches to studying political science, including historical, normative, and empirical methods. Additionally, it highlights the scope of political science and its related disciplines, illustrating the complexity and multifaceted nature of politics.

Uploaded by

msjesselbulatao
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Defining Politics and the study of

Political Science

Duke Dolorical
Some Questions

Do all individuals have needs or desires?

Do we act on these needs or desires?

Whose interest are these needs or desires?

Do other people share our individual needs or desires?

Do other people’s needs or desires overlap with our needs or


desires?

How do individuals or groups achieve these needs or desires?


The Core of Political Science: POLITICS

According to Harold Laswell:


“Politics is who gets what, when, and how.”
Politics is a universal phenomenon in human life and
in any society.
We all have needs, desires, and interests. WE ACT OR
DO SOMETHING TO FULFILL THESE.
How? (A) CHARM/INFLUENCE or (B) COERCION/FORCE
When a need/want/desire/interest is shared by two or
more individuals, a relationship is formed. It leads to the
creation of GROUPS.
Overlap of various interests may lead to conflict.

Often, we exert influence or force to compel the other


actor to do what want, to behave according to our
desire and/or intended outcome.

The ability to influence or coerce another actor to do so


is called POWER.
Why Study Politics?

Self-Interest – (a) knowing what government does or


does not do & how it affects our happiness.
(b) We become more aware of our dependence on the
political system and knowing when to oppose or
favor change.
Public Interest- Society is defined by decisions of
ordinary individuals leading ordinary lives in the
same way that society patterns these decisions.
-”the process by w/c a community selects rulers
& empowers them to make decisions, takes
action to attain common goals, & reconciles
conflicts w/in the community.” (Magstadt, 2010)

Heywood offers other angles by which to view and


understand politics.
Politics according to Heywood….
•
Inextricably linked to the phenomena of conflict &
cooperation
•
Politics as the art of government

-(the polis or greek city-state)

-to study politics is to study government and exercise of authority


•
Politics as Public Affairs

-concerns with arena where politics is conducted

-concerns the public sphere of life distinguished from the private


sphere of life
The State and the Civil Society
The State is the approximation of what is considered to be
public.
-The various institutions of the state e.g. Government
apparatuses, Courts, police, army, social security system.
-Considered public since they are responsible for the collective
organization of community life.
- They are also funded at the public’s expense through taxation.

Civil Society is considered to be the private realm.


-groups or organizations created or set-up and funded by private
individuals themselves.
-satisfaction of own interests rather than those of larger society.
PUBLIC PRIVATE

The State: Apparatus of Government Civil Society: autonomous bodies;


businesses; trade unions; clubs;
families; and so on
Public Realm: Personal Realm:
Politics, Commerce, Work, Art, Family and domestic life (private
Culture and so on (public goods) goods)
Heywood….
•
Politics as compromise & consensus
-politics as a means of resolving conflict
-a ‘political’ solution implies diplomatic
means
-activity by which differing interests are
conciliated (COOPERATION)
•
Politics as power
-”who gets what, when and how?”
(laswell)
Heywood (cont.)
•
Politics as power…
-can therefore be seen as a struggle over
scarce resources & power is the means by which
this struggle is conducted. (CONFLICT)
Power as….

1.) Decision-making-conscious action to


influence contents of decisions.
2.) Power as Agenda Setting
3.) Power as Thought Control.
Basic Concepts of Politics
•
Power-the capacity to influence or control the behavior of
persons & institutions, whether by persuasion or coercion.
– Hard and Soft Power.
•
Authority-command of the obedience of society’s members
by a government.
•
Legitimacy-the exercise of political power in a community in a
way that is voluntarily accepted by the members of that
community.
Basic Concepts of Politics
•
Legitimate Authority - the legal and moral
right of a government to rule over a specific
population & control a specific territory; the
term legitimacy usually implies a widely
recognized claim of governmental authority &
voluntary acceptance on the part of
population directly affected.
•
Order - In a political context, refers to an
existing or desired arrangement of
institutions based on certain principles such
as liberty, equality, prosperity, & security. Also
often associated with the rule of law (as in the
phrase ‘‘law and order’’) & with conservative
values such as stability, obedience, & respect
for legitimate authority.
•
Society - An aggregation of individuals who
share a common identity. Usually, because
people who live in close proximity often know
each other, enjoy shared experiences, speak
the same language, & have similar values and
interests.

•
Government - The persons and institutions
that make and enforce rules or laws for the
larger community.
•
Republic A form of government in which
sovereignty resides in the people of that
country, rather than with the rulers. The vast
majority of republics today are democratic or
representative republics, meaning that
sovereign power is exercised by elected
representatives who are responsible to the
citizenry.
•
State - In its sovereign form, an independent
political-administrative unit that successfully
claims the allegiance of a given population,
exercises a monopoly on the legitimate use of
coercive force, and controls the territory
inhabited by its citizens or subjects; in its
other common form, a state is the major
political-administrative subdivision
•
Sovereignty A government’s capacity to
assert supreme power successfully in a
political state.
•
Country As a political term, it refers loosely to
a sovereign state and is roughly equivalent to
‘‘nation’’ or ‘‘nation-state’’; country is often
used as a term of endearment—for example,
in the phrase ‘‘my country ’tis of thee, sweet
land of liberty’’ in the patriotic song every
U.S. child learns in elementary school; country
has an emotional dimension not present in
the word state.
•
Nation Often interchangeable with state or
country; in common usage, this term actually
denotes a specific people with a distinct
language and culture or a major ethnic group
—for example, the French, Dutch, Chinese,
and Japanese people each constitute a
nation, as well as a state, hence the term
nation-state.
APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF
POLITICAL SCIENCE
•
Historical- The time-space progression of
significant political events and evolution of
politics as a field of study.
•
Concept of Temporality – the intersection of
time and space in any observable
phenomenon.
•
Research Methodology: Historical
Institutionalism
•
Normative-Influence of philosophical
traditions of ancient Greece w/c involves w/
essentially ethical & prescriptive questions
reflecting a concern w/ what “should”,
“ought” or “must” be brought about rather
than what is.
•
Plato and Socrates as originators.
•
Ethical aspects of politics
•
Criticized for lacking objectivity as it offers
judgments & recommendations (prescriptive)
APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF
POLITICAL SCIENCE
•
Empricism- descriptive or empirical tradition

-Experience should be the only basis of knowledge—process of


observation.

-considered to have been the basis of modern-day comparative


government & institutional approach in the study of political
science

-attempt to offer dispassionate and impartial account of political


reality.

-seeks to analyze and explain.


•
Behavioralism (Scientific)- the belief that
social theories should be constructed only on
the basis of observable behavior, providing
quantifiable data for research.
-proponents argued that the study of politics
could adopt the methodologies of the natural
sciences.
-highly quantitative
Politics as a Science and an Art
•
It can be a science in that it can use the
methodology of the natural sciences.
– Problem of data
– Hidden values (bias)
– Myth of neutrality
Scope of Political Science
•
Public Policy
•
Public Administration
•
Political Theory
•
International Relations
•
Public Law
– Constitutional, Administrative, Criminal Laws.
•
Private Law
Disciplines Related to Political
Science
•
History (Temporality: Time-Space dimension)
•
Economics
•
Law
•
Psychology
•
Sociology
•
Education

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