Introduction: The

Concepts of
POLITICS and
GOVERNANCE
____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
- 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.
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 or a. Datu Puti
Authority succession
2. Rational-Legal/ B. Legality of b. Pres.
Bureaucratic formal rules Roa Duterte
Authority
3. Charismatic C. Gift of grace c. Brother
Authority Villanueva
Classifications of Authority (Max Weber)
Type of Authority Description Examples
Traditional - legitimate power
conferred by custom Datu Puti
and accepted practice

Rational-Legal/ - power made

legitimate by law Pres. Rodrigo Roa
Bureaucratic
Duterte
Authority
Charismatic - leader's exceptional
personal or emotional Bro. Eddie Villanueva
Authority
appeal to followers
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.
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

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

 Refers to 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
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.