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Political science is a branch of social science that deals with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems
and political behavior. Political Science is often described as the
study of who gets what, where, when and why. Discovering a proper
balance between the individual, the society and its Government for
civilization and human progress is paramount.
Fields and subfields of political science include political theory and philosophy, civics and comparative politics, theory of direct democracy,
apolitical governance, participatory direct democracy, national
systems, cross-national political analysis, political development, international relations, foreign policy, international law, politics, public administration, administrative behavior, public law, judicial behavior, and public policy. Political science also studies power in international relations and the theory of Great powers and Superpowers.
Political science is methodologically diverse. Approaches to the discipline include classical political philosophy, interpretivism, structuralism, and behavioralism, realism, pluralism, and institutionalism. Political science, as one of the social sciences,
uses methods and techniques that relate to the kinds of inquiries
sought: primary sources such as historical documents and official
records, secondary sources such as scholarly journal articles, survey research, statistical analysis, case studies, and model building.
Overview
Political scientists study the allocation and transfer of power in
decision-making, the roles and systems of governance including
governments and international organizations, political behavior and
public policies. They measure the success of governance
and specific policies by examining many factors, including stability,
justice, material wealth, and peace. Some political scientists seek to
advance positive theses by analyzing politics. Others advance normative theses, by making specific policy recommendations.
Political Scientists provide the frameworks that journalists, special interest groups, politicians, and the electorate
analyze issues. Political scientists may serve as advisers to specific
politicians, or even run for office as politicians themselves.
Political scientists can be found working in governments, in political
parties or as civil servants. They may be involved with non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) or political movements. In a variety of capacities, people
educated and trained in political science can add value and expertise
to corporations. Private enterprises such as think tanks, research institutes, polling and public relations
firms often employ political scientists. In the United States,
political scientists known as "Americanists" look at a variety of data
including elections, public opinion and public policy such as Social Security reform, foreign policy, U.S. congressional power, and the U.S. Supreme Court—to name only a few issues.
Most American colleges and universities
offer B.A. programs in political science. M.A. and Ph.D programs are
common at larger universities. Some universities offer B.S or M.S.
degrees.[1] The term political science is more popular in North America
than elsewhere; other institutions, especially those outside the United
States, see political science as part of a broader discipline of political studies, politics, or government. While political science implies use of the scientific method, political studies implies a broader approach, although the naming of degree courses does not necessarily reflect their content.[2]
History
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Antecedents
Political science is a late arrival in terms of social sciences. However, the discipline has a clear set of antecedents such as moral philosophy, political philosophy, political economy, history, and other fields concerned with normative determinations of what ought to be and with deducing the characteristics and functions of the ideal state.
In each historic period and in almost every geographic area, we can
find someone studying politics and increasing political understanding.
In ancient India, the antecedents of politics can be traced back to the Rig-Veda, Samhitas, Brahmanas, and Buddhist Pali Canon. Chanakya (c. 350-275 BC) was a professor of political science at Takshashila University, and later the Prime Minister of Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya. Chanakya is regarded as one of the earliest political thinkers, and is also known as the Indian Machiavelli. He wrote the Arthashastra, which was one of the earliest treatises on political thought, economics and social order, and can be considered a precursor to Machiavelli's The Prince.
It discusses monetary and fiscal policies, welfare, international
relations, and war strategies in detail, among other topics on
political science.The ancient Tamil literary work Thirukural written
2000 years ago has extensively dealt with political science.The topics
discussed by Thirukural include the art of public administration,
warfare, political diplomacy, civil society, espionage, qualifications
for public office, public revenue and financial administration and
local administration.
The antecedents of Western politics can also trace their roots back even earlier than Plato and Aristotle, particularly in the works of Homer, Hesiod, Thucydides, Xenophon, and Euripides.
Later, Plato analysed political systems, abstracted their analysis from
more literary- and history- oriented studies and applied an approach we
would understand as closer to philosophy. Similarly, Aristotle built upon Plato's analysis to include historical empirical evidence in his analysis.
During the height of the Roman Empire, famous historians such as Polybius, Livy and Plutarch documented the rise of the Roman Republic, and the organization and histories of other nations, while statesmen like Julius Caesar, Cicero
and others provided us with examples of the politics of the republic
and Rome's empire and wars. The study of politics during this age was
oriented toward understanding history, understanding methods of
governing, and describing the operation of governments.
