PHILIPPINE

POLITICS AND
GOVERNANCE

Grace Ann P. Calansingin, M.Ed.

POLITICS
• “Polis” – city-state, small independent self-contained political
society.
• People create, preserve, and amend laws in their community.
• “Who gets what, when, and how?” (Laswell, 1935)
• Process of allocating scarce resources (the rich vs. the poor over
wealth, status, & power)
FACETS OF POLITICS
POLITICS AS THE ART OF GOVERNMENT
• Politics defines the activities of the government.
• Government officials and government workers are
participating in politics.
P O L I T I C S A S A P U B L I C A F FA I R
• Played by everybody, politicians or not
• “Man by nature is a political animal.” (Aristotle, n.d.)
• Politics is necessary to create a just society
POLITICS AS COMPROMISE AND CONSENSUS
• Politics is meant to resolve conflicts
• Compromise, conciliation, and negotiation are
necessary
• Politics is a process of conflict resolution
POLITICS AS POWER
• Politics is everywhere.
• Politics is the struggle for scarce resources and
power is the means through which this struggle is
conducted
POLITICS VS. POLITICAL SCIENCE
• Political Science is an academic discipline that deals with the
theoretical study of the government. It is concerned with how the
state originated, its nature, and its function. Political scientist
observes how a state makes a decision and how those decisions
affect people
• Politics deals with the actual actions or decisions of the state. It is
concerned with issues, problems, and activities of the state
A R E Y O U A K E Y P L AY E R O F T H E S TAT E ?
Key player = Identifying, understanding, and acting for
or against the state (cite examples).
W H AT I S T H E I M P O R TA N C E O F S T U D Y I N G P O L I T I C S ?
“POLITICS AND THE POLITICAL COMMUNITY MUST
PLAY I N BR I N G IN G AB O U T A V IR T U OUS L IFE I N
T H E C I T I Z E N R Y.”
-ARISTOTLE
HOW SHOULD POLITICS BE STUDIED?
 HOW SHOULD POLITICS BE STUDIED?

1 . N O R M AT I V E V S . P O S I T I V E A P P R O A C H
What should be versus what is
Normative – focuses in the question “What should be?” Ex: “Bullying and other forms of violence in
schools should be viewed not just a school problem but as a societal problem as well.”

Positive – focuses on answering the question “What is?” Ex: DepEd has documented more than 1,700
cases of child abuse and bullying in school year 2013-2014.
2 . B E H AV I O R A L A P P R OA CH
Focuses on the study of individual (voter, leader, party leader, etc), particularly the
actors of the political system , their emotions, biases, and predispositions.
Behaviorists study how politics relates and influences the individual’s behavior,
motivation, personalities, or feelings (Orji, 2009).
1. Voters’ political preference
2. Governmental revenue and social services program
3. Public officials’ performance on the development programs
4. Government officials’ popularity ratings
5. Political activism
3 . R AT I O N A L C H O I C E A P P R O A C H
Centers on the study of human behavior wherein individuals are motivated by their
wants, self-interest, or goals which will explain their preferences.

-Preferences are within the bounds of policies or laws which are dictated by
incentives or constraints.

-Humans act to maximize their outcome (to get the most benefits and profit from
their actions)