Meaning and definition of Political science.

• Even though the term political science is known by several names as politics, political science, science
of state and science of politics, this subject lacks precise a nomenclature
• In very simple terms, this subject is defined as a study of state and government
• The English word politics originates from three Greek words like polis (city-state), polity (government)
and politeia (constitution)
As such politics in the original Greek sense is a study of city-states and its administration in practical as
well as in philosophical terms
• However, the point of difficulty is that the term politics is taken by the lexicons (dictionary/wordbook)
and the writers of text books both as a science and an art

• The difficulty is further increased when we take note of the fact that ever since Hobbes identified it
with power and August Comte popularised the trend of positivism, the original Greek meaning of politics
became outdated
Politics as generally understood is the study of state and government

• But some confusion is created when eminent writers like Jellinek, Willoughby and Pollock draw a line
of distinction between its theoretical or academic and practical and applied dimensions
. This distinction shows that while some topics relating to the origin, nature, purposes and ends of state
form part of theoretical politics, other relating to the actual administration of the affairs of government
belong to the sphere of applied politics
In other words, while the term theoretical politics refers to the fundamental characteristics of the state
without reference to its activities, the term applied politics refers to the state in action or state
considered as a dynamic institution
The state is a very complex affair and it may be studied from different points of view

The economists, the psychologists, the sociologists, the historians and the jurists all study state from
their own points of view

The reason is, the state has diverse aspects and each social science deals with one of its particular
aspects
Whereas the two terms political science and politics are used interchangeably, there is a line of
distinction between the two

• It may be said that while political science is a body of knowledge about the state and its various
manifestations, politics refers to the actual operation of political system
Politics is thus related to the art of statesmanship and diplomacy and as such, it is an art

• But political science is concerned with the fundamental principles of state and government and as
such it is more of a science
• In order to arrive at a satisfactory definition of the term political science, we may come to conclude
that inspite of the problem of its nomenclature, its use in theoretical and applied forms, its connotation
in singular and plural senses, and above all, its distinction with politics, the fundamental point of
agreement is that it is a science of the state
It is a branch of social sciences dealing with the theory, organisation, government and practice of state

NATURE OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

Political Science is a part of social sciences and therefore is different from that of physical sciences like
physics and chemistry

• So the question which concerns the nature of the subject is whether Political Science is a Science or an
Art and how the nature of the discipline has undergone changes over the years

Political Science: An Art

• Science is universal and a systematic body of knowledge, based on accurate and impartial facts,
through which observation, comparison and experimentation can be made

Apparently, Political Science does not have some of these features

And therefore Earnest Barker, James Bryce, Charles A. Beard and others were reluctant to accept
Political Science as a science
Political Science: An Art

• Science is universal and a systematic body of knowledge, based on accurate and impartial facts,
through which observation, comparison and experimentation can be made

Apparently, Political Science does not have some of these features

And therefore Earnest Barker, James Bryce, Charles A. Beard and others were reluctant to accept
Political Science as a science
The following are some arguments against the notion of Political Science as a Science:

1. There is no general agreement among the political thinkers regarding definition, scope, methods and
principle of the subject
• Political principles not universally are acceptable
• The following are some arguments against the notion of Political Science as a Science:

1. There is no general agreement among the political thinkers regarding definition, scope, methods and
principle of the subject
• Political principles not universally are acceptable
• The terms of political science are often used carelessly in ordinary speech, are given and are frequently
distorted by being given a favourable or an unfavourable connotation for partisan or national purpose
•
• • As a result disagreement in definition and terminology goes against a scientific approach
• . For instance, the political thinkers define the term democracy in many ways
• They put forward arguments both for and against democracy
2. The subject matter of political science is very complicated

• It deals with man and its political institutions which are not stable and are of changing character

• A political philosopher cannot predict when economic discontent will bring revolution in India
Therefore, rigorous methods of scientific investigation cannot be followed in political science

3. It is possible for a chemist to measure a thing

• For instance, we can temperature of a person measure the body

• But in political science, accurate measurement is not possible

Political Science: A Science

American political thinkers like David Easton tried to establish a scientific basis of Political Science

. While, Aristotle called it a Master Science through which civilisation could be saved

• The following are some arguments in favour of the notion of Political Science as a Science:

1. Recently, political theory has developed based on facts and verifiable data, e.g., voting behaviour and
theories of election