With the fall of the Roman Empire, there arose a more diffuse arena
for political studies. The rise of monotheism and, particularly for the
Western tradition, Christianity, brought to light a new space for politics and political action. Works such as Augustine of Hippo's The City of God
synthesized current philosophies and political traditions with those of
Christianity, redefining the borders between what was religious and
what was political. During the Middle Ages,
the study of politics was widespread in the churches and courts. Most
of the political questions surrounding the relationship between church and state were clarified and contested in this period.
In the Middle East and later other Islamic areas, works such as the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and Epic of Kings by Ferdowsi provided evidence of political analysis, while the Islamic Aristotelians such as Avicenna and later Maimonides and Averroes, continued Aristotle's tradition of analysis and empiricism, writing commentaries on Aristotle's works.
During the Italian Renaissance, Niccolò Machiavelli established the emphasis of modern political science on direct empirical observation of political institutions and actors. Later, the expansion of the scientific paradigm during the Enlightenment further pushed the study of politics beyond normative determinations.
Studies
Since Political Science is essentially a study of human behavior,
observations in controlled environments are usually not available and
impossible to reproduce or duplicate. Because of this Political
Scientists seek patterns in the reasons and outcomes for political
events so that generalizations and theories can be made. Again, study
is still difficult since humans make conscious choices unlike other
subjects in science, such as organisms, or even inanimate objects as in
physics. Despite the complexities, consensus has been reached on
various political topics with the help of proper study.
The advent of political science as a university discipline was
marked by the creation of university departments and chairs with the
title of political science arising in the late 19th century. In fact,
the designation "political scientist" is typically reserved for those
with a doctorate in the field. Integrating political studies of the
past into a unified discipline is ongoing, and the history of political
science has provided a rich field for the growth of both normative and positive political science, with each part of the discipline sharing some historical predecessors. The American Political Science Association was founded in 1903 and the American Political Science Review was founded in 1906 in an effort to distinguish the study of politics from economics and other social phenomena.
In the 1950s and the 1960s, a behavioural revolution stressing the
systematic and rigorously scientific study of individual and group
behaviour swept the discipline. At the same time that political science
moved toward greater depth of analysis, it also moved toward a closer
working relationship with other disciplines, especially sociology, economics, history, anthropology, psychology, public administration and statistics.[citation needed]
Increasingly, students of political behaviour have used the scientific
method to create an intellectual discipline based on the postulating of
hypotheses followed by empirical verification and the inference of
political trends, and of generalizations that explain individual and
group political actions. Over the past generation, the discipline
placed an increasing emphasis on relevance, or the use of new
approaches and methodologies to solve political and social problems.
Political science has, broadly, five subfields: international relations, political theory, public policy and public administration, national politics, and comparative politics.
Separate degree granting programs in international relations and public
policy are not uncommon at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Master's level programs in public administration are common.
The national honour society for college and university students of government and politics in the United States is Pi Sigma Alpha.
References
- ^ Schools offering the B.S. or M.S. in political science include: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Illinois Institute of Technology, University of Idaho, Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and others.
- ^ See the example of New York University in particular. The term politics is used at:
- University of California, Santa Cruz, Ursinus College, Brandeis University, Cornell College, Occidental College, New York University, Monash University, Mount Holyoke College, Princeton University, Hendrix College, Lake Forest College, and Washington and Lee University
The term government is used by:
- Smith College, Colby College, Dartmouth College, Bowdoin College, Harvard University, Cornell University, Georgetown University, the University of Texas at Austin, the College of William and Mary, the University of Sydney, the University of Ulster, the University of Essex, Victoria University of Wellington (which has both a School of Government and a separate Political Science and International Relations Programme) and the London School of Economics and Political Science to describe the field.
The term politics and government is used by the University of Puget Sound.
Further reading
- American Political Science Review - The Evolution of Political Science. APSR Centennial Volume - Special Issue - November 2006
- Klingemann, Hans-Dieter (ed.): The State of Political Science in Western Europe. Opladen: Barbara Budrich Publishers 2007, ISBN 978-3-86649-045-3
- Schram, Sanford F. and Brian Caterino (eds.) Making Political Science Matter: Debating Knowledge, Research, and Method. New York and London: New York University Press, 2006.
- Robert E. Goodin, Hans-Dieter Klingemann (Hrsg.): A New Handbook of Political Science. Oxford / New York u.a.: Oxford University Press 1996, ISBN 0-19-829471-9 (englisch)
- Michael Roskin, Robert L. Cord, James A. Medeiros, and Walter S. Jones, 2007, Political Science: An Introduction (New York: Prentice Hall). ISBN 0-13-24
See also
External links
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