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Scope of Political Science
Introduction:
Politics exists everywhere. It is all-pervading and as old as human beings. Politics prevails in
every sphere of human life. Whether one likes or not virtually no one is completely beyond the
reach of some kind of political system.
Political science is a social science and like its sister subjects it revolves around man and his
social (Political) environment. Being one of the oldest social sciences its nature and scope of the
study have undergone several changes over the centuries. Political Science first began with the
Greeks. The term ‘Politics’ is derived from the Greek word ‘Polis’ which means ‘city-states’
(Polity meaning Government, politeia meaning Constitution) and each city in those days was an
independent state, a principality in its own right. E.g. Athens, Sparta, Corinth etc.
Aristotle is regarded as “the father of Political science” on account of his far reaching and
permanent contribution to the field of politics. He called politics the Master Science because
politics determines the environment within which every person will organize his life. No one
can escape from the parameters set by politics. In his famous book ‘Politics’ Aristotle wrote , “
Man is by nature a Political Animal and he who is by nature or by accident is without state is
either above humanity or below it.” Politics is the control room of all human activities.
Definitions of Politics or Political Science:
The word politics has different interpretations. From Plato to Easton it has been interpreted in
different ways. Definitions of politics vary according to the variety of activities that have been
considered political from time to time. Though the study of politics existed in some form since
the time of Aristotle, the discipline was indistinguishable from moral philosophy and the study of
society in general until early 19th century. Its independence as a field of study was established
only in the later part of 19th century.
Early Definitions or Traditional View of Politics:
According to the traditional political scientist from the early part of 20th century such as J W
Garner, Henry Sidgwick, R G Gettel and others Politics deals mainly with study of state and
government or related institutions.
R G Gettel defined politics as “the study of the state in the past, present and future, of political
organization and political function, of political institutions and political theories.”
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According to Laski “the study of politics concerns itself with the life of man in relation to
organized states.”
According to Garner, “Political science begins and ends with state.”
According to Leacock, “Political science deals with government.”
Thus from above definitions it is clear that the traditional view of politics was narrow, static and
limited and included only the study of state and government, its structure and organisation etc.
Modern view of Political Science:
1) Power view
The dawn of the 20th century saw fresh ground being covered by political scientist such as
Laswell, Powell, Merriam, Morgenthau, weber etc. A more realistic analysis of political activity
is contained in the definitions of politics in terms of power.
Harold Laswell defining politics in empirical terms maintains that politics is the study of the
shaping and sharing of power. The fundamental issue in politics according to him is who gets
what, when and how?
Robert Dahl holds that, “politics involves to a significant extent power, rule or authority.”
According to Shaw and Pierce “politics is the struggle for power to make authoritative decisions
for the whole society”
Definitions emphasizing power focused attention on the fact that functions are more important
than forms or structures. Power is indeed a central idea of politics and examining this element
takes political enquiry into the core of the matter.
2) Legitimacy of the government:
As the power view of politics was found to be defective and inadequate, attempts were made to
modify it by an appeal to the legitimacy of the government. It was said that only legitimate
power would become the basis for the acceptance of the government. David Easton assigned a
moral function to the exercise of power by asking for the “authoritative allocation of values for
the society.” This view also suggests that modern political analysis is concerned with political
system. Demands are made on the system and they are processed and policy decisions are made.
This has to be done under the authority of the government i.e. policies have to emanate from
legitimate or rightful sources.
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3) Controversy and Conflict:
Another important element in the study of politics is controversy and conflict. Vermon von dyke
observes, “Politics consists of struggle among actors pursuing conflicting desires on public
issues.” Conflict is basic to politics. Therefore conflict resolution or reconciliation of
antagonistic interest becomes essential in political studies.
4) Consensus & General Arrangements:
The study of politics also includes the element of consensus and general arrangements of society.
Politics is necessitated because diversities in social environment cause conflicting demands on
the common good. “If men were angels no government would be necessary.” Governments and
political system act as mediator to generate consensus in the society.
5) Internationalism:
Another view is that politics is concerned with internationalism. The study of internationalism is
necessary for world peace, and to have modern welfare state.
6) Behavioral approach:
Almond Powell and other modern American writers have studied political science by
sociological, anthropological and psychological methods and criticized the traditional theory of
political science. Their contention is that the political theorist in the past concentrated mainly on
the state, government, institutions and their legal norms, rules, regulations or political ideas and
ideologies. They did not concern themselves with the performance of institutions, their
interaction and political behavior of man. This marked the beginning of Behavioural approach in
politics and later also adopted a comparative studies of different political systems across
continents.
Changing nature of Politics: Is Political science a Science or Art?
Whether politics can be considered a science has been a long standing controversy. Aristotle
adopted a scientific approach to the study of the discipline. He separated the study of politics
form ethics and law, examined and compared constitutions (158) and classified governments into
meaningful categories. On the other hand James Bryce, Charles Beard and Harold Laski are of
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the opinion that politics is not a science. It is said that the nomenclature Political Science owes
its origin to William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft.
Science is systematised body of knowledge about any phenomenon which is governed by its own
laws. Science is based on collection of data, generalisations, accuracy and verification or
experimentations. Let’s try to test political science on these grounds.