0000000
3. It is possible to conduct some experiments through which political scientist can benefit

It is well known that Aristotle based his Politics on his study of the working of 158 constitutions

Likewise, Lord Bryce compared the working of democracy in various countries and then came to
conclusions with regard to relative merits and demerits of democracy
4. Empirical studies are based on careful observation and classification

Political Science puts a hypothesis or an assumption to empirical verification

Theories are not built on speculation

Political Scientists today employ survey methods, graphs, charts and other scientific tools to arrive at
their research conclusions
Conclusion

•Political Science is thus a science, though not like the physical sciences
• It is a part of social science

•American political scientist, Robert Dahl states that Political science is both a Science and an Art

Art refers to practical application of knowledge

Political Science applies the knowledge about political events for creating a good social and political
order

Hence it is an art
Whenever students of Political Science test their theories against the data of experience by observation,
the political analysis can be regarded as scientific

. When this political analysis is applied for the working of political institutions it becomes an art

After the World War II, the meaning and nature of political science have undergone a sea change

• Now political science is closely related to all aspects of social relations, rather than an activity centred
on the institutions of government
•• So the aims and objectives of political science have changed due to factors such as the rise of the
power theory and behaviouralism

Political Science has ceased to be merely the science of state-craft

Political Science is concerned with all facets of power relations and human behaviour having political
implications in the society
2. The subject matter of political science is very complicated

• It deals with man and its political institutions which are not stable and are of changing character

• A political philosopher cannot predict when economic discontent will bring revolution in India
• Therefore, rigorous methods of scientific investigation cannot be followed in political science

3. It is possible for a chemist to measure a thing

For instance, we can measure the body temperature of a person

But in political science, accurate measurement is not possible

SCOPE OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

By the scope of an academic discipline we mean those matters which fall within its area of study

In this sense, each discipline has a scope different and distinct from that of the other related disciplines.
Political science is essentially the study of man in society
This study may involve the analysis of all the relationships into which man enter for the satisfaction of
their individual needs and for the achievement of community goals
It is specifically interested in those social relationships which involve the use of power, rule and
authority

In this sense it draws within its scope all types of groups and associations

• But it is also concerned with the study of formal political institutions, such as the state and the
instrument through which it acts- the government

Hence the scope of political science extends to the study of the organisation and working of formal
institutions, like the legislature, the executive and the judiciary and in these days, of the electorate and
even the administration.
• Traditionally political science has also been concerned with fundamental questions, such as why and
how states have come into being; what is the best state; what is legitimate authority and why it is or
should be obeyed; why do man sometimes defy established authority and revolutions occur; what is
liberty and how its limits are to be defined
• • These questions which have not and perhaps cannot, be conclusively answered may be said to
belong more to political philosophy than to political science
•
• • But if they are to be excluded from the scope of political science, the discipline will lose its claims on
great thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Marx, Gandhi, etc.
•
• • There is no reason why political science should sustain this loss
• • More recently, there has been a trend to extend the scope of political science into new areas of
empirical investigation of political behaviour
• Drawing upon the resources of their social science, political science has developed not only new
techniques of analysis but new concepts like political culture, political socialization and political
communication with a view to explaining and accounting for the nature, working, development and
decay of political structures and systems
• • According to UNESCO, the following topics can be included in the scope of Political Science:
•
• 1. Political theories: Study of history of political thoughts and political theories
• 2. Political organisations: Comparative study of constitutions, National governments, Local
government, state governments, public administration, social and economic works of the governments
and political institutions
3. Political parties, pressure groups and public opinion: Study of political behavour of political parties,
pressure groups, etc. and public opinion and process of involvement of general public in government

4. International relations: Study of international politics, international relation and administration

• These topics were accepted by the scholars all over the word as a part of the scope of Political Science
which were put forward in the Paris Conference of UNESCO in 1948
DEVELOPMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
• The study of politics has had a long tradition

• As a matter of fact, Political Science has its roots in ancient Greece

The Greeks used the term "politika" to describe the numerous activities of the "Polis" or city-states in
which they lived

Thus, it was the Greek thinkers who laid the foundation for the development of a systematic science of
politics
They were mainly concerned with questions of morality and ethics and tried to define an ideal state

