MEANING, NATURE & DEFINITION OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Meaning
Man is a social animal. He cannot live in isolation, because he is not self-sufficient and the
natural instinct to survive compels him to live a collective life. According to Aristotle, this
collective life necessitates a political mechanism of rules, regulations and leadership. An
organized society needs some system to make and enforce rules for orderly behaviour in
society. This led to the evolution of a political system with elaborate governmental
institutions & procedures in each society. Therefore, man is also a political animal. Political
science is one of the oldest subjects of study of this political life of man.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Nature
Politics is not only a mere institution of governance but also a mechanism for achieving
societal goals. Political science is a social science concerned with the theory and practice of
politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behaviour. It
includes matters concerning 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.
Political science is thus a study of the state in the past, present and future;
of political organization, political processes and political functions;
of political institutions and political theories.
Political science has several subfields, including: political theory, public policy, national
politics, international relations, human rights, environment politics and comparative politics.
Origin
The antecedents of Western politics can trace their roots back to Greek thinkers Socrates,
Plato (427–347 BC) and Aristotle (384–322 BC). The studies were philosophy oriented. Plato
wrote The Republic and Aristotle wrote the Politics. Aristotle is known as the Father of
Political Science. He is famous for his statement “Man is a political animal”. The word ‘politics’
is derived from the Greek word ‘polis’, which means a city-state.
During the height of the Roman Empire, famous historians 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.
During the Middle Ages, the study of politics was widespread in the churches and courts.
Saint Thomas Aquinas was an important political thinker of this period.
During the Italian Renaissance, Niccolò Machiavelli established the emphasis of modern
political science on direct empirical observation of political institutions and actors. His famous
book, ‘The Prince’ is a guide to modern realist politics. Other famous men of this period were
Thomas Hobbes, John Locke & Rousseau (Social contract theory). Important figures in
American politics of this period were Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas
Jefferson.
1
In ancient India, the antecedents of politics can be traced back to the Rig-Veda, Samhitas,
Brahmanas, the Mahabharata and Buddhist Pali Canon. Chanakya (c. 350-275 BC) was a
political thinker in Takshashila. He wrote the Arthashastra, a treatise on political thought,
economics and social order, which 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. Manusmriti, dated to about two centuries after the time of
Chanakya is another important political treatise of ancient India.
Stages of Evolution
(1) philosophical: concerned with ends and purposes
(2) institutional: concerned with political organization
(3) behavioural: concerned with motivations and mechanism of human behavior
(4) pluralistic: concerned with the interaction among groups and organizations
(5) structural: concerned with the connection between the individual and the community
(6) developmental: concerned with the process of growth, industrialization and change and
the impact on government forms and policies.
Importance of the study of political science (Scope)
The study of politics is both humanistic and scientific, and is centuries old. Aristotle called it
the "queen of the sciences". Today’s political research involves highly scientific and rigorous
attempts to understand human behavior and world events. Political scientists provide the
frameworks from which journalists, special interest groups, politicians, and the electorate
analyze issues.
Political science as a discipline deals with various aspects like:
a. Study 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.
b. Study of associations and institutions- in organized way the fundamental problems of
political science include, first, an investigation of the origin and the nature of the state,
second an inquiry into the nature, history and forms of political institutions and third,
deduction, therefore, so far as possible, of laws of political growth and development.
c. Study of national and international problems- modern demands of defense of territory,
representative government and national unity have made political science not only the
science of political independence but that of state sovereignty also.
d. Study of political behavior of man- it may be said that the character of political science in
all its parts is determined by its basic pre-supposition regarding man.
e. Study of the past, present and future of development- political science attempts to explain
the meaning and the essential nature of the state and deals with the laws of its progress and
development within itself and in relation to international organizations and other states.
f. Study of the concepts of power, authority & influence- with the behavioural revolution the
central topic for study has become the study of power. Consequently the scope has widened
to include new aspects like political socialization, political culture, political development and
informal structures like interest and pressure groups.
2
Definitions
1. From the traditional point of view we may define political science as “the study of the
state and government in all their manifestations, aspects and relationships”. In this sense,
politics can be domestic, national, federal, municipal or international.
These early definitions of political science dealt generally with state and government.
a. J.W. Garner: “Political Science begins and ends with the state”;”Politics is the study of State
& Government”.
b. R.G. Gettel: “Political Science is the historical investigation of what the state has been, an
analytical study of what the state is and a political, ethical discussion of what the state ought
to be”.
c. Leacock: “Political science deals with government only”.
d. Paul Janet: “Political science is that part of the social science which treats the foundations of
the state and the principles of government”.
