POLITICAL SCIENCE

Scope. Approaches. Goals.

 Scope of Political Science
Fields of Study:
1. Political theory
– Political ideas
– Political philosophy
– Empirical theory
2. International relations—relations among states
and non-state actors. Foreign policies, security
policies, diplomacy, rivalry, cooperation, warfare,
international law, international orgs., etc.
 Scope of Political Science
3. Comparative politics and government—
similarities and differences among
states/political systems, political processes.
4. Public administration—deals with methods
of managing/administering government.
Major concerns—efficiency of government
functions and execution of public policy.
 Political Science and Other
Disciplines
1. Philosophy contributed values in political
theories. E.g., question of good govt.
2. History without pol sc has no fruit, pol sc
without history has no root.
3. Economics—a soc sc that concerns itself
with the problem of allocating scarce
resources. Pol sc? Policies are closely related
with econ, e.g., budget, and the distributive
aspects of economy.
 Political Science and Other
Disciplines
4. Sociology, a sc of society. Pol sc uses
sociological approaches in understanding
political phenomena.
5. Psychology, a study of human behavior.
Useful to pol sc in explaining psychological
attributes of individuals or society.
6. Law is also closely related to pol sc. Pol
institutions have legal framework/origin.
 Is Political Science a Science?
• Some argue that it is not a science
because:
1. Pol sc deals with dynamic human beings
2. People do not behave like atoms, they
change
3. Pol behavior is unique, not recurring
 Is Political Science a Science?
• Some argue it is a science because:
1.Human behavior is complex, but such
behavior follows regular patterns.
2.Behavioral patterns can be discovered and
verified through careful, systematic
observations.
3.Based on these observations and the use of
statistics and mathematics, law can be
formulated on how politics operate.
 Facts and Values in
Political Science
• Facts—things that exist in the real world.
• Value—a set of mental preferences.
• Pol sc should only be concerned with factual
relationships and avoid value judgment.
• Some scholars argue that value-neutral is not
possible. One’s values will definitely influence
the topic chosen, the methodology used, and
the conclusion reached.
 Approaches to the Study of
Political Science
1. Political philosophy is the oldest approach.
Deals with NORMATIVE questions such as
“what is justice?” It emphasizes ETHICS in
making political choices.
2. Behavioral approach—more empirical and less
normative than political philosophy. Emphasis
on how people “actually” behave, not on how
they should behave. Approach found as early as
Thucydides (d. 411 B.C.), the Peloponnesian
War.
 Approaches to the Study of
Political Science
Behavioral approach—the dominant trend in
contemporary pol sc. Employs various
research techniques and statistical analyses
using computer programs.
3. Public choice approach. Based on two
assumptions.
1. It assumes that political actors are rational and
they calculate the costs and benefits of their
actions and choose the one that leads to the best
outcome.
 Approaches to the Study of
Political Science
2. It assumes that the institutional setting within
which an individual acts influences those costs
and benefits.
• Public choice method is a.k.a. rational choice
model. It borrows methods and models from
economics, and a branch of mathematics
called game theory.
 The uses of political science
The main objective is “citizenship training”.
1. To understand their rights and their
obligations as democratic citizen.
2. To understand how government
operates, interest and forces behind certain
policy, what are the consequences of such
policy (decision -making, how to influence
such decisions and political representation.
 Goals
Specifically, the knowledge of political
science is useful;
1.To teaching civics and politics at various
educational institutions.
2.To pursue a career as a professional
politician
3.To work with government bureaucracies.