Nature and Scope of Political Science

Sub-fields of political science

Prof. Hyman Jay H. Blanco, RCrim, MSCrim*, JD*
 Political Science

The branch of social sciences that

control people, elect leaders, opinion
their voters and also help citizens to
know their responsibilities in the
society is called political science
 Introduction

The great Greek political philosopher,

Aristotle was the first thinker to use
the term ‘politics’. The term “Politics”
is derived from the Greek word ‘Polis’
which means ‘city – state’.
 Introduction

 It begins from the time of Aristotle

and Plato, in ancient Greek.

 It was introduced almost 2500 years

ago.
 Definitions

 Political science is a branch of social

science.

 It is the study of the state.

 Political science begins and ends with

the state.
 It may be defined as the study of man
in the process of governing himself.

 Political science deals with general

problems of the state and government.
 Nature of Political Science

There are different views on the nature

of politics:

 Political Science has Scientific nature.

 Politics can be studied in a systematic

manner.
 Nature of Political Science

 Political Science, like other Sciences,

has absolute and universal laws.

 It is possible to make predictions in

politics.

 It is said that experimentation is

possible in politics.
 Scope of Political Science

 Scope of political science is to study

the past things that happened and use
it correctly in the present and
determine what the future will say
about.
 Scope of Political Science

Normally, a lay man associate politics

with the party politics. But we should
know that politics is much larger than
that.

 The scope of political science implies

its area of study.
 Scope of Political Science

It is classified into four zones:

Political theory

Political institution
 Scope of Political Science

Political dynamics

International relation
The Four Zones
 Political theory

 It deals with the definition and

fundamental concepts of political
science like state, government, law,
liberty, equality, justice and
sovereignty.
 Political institution

 It is concerned with a study

of formal political institution
such as the state and
instrument through which it
runs the government.
 Political Dynamics

The term refers to the forces and

process at work in government and
politics. They influence and explain
political action. They include the
study of political parties.
 International Relations

 International Relations (IR) is the

study of relationships among
countries.

 International relations draws

intellectual materials from the fields of
technology, engineering, economics
and history.
 Elements of State

The state consists of four elements:

The people.
The territory.
The government.
The sovereignty.
 People

It is a people who make the state. Population

or people are essential for the state.
According to Aristotle, “the number should
neither be too large nor too small. It should
be large enough to be self sufficing and
small enough to be well governed”
 Territory

It is a fixed area that rightly belongs to the

population. There can be no state without
fixed territory.
It may be remembered that the territory of
state includes land, water and air-space.
It should be permanent and large enough to
be self-sufficing.
 Government

It is the third element of the state.

Government is the agency through with the
force of the state is formulated, expressed
and realized.
 Sovereignty

The fourth essential element of the state is

sovereignty. The word ‘Sovereignty’ means
supreme and final legal authority above
and beyond which no legal power exists.
 Sovereignty has two aspects:
• Internal Sovereignty
Means that the state is supreme over all its
citizens and associations.

• External Sovereignty
Means that the state is independent and free from
foreign or outside control.
 Scope concerning with State

Scope of political science concerns

with the state as :

 Present Form of the state.

 Historical Form.
 Ideal Form of the state.
 Ideal form of a State

The state should act as ‘trustee’ of the

people means that it should hold
people power as a trust for welfare of
people. It should not consider people
as helpless subject, but as co-rulers in
its governance.
 Sub-fields of Political Science

 Following are the sub-fields of

Political Science :

• Sociology
• Economics
• Anthropology
• Psychology
• History
 Sociology

The word ‘Sociology’ is a combination

of Two words; ‘Socio’ means ‘ Society’
and ‘logy’ means ‘to study’. Thus
sociology means the study of society.

It involves both formal and informal

behaviors of people.
 Economics

Economics is the social science that

studies economic activity to gain an
understanding of the processes that
govern the production, distribution
and consumption of goods in a
country.
 Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of humans’

past and present.

To understand the complexity of

cultures across all of human
history, anthropology draws
knowledge from the social and
biological sciences as well as the
humanities and physical sciences.
 Psychology

Psychology is an academic and

applied discipline that involves the
scientific study of mental functions and
behaviors.
 History

The branch of knowledge that records

and analyzes past events , is known
as history.

"History has a long-

range perspective"
(Elizabeth Gurley Flynn).
 Conclusion

In conclusion, we will say that the

scope of political science comprehends
globalization, state sovereignty,
international security, and ecological
sustainability of a state.
Discuss the following in not less than 5 sentences each.

1. What is Political Science?

2. What are the current fields of study of Political Science? Discuss

each.
3. Give at least 3 methodologies in studying Political Science.
Discuss each.
4. What is the importance of studying Political Science?
5. Discuss the relationship of Political Science in your chosen
discipline.