2. In the beginning of the 20 th century there developed a new way of looking at political
science. This new approach is known as behavioural approach. The main thrust of the new
view is the treatment of politics as an activity and a process.
In this context, new definitions emerged.
e. Harold Laswell: “Politics is the study of influence and the influential” or “the study of the
shaping and sharing of power”
f. David Easton: “Politics is the authoritative allocation of values.”
g. Catlin: “Political Science is the study of the act of human and social control”.
h. Andrew Heywood: “Politics can be defined as an activity through which people make,
preserve and amend the general rules under which they live.”
Modern political scientists consider politics as a process centering around power and
influence. They are concerned with not just the state and the government, but also the study
and evaluation of political activities, political power, processes and non-governmental
institutions.
Perspectives on politics
Politics as a human (social) activity: Simple things like our opinions, perceptions of rights &
wrongs, competing needs, conflicting interests ultimately leads to a system of rules for
conflict resolution and cooperation. The inescapable presence of diversity and scarcity
ensures that politics is an inevitable feature of human condition. Adrian Leftwich (What is
Politics?) finds politics is the heart of all collective social activity, formal and informal, public
and private, in all human groups, institutions and societies.
Andrew Heywood (Politics 2007) sees Politics as follows:
(1) Politics as art of government: Here politics is the classic activity of making and
enforcement of collective decisions. The state as the central concept of politics has a long
history. The state has several specialized structures, institutions, officer and roles. It has the
monopoly of coercive power. In these circumstances, it was natural to understand politics as
3
the study of the state. Until the Second World War, the state served as the chief organizing
idea of politics.
(2) Politics as public affairs: The meaning of politics can be stretched beyond the narrow
realm of government to a broader conception of ‘public life’ or ‘public affairs’, because of its
‘public’ character. Aristotle said ‘man is a political animal’. Rousseau and JS mill supported
this outlook.
(3) Politics as compromise & consensus (study of interaction among interest groups):
According to this, politics has a wider scope. Politics is seen as an act of conflict and
cooperation among individuals and various groups in the society to secure values like liberty,
equality, justice, welfare etc., and to organize and use a public power for this purpose
(Bernard Crick). Politics is thus an interaction between man & society resolving conflicts
through conciliation and negotiation instead of violence. Both the liberal and Marxist views of
politics study it as a part of this social process. As a result of this, non-formal institutions like
pressure groups, public opinion, interest groups, political parties etc. became the subjects of
politics.
Thus, within its fold, there are discussions on theories of state origin, functions, sovereignty,
liberty, rights forms and organs of government, representation, political parties, pressure
groups, public opinion, ideologies, and international relations and institutions.
(4) Politics as the study of power: After rejecting politics as the study of state as insufficient,
modern thinkers tried to find the axis of politics and they found it in the concept of power.
The new understanding of politics was that it is a struggle to share or influence the
distribution of power, whether between states or among the groups within the state. There
are two advantages to study politics from the point of view of power- firstly, it focuses
attention on process rather than on legal abstractions of the state. Secondly, this approach
pays greater attention to man as the basic unit of analysis. Politics became directly
concerned with the needs, interests and goals of men that give rise to power-relationship
among them and ultimately lead to a public policy.
In short there are three forms of power: political, economic and ideological. Political power s
concerned with the maintenance of law and order and dispensing justice through reward and
punishment.
Politics as the study of power (in detail)
Though identifiable with terms like influence, coercion, force, domination, authority, control
and the like, the term ‘power’ has its own meaning. Power is a relation. While power is
coercive, influence is persuasive authority is the legitimate aspect or power and force is
manifested power.
Power is “the ability to determine the behaviour of others in accord with one’s own wishes”.
The power theory of politics is as old as the Greeks, though it has assumed much importance
in recent times. Power consists fundamentally of relationships, of subordination, of
dominance and submission, of the governors and the governed and the study of politics
involves the study of these relationships.
4
In other words, the study of politics is concerned with the description and analysis of the
manner in which power is obtained, exercised and controlled, and the purpose for which it is
used, the manner in which decisions are made, the factors which influence the making of
these decisions and the context in which these decisions are made.
