A theory is regarded as good or bad only from the angle of its value. It is no secret that in any society there are persons and groups who hold different opinions on the same issues and in a democratic society none can impose his own views/decision upon other. According to Aristotle a polity is a type of social organisation (and also a political organisation) where political authority was exercised by large number of people whose main concern was to achieve general welfare. Wrong data are supplied and on the basis of inexact data, wrong decisions are very often taken. Hence there is hardly anything like pure political science, various aspects and matters of political science are derived from a number of social sciences. State of this nature was known as the Police-State. Therefore, it becomes necessary to seek the help of history, if we wish to learn about the origin and development of a political institution. While model is representative of something theory is a proposition. He prefers company to solitude. Do you know you could get the most detailed guide on Nature And Scope Of Political Science online right now? But at the same time the scientific nature of Political Science cannot be denied. While others are of the opinion that it is one of the most backward of all the arts. It does not go into the details. He says, While we may agree that the exactness of natural sciences is impossible of attainment in the social science, nevertheless social problems can be treated with the same scientific methods as Chemistry and Physics. We may say that in political crisis the opinion of a cabinet will have weight but we cannot say how much will it be. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Two, Controversy is a very important element of politics. It is also equally difficult to find out the causes that led to the collapse of the various forms of governments functioning in Turkey, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, Africa and Hungary, Argentina and Chile (South America) from 1947 to 1979. He says, Politics is more an art than science which has to deal with the practical conduct or guidance of the State whereas Political Science is concerned with the foundations of the State, its essential nature, its forms and manifestations and its developments.. This definition says nothing at all about human motives. One group believes that state is the true custodian of its citizens interests and welfare and hence the state should perform those activities which will ensure the above objective. In common parlance we speak of the government of a club, a firm and so on. With the passing away of time and the development of mans knowledge and interest the dependence of political science upon other social sciences is increasing. The next important method for dealing with the political phenomena is the Method of Observation. Some basic questions about the nature and purpose of the state take place in the discussion of Political Philosophy. COMPARATIVE POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT Studies similarities and differences amongstates. The important aspects of theory are- facts are systematically explained and after that proposition are made. This is no doubt an uphill task but the state cannot deny its responsibility. Probably no human association is exclusively political in all aspects. In the absence of agreement the functioning of society or the existence of social life would have been an impossibility. It will not be wrong to say that history serves as a guide to the present and future. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. The very essence of this method lies in comparing different historical facts and political events with a view to finding out the causes responsible for them. As all of these sciences have their origin, their history and methodology, they are distinct political sciences. Like Leacock Karl W. Deutsch says, Because Politics is the making of decision by public means, it is primarily concerned with government, that is, with the direction and self-direction of large communities of the people., The term State does not occur in his definition of Political Science, whereas Laski, Gilchrist and Gettell are of the opinion that the scope of Political Science includes the study of both the State and the Government. A definition of politics includes all these because political science is not simply an academic subject but also a potential and necessary provider of guidelines for policy makers and researchers. After a long discussion on Meaning Nature and Scope of Political Science, it can be concluded that it is the branch of social science in which we study about the state, government, political theory, politics, political institutions, the life of political man, international relations, laws and organizations, influence and influential, authoritative allocation of values, etc. This is purely a normative procedure to analyse politics. Sabine and other traditional writers attached great importance to historical approach. Know More.. A major part of the materials used in political science is derived from history. What distinguishes each from each is selective interests. A student of Political Science must see the States problems and the processes involved therein against a background of general knowledge, either existing or to be acquired, as a basis for comment and assessment. It is not unanimously accepted that Democracy is the best form of government. Politics is also concerned with the legitimate use of violence and also the monopoly authority over the power and the use of violence. Here we have to work without mechanical assistance. During the last two decades there has been an intellectual revolution in the American Political Thought as Almond, Powell and G. Bingham observe altogether new political concepts and political theories have been invented. The main defect in this approach is that it does not take into account the individuals who run these institutions. Leacock maintains that Political Science deals only with the Government. For example, we have to distinguish between Politics and Economics. SCOPE OF POLITICAL SCIENCE 1. Because the decisions of politicians and statesmen considerably influence the research in physics and allied subjects. By nature he desires to live in society and follows the rules and regulations of the State. But the opponents of this view forcefully argue that physics and chemistry are science no doubt but they are not only sciences, there are others types of science. All the methods discussed above are inductive in nature. Political science borrows methods of analysis from these disciplines. Hello, Im Jacob Moss, the writer of this content. The state cannot be imagined without the government. We find Almond to observe that legitimate physical force is the most crucial aspect of any political system and if any political system is deprived of it, it will be away from the proper platform of political system and political science. Mere adoption of policy is not all. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Political science of the second half of the twentieth century or even at the beginning of the twenty first century is remarkably different from what it was at the beginning of the twentieth century. Since then Pakistan has again armed herself with sophisticated weapons with the help of U.S.A. and China. Political scientists are now borrowing materials and methods from games theory, and cybernetics. It keeps in secret the record of the progress and downfall of human civilisation and culture. Again the elements or subject matters of the social sciences are not similar. [PDF Notes] Essay on Whether Political Science is a Science or an Art? this page explained everything in simplest form. After that it again attacked Kashmir and other parts of India in August September, 1965. In any modern civilised society individuals do not live alone, they live in groups and behave as members of group. Hello today I was so happy because while I was searching on the internet, I found many great books with very low prices. This sufficiency laid the foundation of secularisation of politics. Beginning from Plato down to Marx not a single political scientist or philosopher could deny the influence and pressure of the prevailing time and situation. Today we are acquainted with the terms such as bio-physics, bio-chemistry, ethical economics, welfare politics etc. [PDF Notes] Relationship between Sociology and Political Science? They did not concern themselves with the performance of institutions, their interaction and political behaviour of man. 7. The Activity and Its study (1984) has said that if we scrutinise various political activities and the role of the state we shall find that everywhere the positive and even crucial role of political organisation will be found. When you study political science, you see politics and political science are used interchangeably. We have already noted that political science or politics is an academic and in this sense it can be defined as a study of political affairs, relevant governmental matters and lively issues influencing the functions and decision making process of government or persons at the helm of power. Definition, Feature & Characteristics, The Nature Of Political Science Definition,Theory, And Scope, Relationship of political science with other disciplines. These concepts enunciated by Easton are so linked that they cannot be separated from each other. I think it would be very much helpful to refer another definition given by Almond, Powell, Strom and Dalton (Comparative Politics Today). This book deserves to be widely read by energy and climate scientists, policy makers, reporters, and economists. It is the wisdom of generations that makes the political apparatus of a country and its culture. It is absolute and universal equation of arithmetic that two and two make four but political Science does not have such absolute arid universal principles. Aristotle also employed the same method. We discuss the aims and obligations of an ideal state and consider those moral principles which help it to become a welfare State (not a Police-State) so that it may aim at doing maximum possible good to mankind. which means the 'city-state' (a generalised form of political organization existing in ancient Greece). It also settles disputes and tries to arrive at consensus. Among those who have made special contribution to solve this problem are Auguste Comte, John, Stuart Mill, Alexander Bain, Sir Cornwall Lewis and Lord Bryce. For example, prohibition (of wine) could not prove successful in America. Therefore, it is very necessary to study such an important institution. Carey King indicates the weak points in the narratives of mainstream economics, which hardly cares about fundamental natural laws. Sir George Cornwall Lewis remarks, We cannot treat the body politic as corpus vile and vary its circumstances at our pleasure for the sake only of ascertaining abstract truth. Its chief concern is to meet the demands of public affairs. It has been stated earlier that Political Science is a scientific study of the State and the Government. But this is not the only object of political life. Publisher : Springer; 1st ed. It certainly does not imply that in every political system people seek to rule over others, want, authority, struggle for power, or the like. Nonetheless, though human beings must and do live in political systems and share the benefits of political life, they do not necessarily participate in political life. and Why Should We Study It? document.getElementById("ak_js").