• The first efforts to systematically study politics can be traced in the works of the two famous political
thinkers from ancient Greece, namely, Plato and Aristotle
. Later, Christian religious thinkers like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, also dwelt upon the idea of
an ideal state and sought to derive moral and ethical principles regarding the same

Accordingly, in the classical (Greek) and Christian formulations, Political Science was more in the realm
of political philosophy focusing on the study of state
• In the fifteenth century, Niccolo Machiavelli, the Italian political thinker, started the tradition of
studying existing and historical political institutions

• It marked a departure from the classical and Christian traditions of political philosophy
Efforts were made to identify institutional arrangements that would maintain social order and political
stability

Accordingly, political thinkers subsequently tried to deal with the historical origins of different political
institutions and their structural frameworks
However, it must be mentioned here that the origin of Political Science as an academic discipline is not
very old

Many thinkers have contributed towards the growth of Political Science as a discipline

In this context, the name of Francis Lieber, who was a professor of History and Political Science at
Columbia University, needs special mention
• Another landmark in the growth of Political Science was the establishment of a school of Political
Science at Columbia University at the initiative of John. W. Burgess in 1880

It was called the Faculty of Political Science

• In 1886 this school inaugurated the Political Science Quarterly which was the first scholarly journal of
Political Science as a discipline.
• It heralded a new era in the growth of the discipline as it gave scholars a new platform to express their
views in writing
The establishment of Johns Hopkins University in 1876 was another milestone in the growth of Political
Science

In this context, the establishment of Johns Hopkins Historical and Political Science Association in 1877
and The Johns Hopkins Studies in Historical and Political Science are worth mentioning.
Accordingly, the above two universities Columbia and Johns Hopkins, contributed significantly towards
the growth of Political Science as an academic discipline

The studies and research carried out in these universities also widened the scope of Political Science
which was earlier confined to the study of political institutions and historical origin.
• The subject subsequently began to embrace various concepts like rights, justice, law, sovereignty while
analyzing the functioning of governments

The political thinkers also started discussing the merits and demerits of various forms of governments,
political institutions etc.
• The establishment of the American Political Science Association in 1903 provided a boost towards the
strengthening of Political Science as a discipline

It soon became a leading organization for the study of political science and provided a platform for
different scholars, departments and institutions from the discipline of Political Science.
•It also widened the scope of Political Science beyond the study of political philosophy and institutions
•• The Social Science Research Council was chartered in 1923 to encourage scientific research in
Economics, Sociology and Political Science

. The positivist movement culminated in the behavioural revolution of the 1950s

• The growth of behaviouralism can be regarded as the major landmark in the growth of Political
Science as a discipline

• The behaviouralists put emphasis on making the study of Political Science scientific.
They were influenced by the developments and research in different disciplines and they tried to make
the study of Political Science inter-disciplinary

In order to draw scientific conclusions the behaviouralism advocated the use statistical methods and
tools in the study of Political Science.
Thus, with the emergence of behaviouralism the character of Political Science had changed to a large
extent

• Behaviouralism shifted the focus of Political Science from the study of political institutions to the study
of day -to day behaviour of the individuals in a political society.
•Political thinkers like David Easton, Charles E. Merriam, Arthur Bentley contributed significantly
through their writings and research towards the growth of behavioural revolution in Political Science.
• After the Second World War and in the early fifties of the twentieth century, Political Science was
highly influenced by sociologists like Tocqueville, G. Mosca, Max Weber, Talcott Parsons etc.
• Such an interaction between political scientists and sociologists helped to bring the study of Political
Science closer to society.
• • For instance, the concept of the state, which had been central to Political Science, gave way to the
new concept of the “political system,”" developed by David Easton
• The new concept highlighted the interaction between the society and the political process.
• During this period the behavioural revolution in Political Science became popular and various methods
of research and techniques of data collection were identified by the political thinkers
•
• • The Social Science Research Council of United States set up in the early twenties of twentieth
century continued to play an important role in popularizing behavioural ideas in the post Second World
War era
• Political Science entered a new phase towards the late 1960s in the form of the Post behavioural
revolution
• The rise of behaviouralism clearly introduced a scientific vigour in the study of political phenomena.
• However, it soon came to be realized that too much emphasis was being laid on adoption of scientific
techniques in the field of Political Science
• • In the process, Political Science was losing touch with the real social and political issues
• . Therefore, post-behaviouralists made an effort to make Political Science relevant to the society
• However, it must be remembered that post behaviouralism cannot be separated from behviouralism
as it has emerged out of behaviouralism
•
• Through using different techniques and methods, the post-behaviouralists have tried to overcome the
drawbacks of behaviouralism and make the study of Political Science more relevant to the society

POLITICAL THEORY, POLUTICAL PHILOSOPHY AND THOUGHT DISTINCTION.