Power can be exhibited in three dimensions: political, economic and ideological.
Political power: it belongs to the state and is manifested through the organs of the
government like legislature, executive, military, judiciary, police, bureaucracy etc. Power is
shared by political parties, pressure groups, elites, factions, leaders etc. Power exists in all
political processes, however democratic they may be.
Liberals say that power is dispersed in society and that it changes hands often. Marxists hold
a different viewpoint. According to them power is concentrated in a class and only revolution
can make it to change hands.
Economic power: finds its place in the form of ownership and control of national wealth, as
well as means of production and distribution. Economic power and political power are
mutually complementary.
Liberals say that it is diffused and hard work determines the degree of economic power one
can gain. Marxists again hold the view that economic power is also concentrated in the hands
of a few and they manipulate it to gain political power.
Ideological power: resides in the prevailing ideas acceptable to the people. Ideology
literally means a set of ideas in which people have unquestionable faith and they also strive
to put them into action. The dominant class will also try to propagate and implement ideas
that are congenial to their interests, whether economic or political. They may use all available
media, elites, intellectuals, religious institutions, educational systems, associations and
institutions to achieve this while oppressing counter ideologies.
Authority: Power with legitimacy. Max Weber classifies it into three: traditional, charismatic
& legal-rational or bureaucratic.
5
MAJOR APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
In simple terms, an approach may be defined as a way of looking at and then explaining
particular phenomena. Approaches and methods to the study of politics are many and most
of them seem to overlap each other in varying measures. From Plato and Aristotle in the
remote past to Laski and Laswell in the present we have a very large number of great
thinkers, theorists and analysts who have made an attempt to understand and explain
political reality in their own ways, with their own approaches.
I. THE TRADITIONAL APPROACH
The sum total of approaches and methods employed in political enquiry by thinkers from
Plato to the 20th century constitute the traditional approach. It consists of a collection of
approaches used in the classical and institutional periods. These approaches include the
idealistic, philosophical, ethical, normative as well as historical legal-institutional,
comparative and analytical.
During the classical period the ethical basis and moral purpose of the political community was
described, discussed and emphasized in logical, consistent and convincing ways. The
problems of ends and means, the ideal and desirable loomed large. During the institutional
period a historical, analytical and comparative accounts of the various constitutional and
governmental systems were made.
Characteristics:
a. emphasis on the study of formal institutions to the neglect of political processes
b. focused on the Western European political system
c. adopts a country-by-country approach with little attempt to identify similarities between
countries
d. little attention given to the analysis and development of systematic generalizations
about the political phenomena
e. lack of concern for the development of theories through collection and analysis of data
f. neglect of the findings of other social sciences and non-political determinants of political
behaviour
g. holds value judgments on what ought to be the nature of political structures and
institutions
Philosophical approach- The oldest approach to the study of politics. Here the study of the
state, government, power and man as a political animal is linked with the pursuit of certain
goals, morals and truths (standards of rights & wrongs). Hence the thinkers of this age move
closer to ethics and try to advice the rulers. Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel and others
belong to this frame of reference.-speculative & not objective.
6
Historical approach- The feature of this approach is to throw focus on the past or on a
selected period of time as well as on a sequence of events to explain the origin and growth of
any political institution. If political theory has a universal and respectable character, its
reason should be traced in the affirmation that it is rooted in historical traditions.
Legal approach- Here the study of politics is linked with the study of legal or juridical
processes (constitutions) and institutions created by the state for maintaining political
organization. In this connection, we may refer to the works of Bodin, Grotius, Hobbes and
Dicey. They imply that the state as an organism of growth and development cannot be
understood without a consideration of those forces and factors that constitute the domain of
law and justice.
Institutional approach- Here the study lays stress on the formal structures of a political
organization like legislature, executive and judiciary. (impartial account of political reality).
Since the emphasis is on the superstructure and the infrastructure of political system, this
approach is also known as ‘structural approach’. This approach neglects individual behavior,
role of power, violence, political movements, wars & revolution in politics. Ignores the role of
informal groups & processes in shaping politics.
Criticisms:
a. the historical approach ignores the study of contemporary society
b. the philosophical approach is speculative and abstract and ignores the actual political
phenomena
c. the institutional approach ignores the political behaviour of the individuals and
sociological environment
d. ignores the international problems
e. legal approach covers only one aspect of the people’s life
II. THE BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH
It is a post- second world war development evolved by the American Scholars (American
Political Science Association & Chicago School). By the close of the 19 th century political
thinkers understood that they had neglected and paid little attention to understand and
analyse the actual working of governments and political institutions.
