Introduction to Political Science MDE 186. Political Science

Introduction to Political Science This topic provides a comprehensive overview of the field of political science, its cross-disciplinary connections, and the various fields and sub-fields of study within the discipline. Political science is an academic discipline that deals with the study of government and political processes, institutions, and behaviors.

Political science Political science falls into the academic and research division known as the social sciences. Social sciences study the human aspects of the worldhuman-made constructs and structures. Disciplines in the social sciences include: psychology, the study of the human mind and human behavior; sociology, the study of society and the relationships within it; communications, the study of the flow of discourse through media; economics, the study of the allocation of resources; and history, the chronology, analysis, and interpretation of past events.

When you think of politics, you probably think of government and elections. Both are clearly political, but politics can happen in many more places. Politics happens in the workplace, in families, and even in the classroom. Consider the kid in class who asks too many questions and keeps the class late. What happens? Either the professor cuts the kid off, or his classmates express their disapproval to shape his behavior to achieve their goals. Either way, the kids behavior is shaped by the politics of the classroom.

Politics is the ongoing competition between people, usually in groups, to shape policy in their favor. To do so, they may seek to guide policy indirectly by shaping the beliefs and values of members of their society. Notice this definition can encompass the politics of government, but it can also encompass the political dynamics in other contexts. While this text will largely focus on politics of governments, it is important to understand that politics is more fundamental than governments but occurs wherever human competitions play out

Historical development Ancient influences Analyses of politics appeared in ancient cultures in works by various thinkers, including Confucius (551–479 BCE) in China and Kautilya (flourished 300 BCE) in India. Writings by the historian Ibn Khaldūn (1332–1406) in North Africa have greatly influenced the study of politics in the Arabic-speaking world. But the fullest explication of politics has been in the West. Some have identified Plato (428/427–348/347 BCE), whose ideal of a stable republic still yields insights and metaphors, as the first political scientist, though most consider Aristotle (384–322 BCE), who introduced empirical observation into the study of politics, to be the disciplines true founder.

Plato and Aristotle focused on perfecting the polis (city-state), a tiny political entity, which for the Greeks meant both society and political system. Hellenistic thinkers, especially the Stoics, asserted the existence of a natural law that applied to all human beings equally; this idea became the foundation of Roman legalism and Christian notions of equality (see Stoicism). Thus, the Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BCE), who was strongly influenced by the Stoics, was noteworthy for his belief that all human beings, regardless of their wealth or citizenship, possessed an equal moral worth.

Aristotle was lost to Europe but preserved by Arab philosophers such as al-Fārābī (c. 878–c. 950) and Averroës (1126–1198).

Early modern developments The first modern political scientist was the Italian writer Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527). Machiavellis political philosophy, which completed the secularization of politics begun by Marsilius, was based on reason rather than religion. Machiavelli introduced the modern idea of powerhow to get it and how to use itas the crux of politics, a viewpoint shared by todays international relations realists, rational choice theorists, and others. Machiavelli thus ranks alongside Aristotle as a founder of political science.

Why Is the Study of Political Science Important? Political science is important because politics is important. Politics is the study of power who gets what, and how. This power can be as modest as a city council making budgetary choices over municipal services and personnel, or it can be as significant as two world superpowers on the brink of all-out nuclear war. Regardless, the extent to which politics has served as the basis for the most important (and devastating) events in world history cannot be understated. For example, certain political ideologiesCommunism, Fascism, and Nazismhelped to shape policies and practices that ultimately led to the murder of tens of millions of people throughout the 20th century, by regimes with fanatical beliefs about the proper role of government and its leaders. All people's lives are affected by the priorities and choices of political institutions, and by the power structures that exist in society.

Why Is the Study of Political Science Important? According to one prominent political scientist "the study of political science is motivated by the need to understand the sources and consequences of political stability and revolution, of repression and liberty, of equality and inequality, of war and peace, of democracy and dictatorship." The study of political science reveals that the world of politics, along with its institutions, leaders, and citizens, is a complex and far-reaching one.

Cross-Disciplinary Connections What distinguishes political science as an academic discipline is its emphasis on government and power. However, the study of government and power is not confined to political scienceit naturally permeates into other social sciences as well. For example:

Cross-Disciplinary Connections Economics: Economic and political processes are closely related because the actions of political institutions frameand can either expand or constrain economic activity. Republicans are more likely to promote free-market policies such as tax breaks and business deregulation, while Democrats favor business regulation and government intervention as a way of promoting economic equality. Additionally, economic conditions can have a direct influence on political institutions. Throughout history, the outcomes of many presidential and congressional elections have rested on the economy. Voters tend to vote against the party in power if they perceive a decline or standstill in their personal financial situations.

Cross-Disciplinary Connections Sociology: Political scientists also study the social bases of politics. For example, what are the political activities of various social classes, races, ethnicities, and religions? How do political values, attitudes, and beliefs come about? How do social forces work together to change political policies on issues such as abortion, criminal justice, foreign policy, and welfare? How do social movements outside of the formal institutions of political power affect politics? For example, the civil rights and women's suffrage movements helped to not only reshape public policy but public opinion as well.

Cross-Disciplinary Connections History: Political scientists attempt to analyze and understand historic political patterns in addition to specific political events. This requires putting historical events and texts into a political context. For example, how have political party systems helped to create long-standing changes in the electoral landscape and reshape traditional party coalitions throughout the 19th and 20th centuries? A good textual example is the U.S. Constitution. It is both a historical (and historic) document, in that it describes the creation of a new form of government by the Founding Fathers, and a political one, in that it sets the framework for the functioning of the U.S. government as a system of shared powers, checks and balances, and federalism.

Object and subject of political science Political science is an integral, logically harmonious body of knowledge about politics and the organization of political life. Politics affects the interests of all people. The question is how consciously or unconsciously a person turns out to be a subject of political relations, how deliberately he makes his political choice when voting in the authorities, whether he understands the consequences of his action, participation in any public protest or support. The study of political science is designed to help a young person to self-determine in political life, so as not to be an object of manipulation by political leaders, parties and movements, the media and communication.

The term political science, formed from two Greek words "politike" and "logos" and literally means "political science". It is known that any science as a body of knowledge about objective reality has: the subject of research (those objective properties, connections and relationships that are included in the process of cognition); methods (cognitive techniques and methods) with the help of which knowledge about the subject is obtained; categories (concepts) in which the content of a given science is expressed.

Also, any science performs certain functions. Political science is an independent science. It has its own object and specific subject of cognition.