Everything about Political Science totally explained
Political science is a branch of
social science that deals with the theory and practice of
politics and the description and analysis of
political systems and political behavior. Political Science is often described as the study of who gets what, where, when and why. Discovering a proper balance between the individual, the society and its Government for civilization and human progress is paramount.
Fields and subfields of political science include
political theory and philosophy,
civics and
comparative politics, theory of
direct democracy, apolitical governance, participatory direct democracy, national systems, cross-national political analysis, political development,
international relations,
foreign policy,
international law, politics,
public administration, administrative behavior, public law, judicial behavior, and
public policy. Political science also studies
power in international relations and the theory of
Great powers and
Superpowers.
Political science is methodologically diverse. Approaches to the discipline include classical political philosophy,
interpretivism,
structuralism, and
behavioralism,
realism, pluralism, and
institutionalism. Political science, as one of the
social sciences, uses methods and techniques that relate to the kinds of inquiries sought: primary sources such as historical documents and official records, secondary sources such as scholarly journal articles,
survey research,
statistical analysis,
case studies, and model building.
Overview
Political scientists study the allocation and transfer of power in decision-making, the roles and systems of governance including governments and international organizations, political behavior and public policies. They measure the success of
governance and specific policies by examining many factors, including stability, justice, material wealth, and peace. Some political scientists seek to advance
positive theses by analyzing politics. Others advance
normative theses, by making specific policy recommendations.
Political Scientists provide the frameworks that journalists, special interest groups, politicians, and the
electorate analyze issues. Political scientists may serve as advisers to specific politicians, or even run for office as politicians themselves. Political scientists can be found working in governments, in political parties or as civil servants. They may be involved with
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or political movements. In a variety of capacities, people educated and trained in political science can add value and expertise to corporations. Private enterprises such as
think tanks, research institutes, polling and public relations firms often employ political scientists. In the United States, political scientists known as "Americanists" look at a variety of data including
elections,
public opinion and public policy such as Social Security reform, foreign policy, U.S. congressional power, and the
U.S. Supreme Court—to name only a few issues.
Most
American colleges and universities offer B.A. programs in political science. M.A. and Ph.D programs are common at larger universities. Some universities offer B.S or M.S. degrees. The term
political science is more popular in
North America than elsewhere; other institutions, especially those outside the United States, see political science as part of a broader discipline of
political studies, politics, or
government. While
political science implies use of the scientific method,
political studies implies a broader approach, although the naming of degree courses doesn't necessarily reflect their content.
History
Antecedents
Political science is a late arrival in terms of
social sciences. However, the discipline has a clear set of antecedents such as
moral philosophy,
political philosophy,
political economy,
history, and other fields concerned with
normative determinations of what ought to be and with
deducing the characteristics and functions of the ideal
state. In each historic period and in almost every geographic area, we can find someone studying politics and increasing political understanding.
In
ancient India, the antecedents of politics can be traced back to the
Rig-Veda,
Samhitas,
Brahmanas, and
Buddhist Pali Canon.
Chanakya (c. 350-275 BC) was a professor of political science at
Takshashila University, and later the
Prime Minister of
Mauryan emperor
Chandragupta Maurya. Chanakya is regarded as one of the earliest
political thinkers, and is also known as the Indian
Machiavelli. He wrote the
Arthashastra, which was one of the earliest treatises on political thought,
economics and social order, and can be considered a precursor to Machiavelli's
The Prince. It discusses monetary and fiscal policies, welfare, international relations, and war strategies in detail, among other topics on political science.The ancient Tamil literary work Thirukural written 2000 years back has extensively dealt with political science.The topics discussed by Thirukural include the art of public administration, warfare, political diplomacy, civil society, espionage, qualifications for public office, public revenue and financial administration and local administration.
The antecedents of Western politics can also trace their roots back even earlier than
Plato and
Aristotle, particularly in the works of
Homer,
Hesiod,
Thucydides,
Xenophon, and
Euripides. Later, Plato analysed political systems, abstracted their analysis from more literary- and history- oriented studies and applied an approach we'd understand as closer to
philosophy. Similarly, Aristotle built upon Plato's analysis to include historical empirical evidence in his analysis.
During the rule of Rome, famous historians such as
Polybius,
Livy and
Plutarch documented the rise of the
Roman Republic, and the organization and histories of other nations, while statesmen like
Julius Caesar,
Cicero and others provided us with examples of the politics of the republic and Rome's empire and wars. The study of politics during this age was oriented toward understanding history, understanding methods of governing, and describing the operation of governments.
With the fall of the Roman Empire, there arose a more diffuse arena for political studies. The rise of monotheism and, particularly for the Western tradition,
Christianity, brought to light a new space for politics and political action. Works such as
Augustine of Hippo's
The City of God synthesized current philosophies and political traditions with those of Christianity, redefining the borders between what was religious and what was political. During the
Middle Ages, the study of politics was widespread in the churches and courts. Most of the political questions surrounding the relationship between
church and state were clarified and contested in this period.
In the Middle East and later other Islamic areas, works such as the
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and Epic of Kings by
Ferdowsi provided evidence of political analysis, while the
Islamic Aristotelians such as
Avicenna and later
Maimonides and
Averroes, continued
Aristotle's tradition of analysis and
empiricism, writing commentaries on Aristotle's works.
During the Italian Renaissance, Niccolò Machiavelli established the emphasis of modern political science on direct
empirical observation of political institutions and actors. Later, the expansion of the scientific paradigm during the
Enlightenment further pushed the study of politics beyond normative determinations.
Studies
Since Political Science is essentially a study of human behavior, observations in controlled environments are usually not available and impossible to reproduce or duplicate. Because of this Political Scientists seek patterns in the reasons and outcomes for political events so that generalizations and theories can be made. Again, study is still difficult since humans make conscious choices unlike other subjects in science, such as organisms, or even inanimate objects as in physics. Despite the complexities, consensus has been reached on various political topics with the help of proper study.
The advent of political science as a university discipline was marked by the creation of university departments and chairs with the title of political science arising in the late 19th century. In fact, the designation "political scientist" is typically reserved for those with a doctorate in the field. Integrating political studies of the past into a unified discipline is ongoing, and the history of political science has provided a rich field for the growth of both normative and
positive political science, with each part of the discipline sharing some historical predecessors. The
American Political Science Association was founded in 1903 and the
American Political Science Review was founded in 1906 in an effort to distinguish the study of politics from economics and other social phenomena.
In the 1950s and the 1960s, a behavioural revolution stressing the systematic and rigorously scientific study of individual and group behaviour swept the discipline. At the same time that political science moved toward greater depth of analysis, it also moved toward a closer working relationship with other disciplines, especially
sociology,
economics,
history,
anthropology,
psychology,
public administration and
statistics. Increasingly, students of political behaviour have used the scientific method to create an intellectual discipline based on the postulating of hypotheses followed by empirical verification and the inference of political trends, and of generalizations that explain individual and group political actions. Over the past generation, the discipline placed an increasing emphasis on relevance, or the use of new approaches and methodologies to solve political and social problems.
Political science has, broadly, five subfields:
international relations,
political theory,
public policy and
public administration,
national politics, and
comparative politics. Separate degree granting programs in international relations and public policy are not uncommon at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Master's level programs in public administration are common.
The national honour society for college and university students of government and politics in the United States is
Pi Sigma Alpha.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Political Science'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://political_science.totallyexplained.com">Political science Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
