Political Science
Paul Janet, “Political Science is that part of social science which treats the foundations of the
State and the principles of government.”
Sir John Seeley, “Political Science investigates the phenomena of Government as Political
Economy deals with Wealth, Biology with life, Algebra with numbers and Geometry with space
and magnitude”.
Political science is an academic discipline that deals with the study of government and
political processes, institutions, and behaviors. Political science falls into the academic and
research division known as the social sciences. In general words, Political science focuses
on the theory and practice of government and politics at the local, state, national, and
international levels.
Meaning:
Political Science comprises of two words ‘political’ and ‘science’. The term ‘politics’ is derived
from the Greek word ‘polis’ which means the ‘city-state’ (a generalised form of political
organization existing in ancient Greece). Science is the systematic study of the structure and
behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation, evidence and experiment. So
political science is the branch of knowledge that deals with systematic study of the structure and
behaviour of the state and political institutions through scientific analysis.
The great Greek philosopher Aristotle was the first to use the term ‘politics’ and is therefore
regarded as the ‘father of Political Science’.
Nature:
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. Political
Science cannot be equated with the natural sciences but nevertheless, it is a social
science dealing with individuals and their relations with the State and government. One
can say that, whether Political Science could be seen as an Art or Science would largely
depend on the chosen subject matter for the study and the approaches used to carry
out the study.
Political science has several subfields, including political theory, public policy, national
politics, international relations, human rights, environmental politics, and comparative
politics.
A Brief History of Political Science
Political science originated with the ancient Greeks in the first century BCE. During this
time, the philosopher Plato wrote numerous dialogues about politics, asking about the
nature of justice, what constitutes good government, and what is truly best for humanity.
His student Aristotle worked in a more scientific way, observing and describing types of
governments systematically. At the start of the seventeenth century, people began to
apply the methods of the scientific revolution to politics. Thomas Hobbes, for example,
employed the methods of geometry to break government down into its most basic parts
in order to understand it. In the nineteenth century, thinkers such as Karl Marx and Max
Weber used sociological methods to analyze politics.
with the progress of human civilization, culture and scientific development, human
interrelations marched towards refinement, their relations complicated and the aspects
of life widened. So separate subjects were needed to study every aspect of human life
separately, thus, political aspect of life by political science.
Politics and Political Science:
Unfortunately these two terms are often inter-mixed that is wrong. Both the terms
politics and political science were used in the same meanings by the early political
theorists but in modern times, a clear
difference has been made. Politics can be defined as a “The set of activities that are
associated with making decisions in
groups or other forms of power relations between individuals a such as the distribution
of resources or status" While political science is the academic study of politics and
politics is practice. One is practical while the other is theoretical. - Despite these
differences, politics. and political science cannot be detached from each other. Both are
required for each other's existence.
New Trends to Widen its scope:
With the passage of time, the subject matter of political science has expanded and it is
mainly because of the spread of democratic ideals. Today, political parties, pressure
groups, interest groups, public opinion, publicization, media, international relations,
global organization, new world order, propaganda and political behaviour etc have
enriched political science. It has expanded its sub-disciplines as International Relations,
Public Administration and police studies have become full pledged disciplines. Political
science is
a progressive and dynamic science developing with the changing conditions and human
evolution.
