SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

PAVIA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Philippine Politics and Governance

“One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”-Plato

Chapter I: The Concepts of Politics and Governance

a. Politics
-came from the Greek word “Polis” (the Greek city-state)
-the study of “who gets what, when and how”-Harold Laswell
-“the master science” as called by Aristotle (Roskin, et. al.,
2012)
-is the exercise of power, the science of government, the making of collective decisions, the allocations of scarce
resources and the practice of deception and manipulation
-*it also refers to the theory and practice of how people influence others in making decisions and carrying out
projects or programs
-*as defined within political science, refers to human behavior with regard to matters related to government
activities such as the formulation and execution of policies, creations of laws, selection of government officials;
negotiations with foreign governments and other entities or organization; protection of territorial boundaries;
preservation of cultural heritage and tradition; and upholding the public interest and welfare

Important people:
Aristotle-“Father of Political Science”
Niccolo Machiavelli-wrote “The Prince” , a handbook for rulers in the art of government
Prof. Francis Lieber-wrote “Manual of Political Ethics”; the first systematic treatise on political science that gives as a
well thorough understanding of the discipline .

b. Political Science
-systematic study of political and government institutions and processes (Ranney, 1995)
-it is a discipline that seeks to understand the relationship between individual and political institution
- Bluntschli, a Swiss scholar defined political science as “the science, which concerned with the state, which
endeavors to understand and comprehend the state in its fundamental conditions, in its essential nature, its
various manifestation, its development (Moten and Islam, 2011)
-*is a branch of the social sciences that deals with the study of politics
-*it deals with systems of government and the analysis of political activity, political behavior, and political
theories and practices
*Political Scientists-refers to people who devote their academic careers to the study of Political Science, they are
engaged in analyzing the relationships underlying political events and conditions

*The Development of Political Science

Politics in Greco-Roman Times
 Politics was established as a formal discipline in the 19 th century
 Platos’ The Republic and The Laws focused on politcal analysis and theories relating to governance
 Aristotle’s The Politics and Nicomachean Ethics dealt with politics and the history of Greek
statesmanship and citizenship
 The ancient Romans were influence by the Greek political philosophy and developed representative
democracy and the republican form of government
 Roman historians Polybius, Plutarch, and Livy carefully documented and analyzed Rome’s political rise
in the Mediterranean world
 The Roman senator Cicero became known for his discourses and speeches advocating good governance
under Imperial dictatorships
 Stoicism, a philosophy that advocated hierarchical order and state duties, served as a model for political
stabili
 The emperor Marcus Aurelius was renowned as a Stoic philosopher, along with the philosopher and
statesman Seneca

Medieval and Renaissance Political Thought

 The decline of the Roman Empire was characterized by the emergence of monarchies and tyrannies
 The end of the Roman period gave way to Medieval times and the rise of powerful feudal nobles
 St. Augustine of Hippo was recognized for his writing such as City of God, which was philosophical criticism of
the political corruption that characterized the latter part of the Roman Empire
 During the High Middles Ages, St.Thomas Aquina’s writings on ethics were inspired by Aristotle’s work
 In Renaissance Europe, the study of political behavior was revived as feudalism declined and political system
gave way to the rise of the middle classes stronger monarchies
  Important thinkers during this period include Niccolo Machiavelli who advocated radical pragmatism and
analyzed the behavior of princes and rulers in Europe in his book, The Prince.
 The English philosopher Thomas More, meanwhile, advocated a moral and ethical ideal state in his book Utopia

The Age of Enlightenment up to the 19th century

 the 17th and 18th centuries were the golden age of political enlightenment
 this period was defined by the works and contributions of philosophers such as Denis Diderot, John Locke,
Jean Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Hobbbes, and Voltaire
 these enlightenment philosophers advocated the need for a strong government that will impose law and order
and protect the rights and privileges of people
 John Locke was a strong proponent of Natural Law, which promoted the idea that each individual person
possesses inalienable rights that cannot be violated by the state
 Jean Jacques Rousseau proposed the concept of Social Contract which limited the powers of the king and
made the government answerable to the people
 In the United States, political thinkers such as Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas
Jefferson contributed much to the development of American republicanism and democracy
 It was only in the late 19th century that political science was established as a formal academic discipline
within social sciences
 this development was brought about in American universities such as Johns Hopkins University, Columbia,
Princeton, and Harvard
 In 1903, the American Political Science Association was established and its journal, the American Political
Science Review, was first released in 1906

Stages in the Study of Political Science

1. Religious Stage-the government, its leaders and laws was considered as divine or divinely inspired.
2. Metaphysical Stage-the state was considered as a human institution, and it is, therefore, absolute (cannot be
changed).
3. Modern Stage-the state was deemed capable of being improved by rulers and subjects according to certain
principles and laws

Governance
-defined as the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not
implemented)
Governance can be viewed in the following context:
a. Corporate governance
b. International governance
c. National governance’
d. Local governance

Good governance assures that corruption is minimized, the views of minorities are taken into account and that the voices
of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. It is also responsive to the present and future needs of
society.

Characteristics of Good Governance (UNESCO for Asia and the Pacific)

a. Participation-by both men and women, must partake directly or indirectly (having a representative) in every
governmental process
b. Rule of Law-impartiality of fair legal framework such as the promotion of a full protection of human rights and
dignity especially those members of the minority
c. Transparency-means that decisions were taken, and their enforcement are done in a manner that follows rules
and regulations, it also means that information is freely available and directly accessible to those who will be
affected by such decisions and their enforcement
d. Responsiveness-good governance requires that institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a
reasonable time-frame
e. Consensus oriented-good governance requires mediation of the different interests in society on what is in the
best interest of the whole community and how this can be achieved
f. Effectiveness and efficiency-good governance means that processes and institutions produce results that meet the
needs of society while making the best use of resources at their disposal, and also it covers the sustainable use of
natural resources and the protection of the environment
g. Accountability-not only governmental institutions but also private sector and civil society organizations must be
accountable to the public and their institutional stake holders.