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); 2017 PoliticalScienceNotes - All rights reserved Terms of Service Privacy Policy Contact Us. Thus, it is quite clear that this method which conceives the state merely as a legal personality or a public corporation is very narrow. While Professor Willoughby believes that generally speaking there are three great topics with which Political Science has to deal: State, government and law. We have analysed a number of definitions of political science and we shall now turn to David Eastons famous definition which he has given in his noted work The Political System (1971). [PDF Notes] What is the Nature of Social Anthropology as a Science? Herbert Spencers comparison is another glaring example of the wrong use of this method. However, this narrow meaning has found out a secure place in the whole gamut of the subject. They not only try to explain what had happened but also point out general principles which may serve as a guide for the future. As a result, the number and variety of definitions of political science are increasing exponentially. It claims to be called a science as it possesses the possibility of adopting the scientific methods of observation and experimentation. There are also institutional arrangements for the settlement of conflicts. These institutes are run and managed by government and non-governmental organisations. Common people, renowned scholars and political scientists of high repute very often use the words politics and political science to denote the same thing that is they use the two terms interchangeably. Whenever you are or want to be, says Marshal Berman, you may not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you.. They have no will of their own which courts in this approach. However, political science can be treated separately because of its position among all the branches of social science. The social and political relations of the socialized people, the relations of the state with the individual under the state, the relations of the social institution with the individual, and the interrelationships between different states, etc. Let it be admitted for a while that scientific experimentation is not possible in Political Science since we fail to find here the same exactness and accuracy that is found in natural and physical sciences. According to Laski, The study of Political Science concerns itself with the life of man in relation to organised states.. New methods of scientific analyses are being applied to political science. Second is analysis of the data. The facts of natural sciences are susceptible of evaluation; they are governed by uniform and invariable laws, each particle of matter is identical with every other of its own kind. Particularly in the empirical study of politics the idea of model has earned special significance. Since the oil crises of the 1970s, pundits have debated the validity of this sequence, but most economists and politicians still ignore it. Hence the study of politics is everywhere, a response to a belief that there is a crisis. Following Aristotle, several political thinkers began using the comparative method for analyzing and presenting . Similar is the situation in many other countries. Every polis or city- state had its own form of government, administration, management etc and all these did not depend upon the size of the polis or city-state. Political Science: Nature and Scope Nature Politics according to Aristotle and other thinkers is as old as human civilization and its importance could be gauged from the fact that it touches every aspect of human life, be it economy, culture, social relations or ethical norms. But outside the academic institutes and universities many interest groups, journalists and other persons conduct investigations about political affairs and governmental matters. Natural science deals with the physical world such as land, weather, water, forests, etc, whereas social science deals with the human being, their collective social life, and activities. This is the reason why we seek the help of history, when we study the origin, development and the present nature of such important political institutions as the State and the Government. But politics does not deal with this properly. It enables you to understand the relationship between individual or citizen and state. The approach to the traditional theory of Political Science, as they call it, is criticized on parochialism and formalism. Historical method should, therefore, essentially be preceded by philosophical method. All this relates to the study of the State as it ought to be. With the behavioural revolution in politics, the central topic of the latest study in Political Science has become the study of the power. The division between political organisation which is called state and civil society is never water tight. Viewed from this angle one can conclude that the three great contractualists (Hobbe, Locke and Rousseau) may be called the introducers of the concept of politics because all these three thinkers started their political analysis with the state of nature. In this chapter we look at a number of them. It emphasises the dynamic nature of t he discipline and calls attention to the fact that the forces controlling the form and behaviour of the State and similar to those that operate in other institutions. The students, political scientists and academicians whole heartedly desire this. It has a broader area which also deals with individuals political behavior, Political Power, Society, Political Culture, Political Socialization, International Laws, and International Relations, Political systems, Political Process, and other political groups. Therefore, his institutions are bound to adjust themselves with the changing needs of human life with the changing circumstances of time. Politics and political science both are interchangeably used. Co-operative Farming is another glaring example which proves this point that the methods of observation and experimentation are not possibly applicable to Political Science. The study of politics is the study of influence and the influential. According to Aristotle, this collective life necessitates a political mechanism of rules, regulations, and leadership. Department of Political Science Nasarawa State University P.M.B 1022, Keffi, Nigeria Abstract The success and survival of any organizations be they government or not is contingent upon group efforts and cooperation to achieve set goals. Almond (Politics of the Developing Areas: Introduction) says: The difficulty with this definition is that authoritativeness as defined by Easton does not differentiate political system from church or business firms and the like. Clearly, then everything that Aristotle