Political Science is not a Science:
1) Lacks Precise and Uniform Definitions:
A Science has a set of its own terms and their precise and standard definitions. Political science
lacks precise definitions, terminologies and methods. There is no general agreement among
political scientist regarding these. Methods and principles of political science are not universally
acceptable and applicable. E.g. terms like freedom, democracy, and nationalism do not have
uniform definitions. They can be and have been defined and interpreted in different ways.
2) Lacks Investigation and generalizations:
Political science also lacks scientific method of investigations, observations and generalizations.
It is possible to obtain exact results in science which is not the case with political science. E.g.
Democracy is regarded as the best form of government by many but in reality it is not a success
in countries where there are ignorant and incompetent masses.
3) Lacks Experimentations:
Another difficulty in political science is that it not possible to have laboratory experiments in
political science. Political researcher has to deal with human beings. The habits, sentiments,
moods, and temperament of people differ from place to place and from time to time. They cannot
be controlled as well under any circumstance. E.g. electoral behavior of voter is determined by
various factors such as caste, class, religion etc. No government can claim that its people will
react in a particular way to a policy or programme announced.
4) Lacks Objectivity:
While there is objectivity in the study of physical sciences, it is lacking in studying problems
related to state and government. A completely impartial, indifferent, unbiased attitude may not
be possible to analyse political problems and questions. A political scientist has to deal with
human beings in relation to sate, society and government and in such relations the element of
subjectivity is most conspicuous. Views of political thinkers are bound to be prejudiced or
coloured on account of racial, religious, linguistic or nationalistic factors.
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Political Science is a Science:
1) If by the term science we mean a systematized body of knowledge political science can
certainly be called as a science. Dr. Finer rightly says that, “we can be prophets of probable if not
seers of certain” political science has been able develop a systematized body of knowledge on
broad terms like state, government etc. after due observation, comparison and some sort of
experimentation.
2) 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.
3) It is true that there is no consensus among experts regarding the method, principles and
conclusions of political science. But political science is a dynamic study of living subject-matter.
It deals with man and his institutions. As man is dynamic, the same is true of the institutions
created by him. The nature of man changes with the changing conditions.
Scope of Political Science
There is no unanimity among scholars regarding the scope of political science. There is lack of
precision in the definitions and meanings of political science and that creates confusion
regarding the precise boundaries of the subject.
According to Willoughby, political science has to deal with three great topics: State, Government
and Law. The view of Prof. Goodnow is that political science divided itself into three distinct
parts: the expressions of the state will, the content of the state will as expressed and the execution
of the state will. At the UNESCO conference held in September 1948, distinguished political
scientists from the various parts of the world marked out the subject-matter of political science
which included 1) Political theory 2) Political Institutions 3) Political Dynamics and 4)
International Relations.
As the importance of political science is increasing day by day , its scope is also increasing and
becoming wider. Thus in general scope of political science includes following things:
1) Study of State and Government:
Political science is the science of state and government. It deals with the nature and formation of
the state and tries to understand various forms and functions of the government. Scholars like
Bluntschli, Garris and others believe that the scope of political science is restricted to the study
of the state alone. Scholars like Leacock attach more importance to the study of government that
to the state.
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Political science makes a thorough investigation into the origin of the state. It also deals with the
elements of the state, sovereignty and law, ends and functions of state, the rights and obligations
of the individual, political institutions, forms of government, elections, political parties, public
opinion, local bodies and international bodies etc. it studies state as it is, as it has been and as it
ought to be.
2) Study of Political Theory:
Political theory is a major branch of political science. On the basis of the political ideas or
thoughts of political thinkers, political theory formulates definitions of the concepts like
democracy, liberty, equality, ground of political obligation etc. It deals with some rudimentary
concepts of political science. Speculations of political philosophers and other ideologies are put
together in one volume which is given the title political theory.
3) Study of Political Institutions:
The study of political institutions includes a study of constitutions and comparative governments.
It deals with the nature of different political institutions, including government, explains their
merits and demerits, their structure and working and arrives at different conclusions on
comparative basis. The study of public administration and local governments may also be
included under this heading.
4) Study of Political Dynamics:
The study of political dynamics has become important in the twentieth century. It means the
current forces at work in government and politics. It covers a wide range of and includes political
parties, public opinion, pressure groups, lobbies etc. A scientific study of the working of these
political dynamics helps us to explain the political behavior of individuals and groups. The study
in this field is often done in collaboration with other social sciences like sociology, anthropology
and psychology etc. Human nature is not static but dynamic. Hence the study of political
dynamics becomes extremely essential to understand changing concepts.
5) Study of adjustment of individual with the state:
It is interesting to study the nature of relationship between individual and state and to examine
how man adjusts within the society. Man is the root of politics. The state guarantees certain
rights and liberties to its citizens and also imposes certain reasonable restrictions on them.
Maximum state intervention can lead to loss of liberty and complete absence of the state
intervention can lead to a state of anarchy (Chaos). It is a difficult problem to adjust and
reconcile the authority of the state with the individual liberty.
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6) Study of international relations and international law:
It includes wide range of topics like diplomacy, international politics, international law and
organisations like UN. With technological advancement and progress in human knowledge the
world has come closed and become like one family. Human society today is viewed from a
world perspective. Therefore the study of international relations today has become an
independent discipline.
