ELIZADE UNIVERSITY, ILARA-MOKIN

INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE

COURSE CODE: IRS 105.

COURSE LECTURER: FREDERICK BRAIMAH

Nature and Scope of Political Science.

The Meaning of Politics.

The starting point to any introductory lecture on political science should begin
with a definition and an understanding of the term politics. What is politics?

There is no acceptable definition of politics among scholars because as a human

activity, politics will be difficult to compartmentalize. Human beings by their
nature are unpredictable and so is politics.

Aristotle sees politics as the process of man’s development within the state. In his
view, politics is all about the state.

Dudley argued that it is not possible to have a definition of politics. Politics can
only be described. Dudley described politics as social mobilization, the formation
of consciousness, contesting, ‘descontesting’ and transcendence.

Max weber defined politics as the drive to share power and influence the
distribution of power among the groups within the state of the distribution of
power among the states.

Vernon Van Dyke defined politics as the study of actors pursuing conflicting
desires on public issues

Nnoli sees politics as that which concerns itself with the allocation of scarce
valuable resources within the society.
Robert Dhal defines politics as the study of conflicts which arises whenever
people come together.

Alapiki H (2004) defined politics as human relationships that involves to a

significant extent, control, influence, power and authority.

R F Ola posited that politics deals with power and its management within existing
set up.

Harold Lasswell defines politics as who get what, when and how.

David Easton defines politics as the authoritative allocation of values for a society.

In my opinion, politics is what people do within a group, society or government.

Generally, scholars tend to agree that a combination of Laswell and Easton

definitions proximate a working definition of politics. Consequently, Politics is
defined as the process involved in the acquisition of power and the utilization of
same.

What is science?

Science is systematic knowledge. It is defined as the systematic observation of

nature, events and conditions in order to discover facts about them with a view to
formulating laws and principles based on the facts.

The canons of scientific knowledge

Scientific knowledge must observe the following principles:

 Observation
 Replication
 Experimentation
 Objectivity
 Systemization
 Quantification
 Precisions
 THE SCIENTIFIC NATURE OF POLITICAL SCIENCE.
Science is a process that provides models for reliable prediction and
control of the natural world. Political science on the other hand, as a field
of study intends to control the behavioral dynamics of people. However
can human behavior be adequately predicted and controlled? Can we
therefore say that political science is a science taking into consideration,
the unpredictable nature of man?

For these questions to be adequately answered, the aims of the scientific

methods must be established, the processes of the scientific methods must
also be known. The aims and processes of science will be evaluated against
those of the scientific methods to enable us determine the scientific nature
of political science.

Aims of the scientific methods

 To obtain accurate knowledge about the structure and behavior of

the physical universe.
 To seek and use facts
 To classify facts
 To formulate general rules and reach valid conclusions about the
universe.

The scientific processes and methods

The scientific procedures for knowledge involve the following:

 Observation, recognition and formulation of a problem

 Classification of the problem according to purpose.
 Formulation of hypotheses
 Conducting experiments to test hypotheses
 Generating and collating of data
 Analyzing the data
 Reach conclusions
 Publish findings.
Do political science methods of enquiry meet the scientific aims and
processes? The answer is yes. Insofar that enquiry processes in the
discipline of political science proximate to that of scientific methods; one
can safely say that political science is a science.

However because of the unpredictable nature of man, some scholars have

argued that political science should not be classified a science in spite of
adopting the scientific methods. They argue that the materials of political
science differ from those of the physical and natural sciences.

Since humans are the subjects of political inquiry, they posited that political
analyses cannot be value free. They also argue that man by its nature is
capable of giving misleading information that may color the findings of the
political science enquiry.

These arguments notwithstanding, the political science processes has put

measures in place to mitigate these fears.

Definition of Political Science

Our understanding of the principles of the scientific methods will enable

will enable us adequately delineate a proper definition of political science.

Political science can therefore be defined as the study of human behavior

through observations, data gathering principles of the scientific methods.
Political scientists seek patterns in the reasons and outcomes of events to
enable them formulate generalizations and theories.

Political science can further be defined as a systematic body of knowledge

that deals with the acquisition of state power and its utilization.

Development of Political Science as a field of study

Ologbenla (2017) posited that the Greeks established a broad definition of
politics which was narrowed by European political philosophers between
the 16th century and the early 20th century. French philosophers took the
lead in the development of the field of political science.

The term political science was first used by Jean Bodin (1430-1596).
Boding’s main focus was on the characteristics of the state because of his
legal background. He focused on the analyses between organization of the
state and law.

Montesquieu (1689-1755) posited that liberty will be guaranteed if the

organs of government are separated and kept separate. He vigorously
argued that there will be tyranny if the powers of the executive, legislature
and the judiciary are exercised by a single body or person. The works of
these two French philosophers, Jean Bodin and Montesquieu, confined and
restricted the scope of politics within the prism of the government and its
organs for several years.

Sociological changes after the 19 th century attracted interests in the study

of political science. The industrial revolution also impacted a great deal on
the changing values of human behaviors. The emergent clash between the
classical and Marxists economic theories produced a different paradigm in
the study of the economic relations. This also impacted on the political
thoughts. For the example Montesquieu’s principle of watertight
separation of the three arms of government was challenged. According to
the emerging thinking, a watertight separation of power may lead to a
collapse of government. The principles of check and balances emerged.

There was an also an increased interest in the study of political parties,

interest groups, trade unions corporations, organizations etc. there were
also interests in the study of ideologies: ideological right or ideological left
in the political orientation. The bottom line is that politics transcends the
entire society, from government to political parties including other interest
groups.
APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

The study of politics can be approached from several different viewpoints.