and Weber would call political, Laswell would too. It is this method which is generally adopted while dealing with natural and physical sciences. Laski goes to the extent of maintaining that the State in reality means the Government. But in spite of all these well-reasoned arguments, against this method, the utility of the historical method cannot be denied. They have said: By politics we thus refer to the activities associated with the control of public decisions among a given people and in a given territory, where twin control may be backed by authoritative and coercive means. Politics deals with who uses this authoritative and coercive means and for what purpose this is used. They use the word functions instead of powers because the latter is a legal term. He says: Political Science is described as the study of the authoritative allocation of values for a society. Power is always at the heart of whatever the state performs. Thank you. Political science relates to political activity, to power, to capacity of various agents and organisations. It makes people more conscious about their rights and duties. Muscle power and physical force were the ways were freely used by this members of the state of nature for the settlement of disputes. Hence biology, botany and other disciplines come to be related with political science. On October 20, 1962 it committed an aggression on India and captured 14,500 square miles of Indian Territory. It is not simply political science it is Meta-politics. If a person is left alone to live in a dense and dreadful forest, he will certainly feel extremely fed up with it and after some time he will earnestly desire to be in the company of his fellow beings. While there are other countries like Nepal, Indonesia, Pakistan, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Spain, etc., where this form of government could not be successful whereas in England, France, West Germany, Italy, India, Japan. But we should keep in mind this fact that the state as an organism of growth and development cannot be properly understood without a due consideration to those extra-legal and social forces which lie at the back of the constitution. It gets the roads and bridges built for them. In his opinion politics is a practical activity (emphasis added) about the discourse and struggle over organisation of human possibilities and in this sense political science can be treated as a study of power (emphasis added). Therefore, the Act of 1935 abolished it and a new experiment was conducted. Not only this, here an investigator is handicapped by the fact that phenomena with which Political Science deals do not follow one another according to invariable laws of sequence but rather at indeterminate intervals, constituting as a noted writer observed an interminable and perpetually varying series.. Rather they form the central part of politics. These activities may be private or public, formal or informal. It empowers us to think differently about our society as a political as well as a social animal. In both situations facts are explained with all seriousness and alertness of mind. His nature changes with the changing conditions. But there are writers who believe that this method is not suitable for Political Science. The answer may be both positive and negative and because of this controversy we refrain ourselves from taking any side. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. August 1, 2022 by adminpeso. It does not deal with the formation of the government, its division, its working and with the historical survey of the origin and development of the State. [PDF Notes] What is the difference between Politics and Political Science? Wasby rightly observes: The emphasis of the institutional or structural approach is almost exclusively on the formal aspects of government and politics. For example, in the eighteenth century the Glasgow University set up a chair of Physics in the name of Natural Philosophy. Before studying it in detail it will be better for us to cast a glance at the different definitions of Political Science, given by famous political thinkers. From attaining a certificate in marketing to earning an MBA, we have all you need. Bernard Crick, a prominent English political scientist has specifically given stress on this aspect of political science. In recent decades politics as an art of government has undergone considerable changes because of the fact that in the management and administration of society government alone is not the only player. An organized society must also be territoriality settled. This makes it very clear that experimentation is possible in Political Science, even though the exactness of Physics and Chemistry is lacking in it. Lord Bryce, who himself applied this method in his studies, says, That which entitles it to be called scientific is that it reaches general conclusions by tracing similar results to similar causes, eliminating those disturbing influences which are present in one country and are absent in another, make the results in the examined cases different in some points while similar in others. Arguments in Favour of the Scientism of Political Science: Aristotle, Bodin, Hobbes, Montesquieu, Cornwall Lewis, Sidgwick, Lord Bryce, Bluntschli and Jellinck are not satisfied with the arguments given against the scientism of Political Science. Therefore, the Politics of one country differs from that of the other because every country faces different problems at the same time. But his vision with regard to the supremacy of City-States had been very narrow. The third important method of dealing with the political phenomena is the Comparative Method, a method as old as Aristotle. Government is the helmsman of the ship of the State. So lets discuss this in detail. Thus, it is quite clear that the term, Political Science, is the most appropriate designation for this science that conducts the scientific study of the State and the Government. The advocates of this conception prefer to divide the affairs of the society into two broad categories public and private.
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