Factors that contributed to development of behaviouralism:
a. They felt dissatisfied with the achievements of conventional political science.
b. The failure of the discipline to predict both the World Wars and the associated socio-political
changes including revolutions in Russia and China and the independence movements in many
colonies.
c. To contain the spread of communism.
d. Financial assistance from organizations like Ford Foundation.
e. Growth of new social science research methods.
The scope of political science now widened to include the organizational structure, the
process, decision making and action, the politics of control, the policies and actions, electoral
process, patterns of political interaction etc. Graham Wallas tried to interpret political
phenomena in terms of psychological forces rather than form and structure. Catlin
emphasized on an interdisciplinary approach. Charles Merriam, who initiated the Chicago
7
School of behavioural revolution, can be truly regarded as the intellectual godfather of this
approach.
Emphasised on:
a. individual behaviour instead of political institution as the basic unit of analysis
b. scientific outlook and objectivity (observation, classification and measurement of data)
c. methodological revolution: use of scientific methods (survey, case study,
interviews,socio-psycho analysis etc)
d. interdisciplinary approach
e. its commitment to the formulation of empirical theory.
Sociological approach- this approach emphasizes that social context is necessary for the
understanding and explanation of political behaviour of the members of the community.
Terms like political socialization, political culture, and political sociology are the contributions
of this approach. Harold Lasswell, AF Bently.
Psychological approach- a study of politics is made by writers like Graham Wallas, Charles
Merriam, Robert Dahl etc in a way so as to deal with the role of emotions, habits, sentiments,
instincts, go etc that constitute essential elements of human personality. Psycho-analysis of
political leaders reveals significant knowledge about politics.
Economic approach- matters relating to the production and distribution of goods have an
economic character. But as their regulation is done by the state, they are very much involved
in the process of politics. Te prominent schools of liberalism, socialism and communism
emerged because of the divergent interpretations of the role of the state in regulating
economic matters.
David Easton’s Assumptions and Objectives of Behaviouralism
(Right Fold Path) (Intellectual Foundation Stones):
1. Regularities- there are certain uniformities in political behaviour which can be
generalized in terms of theories explaining and predicting political phenomena
2. Verification- knowledge in order to be valid should include only those things which have
been empirically tested
3. Technique- researcher should be conscious about his methodology
4. Quantification- imprecise qualitative judgments have no place in political science.
5. Values- value and facts are two separate categories and should be kept analytically
distinct. Scientific study should be value neutral.
6. Systematisation- theory and research should be closely interrelated
7. Pure Science- the theoretical understanding of the political phenomena may lead to an
application of this knowledge to the political activity and thus will become a pure science
8. Integration- interdisciplinary approach
Contributions: a.structural-functional analysis, b.input-output analysis, c.decision making
approach, d. communication framework model
Criticism: It is true that as a result of the utilization of the behavioural approach the scope of
political science has widened and the nature of the discipline improved in understanding and
explaining the political reality. In limited and specialized fields, the behavioural movement
8
achieved significant results. But with its over emphasis on quantification of data the
movement suffered from sterility and irrelevance. It evaded problems of large scale change.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. POST-BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH
Towards the end of the 1960s a powerful attack was made on the behaviouralist position by
David Easton out of deep dissatisfaction with its findings. Behaviouralism was eager to
develop new research methods and techniques about political phenomena so that in political
science also theories may be developed like natural sciences but in the effort they divorced
political science form philosophy, history, law etc. In a world of crisis, doubts were raised
about the adequacy or relevance of the modern research methodology of political science,
especially when the political scientist was unable to cope with contemporary social and
political problem. Behaviouralism failed to solve any problem of the world such as threat of
nuclear war, hunger, poverty, disease, cold war, arms race etc.
Post behaviouralism is both a movement and intellectual tendency. Post-behaviouralism is
future-oriented. This new development is then a genuine revolution, not a reaction, not
preservation, a reform not a counter-revolution. It is just a continuation of the former, ie.,
behaviouralism taking it to a higher stage.
Post-behaviouralism should not be taken as traditionalism. Both are highly critical of
behaviouralism. The difference between the approaches lies in the fact that traditionalism
discounted the validity of behavioural approach and sought to revive the classical tradition of
political science. In contrast, the post-behaviourlists accepted the achievements of the
behavioural era, but at the same time sought to propel political science towards new areas.