Political Theory and Political Philosophy

We quite often use the terms Political Theory and Political Philosophy

. In fact, these two terms need to be clarified because of the fact that there are few subtle differences
between the two
According to Concise Dictionary of Politics, "Political theory is critical systematic reflection about power
in its public and private forms particularly about the claims of government to possess legitimacy and
authority and more generally such reflection about the place of politics in social-life"

• In this definition we find that political theory deals with the following issues

. Both public and private power and, this power must be related to government which possesses
legitimacy and authority

• Van Dyke has drawn our attention to two aspects of political theory
• Dyke says that political theory is concerned with political belief systems
. These belief systems are general and comprehensive in nature

• Political beliefs are related with moral and ethical questions of the political activities and principles
which are performed and followed by government, agencies, institutions and individuals
• Van Dyke also opined that political theory includes suggestion, recommendations and advices given by
political scientists

• Political theory is generally based on the conclusions analyses, opinions, propositions made by the
philosophers and political scientists.
• We have briefly discussed political theory

. We shall now focus our attention to political philosophy

. Stated briefly it means "the systematic elaboration of the consequences for politics of suggested
resolutions of philosophical dilemmas"
• In political philosophy, politics and philosophy are both combined

Political issues and affairs related to politics are explained elaborately and philosophically

• Even in a limited way political philosophy endeavours to explore various political implications of
political matters, issues and disputes.
• One important feature of political philosophy is while it analyses political issues and matters, it not
only goes into the depth of the subject but also it tries to analyse in the light of "what is"? and "what
ought to be"?

Since 'ought' has a special place in political philosophy we can easily find out a close relation between
political philosophy and moral philosophy.
• In fact what we call today political theory or political science it was in earlier centuries political
philosophy because the general principles of political theory issued from the brain and pen of renowned
philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Hegel, Marx etc.

Today we make serious attempts to divorce political theory from political philosophy but the task is not
so easy

If we go through the various stages of the development of political theory we shall find that political
theory has sometimes been overshadowed by political philosophy

The subject matters of earlier political theory were description, explanation and evaluation and the
latter opened the way of normative character of political theory.
• All these, however, were elaborately analysed by great philosophers and naturally it was very difficult
for political theory to free itself from the shackles of philosophy

Earlier political theory was not only normative and evaluative it was also prescriptive
• Political philosophers generally prescribed what ought to be followed
• The political philosophers did not give any importance to scientific models and application of scientific
techniques to the study of political science.
• So far as methodology of political science is concerned we see that different aspects of the subject
were explained and interpreted by the rules of formal logic and theories of knowledge and all these are
parts of philosophy

• These ideas stood on the way of independent status and spontaneous development of politics

* In earlier time philosophy played an important part in the analysis of political science.
For all these reasons politics and political
philosophy were almost treated identically

Whenever any learned person began to think about politics he did it in the background of philosophy

Plato, Aristotle, Hegel, Marx all were great philosophers

. Particularly Plato, Aristotle and Hegel were primarily concerned with the analysis of philosophical
problems and issues and while doing so they either made passing remarks about politics or treated
politics as subsidiary part of philosophy.
• • This made political science as subservient to philosophy

David Easton in his The Political System has drawn our attention to this "ignoble" position of political
science in general and political theory in particular

The application of scientific methods to the analysis of political science, the emergence of
behaviouralism and emergence of empiricism have been able at least partially, to free political science
from the clutches of philosophy (logic and theory of knowledge)
• Political Thought
•
• • Political thought studies questions about power, justice, rights, law, and other issues related to
governance
•
• While some believe these concepts are static, political thought asks how they originated and to what
effect
• • Just as Socrates' question "how should we be governed?" led to his execution, the question "what
makes a government legitimate?" can lead to political turmoil
•
• • What form should government take? What do citizens owe their government? When should citizens
overthrow an illegitimate government?
• Political Thought deals with the normative aspect of Political Science
•
• In this regard, it demonstrates the limits to Political Science and allows us to understand what we
know and what We do not
•
• . Political Thought teaches us what questions to ask in Political SciencE

• UNIT 2. STATE THEORIES OF ORIGIN SOCIAL CONTRACT AND MARXIST THEORY.