These viewpoints provide political scientists with the appropriate
conceptual framework in understanding the political life of the society.

There are two major approaches to the study of politics: The traditional and
the behavioral. There are four sub approaches under the traditional. These
are

 The historical approach

 The philosophical approach
 The institutional approach
 Primeval empirical approach.

The Historical Approach

This approach relies on historical narration and description of past events

to explain the present and also with it, explain political development and
political processes. It is concerned with the description of past political
events.

The Philosophical Approach.

Philosophy has to do with deep thinking. This approach relates to studying

the thoughts and contributions of early philosophical fathers like Aristotle,
Plato, and St Augustine etc. These early philosophers focused largely on the
normative. That is what ought to be rather than what is. Their thought
patterns were largely driven by what they considered ideal. Their
contributions were idealistically driven rather than realistic.

The Institutional Approach.

This approach, which can also be referred to as the legal approach deals
with studying the organs and institutions of government. It focuses on the
power redistribution of government institutions, their functions, roles and
the relationships between these institutions. This approach also focuses on
constitutional and legal issues, rule of law, law making and interpretation,
administration and enforcement of the law. Simply put, the institutional
approach focuses on the three arms of government: the executive, the
legislature and the judiciary.

Primeval empirical approach.

This approach focuses on the early attempts at empiricism: observation,

classification, comparison and explanations. These attempts though
scientific in their processes can still be classified as primitive.

Characteristics of the traditional approach.

1. Generally normative. It describes what ought to be. It is idealistic.

2. Emphasizes the characteristics of the structure of government and
institutions.
3. This approach did not account for the behavior of the political actors
4. Mostly static.
5. It has very narrow perspective.
6. Emphasizes the formal properties
7. Generally not scientific.

The behavioral approach

As a result of the changes that emerged in the political system at the 20 th

century and the emergence of new states, the traditional approach became
grossly inadequate in the study of political science. There was also the
emergence of the study of the behavior of man within the political system
of the state. This gave birth to the behavioral approach to the study of
political science. Behavioralism had its root in America and became an
alternative to the traditional approach. Behavioralism is the attempt to
study the political phenomena through the scientific process of empiricism:
observation, falsification, quantitative analyses and verification.

The major objective of the behavioral approach is to make the study of

political science, scientific. Behavioralism focuses on the observable
behavior of man within the political system with the aim of reaching
conclusions that are empirical. This approach, unlike the traditional,
employs the use of quantitative methods in the analyses of data.
Behavioralism attempts to provide solutions to political challenges within
the political system. The approach is also multi-disciplinary.

There are arguments to the effect that Behavioralism cannot fit into the
realm of the scientific space because political behavior of man cannot be
predicted and are therefore not quantifiable. There are further arguments
that that political behavior are parochial and one sided and therefore
cannot fit into the scientific paradigm. There is also the argument that
some political issues involves moral and ethical issues that may colour it
scientific slant. In addition, the concepts and techniques are not home
grown. It relies heavily on borrowed techniques and concepts.

Beyond the arguments of anti Behavioralism, there were concerns from

post Behavioralism scholars that the methods of Behavioralism are not
rigorous enough. Led by David Easton, they argued that the scientific
processes of Behavioralism are not scientific enough. They advocated a
more rigorous scientific process to the behavioral school. This is with a view
to meet the challenges that were posed by the emergence of new states,
the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union, the Vietnam
War, the collapse of the USSR etc. New methods and techniques were
required to explain the new problems and situations. Post Behavioralism
focused on the subject matter of political science.

The Relationship between Political science and other Discipline

Political science as a discipline draws its study from other discipline such as
law, history, philosophy, economics and sociology.

According to Ekpekurede and Umukoro {2010} as cited in Efanador H {2018)

the relationships between political science and the aforementioned
discipline are stated as follows:

LAW

Some aspects of Political Science focus on law making and implementation.

Every political activity in a political system is carried out within the laws and
legal framework. Therefore political scientists are interested in the
constitutional development of the country, administrative law and
international law.

HISTORY

History is a study of past events. It includes a survey of economic, religious,

intellectual, social development as well as the study of the states, their
growth, developments and organization and their relationships with one
another. These historical records are heavily relied upon when political
scientists source for secondary data to analyze contemporary political
challenge.

PHILOSOPHY

Political science has tremendously gained and also enriched by the

contributions of philosophy. The study of political science has its roots in
philosophy and cannot be separated from it. Political philosophy is a sub
field of political science. Studies of political thoughts from the classical,
medieval to modern times are covered in the field of political science.

ECONOMICS
Very closely related to political science is economics. Political scientists are
interested in public financial management, public sector economics, budget
etc. Political economy is a major subfield of political science. It studies the
social relationships between citizens taking part in the production process
and the laws governing same. It also studies the relationships between the
people taking part in the distribution process and the laws governing
distribution, exchange and consumption of material value at the different
stages in the advancement of society.

SOCIOLOGY

Sociology is the father of political science. Therefore sociological theories

are very germane and useful in explaining and predicting political
phenomena. For example, political sociology which is a subfield of political
science involves the applications of sociological theories and concepts to
explain political behavior and processes.

References

Ekpekuredse, W and Umukoro, N. (2010). Political science, an Introduction,

cited in Efanador, H. (2018) Introduction to Political Science. Iyamoh, Edo
University

Olungbela D. (2017). The Nature and Scope of Political Science in Nigerian

Politics: Issues and perspective. Eds. Okeke G and Olongbenla D. Lagos.
University of Lagos Press.

Alapiki H (2004). Politics and Governance in Nigeria. Port Harcourt.

Amethyst & Colleagues Publishers.