An important feature of the post-behavioural trend should be traced in taking political science
towards, what is called, ‘policy science’.
Post behaviouralists argued that political scientists should be more concerned with values,
with issues of justice, freedom, equality and with political activity. It is not appropriate to take
a value-free, academic detachment from public policy and political reform.
The two main demands of post-behaviouralism are ‘relevance’ and ‘action’. David Easton who
had at one stage enumerated eight main characteristics of behaviouralism, now came out
with seven major traits of post-behaviouralism as the ‘credo of relevance’. They can be
summarised as the following:
a. Substance must have precedence over technique - it may be good to have sophisticated
tools of investigation but the most important point was the purpose to which these tools were
applied. Unless the scientific research was relevant and meaningful for contemporary urgent
social problems, it was not worth being undertaken.
b. Emphasis should be on social change and not social preservation - the behaviouralists
had confined themselves exclusively to the description and analysis of facts, without taking
sufficient care to understand these facts in their broad social context.
c. Political science should not lose touch with brute realities of politics - the behaviouralists
concentrated their efforts on abstraction and analysis. Then the vital question arose if
9
political scientists did not find the solution of the ills of society and needs of mankind, then
what was the use of the research?
d. Political science should not be value-free - there is no denying the fact that the values
played a significant role in political research and the values were the propelling force behind
knowledge. The post-behaviouralists firmly hold the view that if knowledge was to be used for
right goals, value also had to be restored to their proper place.
e. Political scientists must protect humane values of civilization
f. Post-behaviouralism emphasizes action in place of contemplative science - according to
David Easton, “to know is to bear the responsibility for acting and to act is to engage in
reshaping society”.
g. Urgent need to politicize the profession - once it is admitted that the political scientists
and intellectuals have a positive role to play in the society, then n order to achieve that goal
it becomes inevitable that all the professional associations as well as the universities must be
politicized.
h. Mad craze for scientism should be discarded
i. The study should not only be related to the past and present, it should also be future-
oriented
Traditional Behavioural Post-behavioural
Inter-relates facts and Separates facts and values Facts and values tied to
values action and relevance
Prescriptive and normative Non-prescriptive, objective Humanistically problem-
and empirical oriented
Qualitative Quantitative Quantitative and
qualitative
Concerned with Concerned with Concerned with regularities
irregularities and uniformities and and irregularities
regularities regularities
Focus on European Focus on Anglo-American Focus on third world
countries countries countries
IV. MARXIST APPROACH
The Marxist approach to political analysis is primarily associated with the contributions of Karl
Marx. The significance of the Marxist approach is due to its emphasis on production and
distribution of goods in assessing social changes and political revolutions. This is quite
different from traditionalism and behaviouralism. Marx said, “the mode of production of the
material means of existence condition the whole process of social, political and intellectual
life”.
The three primary aspects of Marxism are:
a. Dialectical and materialistic concept of history
b. Critique of capitalism (base & superstructure, surplus value &class struggle)
c. Advocacy of proletarian revolution
Using these three concepts, Marxism treats State as an instrument of exploitation and
oppression by one class over the other. Also struggle for power constituting the base of
politics should be studied in the context of the conflict between two opposing classes.
10
While Karl Marx and Frederich Engels opened up a new approach to study the State, Marxist
thought was developed into a major concern by later Marxist scholars in Europe and USA.
Marxian approach gained prominence after the Second World War when it took up the study
of the politics of underdeveloped and developing areas in the context of imperialistic
exploitation. Neo-Marxism led by the Frankfurt School and western thinkers like Georg Lukacs
(History & Class Consciousness), Antonio Gramsci (Prison Diary), Louis Althusser (Reading
Capital) etc have greatly contributed to the development of this Marxist social theory.
The significance of the Marxist approach is in the fact that it calls for a deeper scrutiny of the
meaning and nature of politics. It not only emphasizes the relevance of class contradictions in
the functioning of the State but also provides Socialism-Communism as the solution to the
problems. Therefore, this approach not only lays out the problems but also delivers the
solution. This deterministic character is unique to Marxist approach.
Today the Marxist approach has established a parallel stream of theories and definitions to all
basic political concepts like origin of State, rights, development, feminism, identity politics,
concepts of liberty, equality & property etc.
11