• State: Meaning and Definition
•
• • There are many definition of the term 'state'
• • For it has been given by different writers and thinkers in different senses
• However, in political science the phrase 'state' has a scientific and definite meaning
• • We should not use the term with vagueness
• • When we talk about the states of Nagaland and Meghalaya, we cannot give them a correct
connotation, for none of them is sovereign
• Hence, they cannot be ascribed as states in the real sense of the term
• Thus the word state is used with a great deal of ambiguity in everyday language
• In the literature of political science, the word state has been used both as a normative and as a
descriptive concept
• In its normative sense, the concept lays a great emphasis on the paramount necessity and significance
of the state as a creation of nature
• The descriptive aspect maintains that among all social institutions, the state is the one that is distinctly
political
• • The state is the highest form of human association
• . It is necessary because it comes into existence out of the basic needs of life
• It continues to remain for the sake of good life.
• The aims, desires and aspirations of human beings are translated into action through the state
• Though the state is a necessary institution, no two writers agree on its definition.
• • To Aristotle, the state is a 'union of families and villages having for its end a perfect and self sufficient
life by which it meant a happy and honourable life'
• • He was however, thinking of small city-states of his times
• • But modern nation states are much larger in territory and population
• Therefore, recent definitions keep this nation state in view.
• • Woodrow Wilson describes the State 'as a people organized for law within a definite territory'
• To Burgess the state is 'a particular portion of mankind viewed as an organised unit'.
• According to Garner, 'State is a community of people occupying a definite form of territory free of
external control and possessing an organized government to which people show habitual obedience'
• Prof. Laski defines 'state as a territorial society divided into government and subjects whose
relationships are determined by the exercise of supreme coercive power'.
• • From the above definitions, it is clear that the following are the elements of the state:
• 1. Population
• 2. Territory
• 3. Government
• 4. Sovereignty

SOCAIL CONTRACT THEORY.

• Social contract theory, nearly as old as philosophy itself, is the view that persons' moral and/or
political obligations are dependent upon a contract or agreement among them to form the society in
which they live

• Over the centuries, philosophers as far back as Socrates have tried to describe the ideal social
contract, and to explain how existing social contracts have evolved.
However, social contract theory is rightly associated with modern moral and political theory and is given
its first full exposition and defense by Thomas Hobbes.
• After Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau are the best known proponents of this
enormously influential theory, which has been one of the most dominant theories within moral and
political theory throughout the history of the modern West
• • What distinguished these theories of political obligation from other doctrines of the period was their
attempt to justify and delimit political authority on the grounds of individual self-interest and rational
consent.
• By comparing the advantages of organized government with the disadvantages of the state of nature,
they showed why and under what conditions government is useful and ought therefore to be accepted
by all reasonable people as a voluntary obligation.
• These conclusions were then reduced to the form of a social contract, from which it was supposed that
all the essential rights and duties of citizens could be logically deduced
•
• • Theories of the social contract differed according to their purpose: some were designed to justify the
power of the sovereign, while others were intended to safeguard the individual from oppression by a
sovereign who was all too powerful.

Social Contract Theory of Hobbes

According to Hobbes (Leviathan, 1651), the state of nature was one in which there were no enforceable
criteria of right and wrong
People took for themselves all that they could, and human life was "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and
short"
• The state of nature was therefore a state of war, which could be ended only if individuals agreed (in a
social contract) to give their liberty into the hands of a sovereign, who was thenceforward absolute, on
the sole condition that their lives were safeguarded by sovereign power.
• The sovereign himself is no party to the contract and is not obligated
• • Then again it is irrevocable/unchangeable contract
• • Once the individuals contract themselves into a civil society, they cannot annul/cancel the contract
• This contract is not governmental but social
• It is between the people themselves
• The ruler is no party to it.
Social Contract Theory of Locke
• Locke (Two Treatises of Government, 1690) differed from Hobbes in-so-far as he described the state of
nature as one in which the rights of life and property were generally recognized under natural law, the
inconveniences of the situation arising from insecurity in the enforcement of those rights

. Men enter into social contract i-e., create a state to have a common agency for interpretation and
execution of the law of nature.