POLITICAL SCIENCE

POLITICS DEFINED
Andrew Heywood - describes politics as the activity through which people make, preserve and
amend the general rule under which they live.
David Easton - the importance of the concept of change in politics, as those who participate in
political activity can propel society towards either progress or regress.

KEY CONCEPTS :
POWER - The ability to influence or control others.
STATE - A community of persons permanently occupying a definite territory.
SOVEREIGNTY - Power and authority of a state to govern itself.
LEGITIMACY - Attribute states possess when their citizens view their sovereignty as appropriate,
proper, or acceptable.
NATION - Group of people with a sense of unity based on shared traits, customs, or culture.
GOVERNMENT - Formal and institutional processes that operate at the national level to maintain
public order and facilitate collective action.
GOVERNANCE - Various ways through which social life is coordinated.

Heywood - according to him, few people come to politics with a blank slate. The practice of politics
is commonly associated with corruption, manipulation, failed bureaucracy, violence, and other
ignoble activities.
To have a well-rounded view of political science as a field, we must shed more light on Heywood's
four general interpretations of politics: POLITICS AS THE ART OF GOVERNMENT, POLITICS AS PUBLIC
AFFAIRS, POLITICS AS COMPROMISE AND COONSENSUS, AND POLITICS AS POWER AND THE
DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES.

POLITICS AS THE ART OF GOVERNMENT

- the word politics came from the Greek word polis, which means city state.

General Otto von Bismarck - told the German Reichstag (parliament or the Parliament of
Germany from 1871 to 1918) that "politics is not a science. . . but an art". It refers to the art of
governing or exercising control over society. Aristotle also wrote that politics is an art, the purpose of
which is to uphold the welfare of the governed.

Politics, in the sense, is viewed in its classical definition: the study of government or exercise of
authority.
POLITICS AS PUBLIC AFFAIRS
- Aristotle wrote in his book Politics that politics is the "master science."
- He believed that political activity allows human beings to achieve what he calls their telos (end or
purpose).
- The word public in public affairs can refer to two things:
(1) refers to state institutions or government apparatuses
(2) refers to any institution that is accessible to the public, and not merely those run by the state.
Includes business, community, and religious groups, and non-governmental organizations.

POLITICS AS COMPROMISE AND CONSENSUS

-Our society is a pluralist one. That is to say, various sectors comprise it-women, the poor, laborers,
students, and so on-and each sector has its respective interests, some of which may compete with
others. Conflicts, though undesirable are inevitable. It is therefore the task of politics to find ways of
resolving conflicts in society through compromise and negotiation, not by force and coercion.

POLITICS AS THE EXERCISE OF POWER AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF

SCARCE RESOURCES
- Power is defined as the ability to achieve a desired outcome or alter the will of another agent.
- Harold Lasswell states that politics involves deciding who does and does not get access to the
world's resources.

-Power is central to politics, as those who are in power authoritatively decide who gets what and how
much. Politics is an arena defined by a struggle over scarce resources, and power serves as a weapon
that one can wield to emerge victorious. This definition of politics is the broadest and most
radical because it can be applied to interactions in both
the public and private spheres.

POLITICS HISTORY
- The study of political science was normative or prescriptive in nature, meaning, political questions
and themes were focused on what be rather than what is.

- The empirical or descriptive approach - seeks to explain political reality as it is. In this approach,
scholars aim to formulate objective, factual, and impartial analyses of political phenomena.
Plato and Aristotle
- forefathers of political science.
- In "The Republic" Plato wrote about the characteristics that he believed make up
an ideal city, which he named Kallipolis.

PLATO - The goal of society, according to Plato is to establish a harmonious city founded
on justice and fairness.

ARISTOTLE - examined the observable aspects of politics.

- first to give conceptual rigor to the vocabulary of political life.
- Analyzed the different forms of government in ancient Greece and how they
distributed power.

ST. AUGUSTINE AND ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

- were the leading figures in political philosophy during the Medieval Period.

ST. AUGUSTINE - De Civitas Dei (The City of God) contains his groundbreaking philosophy which
infuses Christian doctrine with the tenets of Neo-Platonism.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

- believed that tyranny remains a possibility, so governments must
promote peace, foster a sense of community, and ensure sufficiency of necessities.
- argues that a monarchy is superior over other forms of government.

NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI
- wrote "The Prince" (II Principe)
- His magnum opus (which means masterpiece) serves as a guide for rulers on how to
acquire and maintain power.
- "the end justifies the means."
- He believed that rulers must appear to be virtuous, and whenever possible must
indeed act virtuously.
JEAN BODIN- "Six Books of the Commonwealth."
- considered the first philosopher to use the term "political science."

THOMAS HOBBES - Provided a more accurate, institutional framework for the foundation of the
modern state.
JOHN LOCKE - advocated for natural liberty and equality of human rights (right to life and
property), and government formed by consent and constituted by separation of
powers, religious toleration, and constitutional democracy.

JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU - wrote that neither the e kings nor the parliaments are sovereign.
The general will of the entire community is the only sovereign.

KARL MARX & FRIEDRICH ENGELS

- "The Communist Manifesto 1840"
- argued that political and historical events are the product of social forces, or a series
of contradictions within society.
- said that every human society is characterized by two classes: the rulers or the
powerful, and the ruled or the powerless. Their relationship is antagonistic.
- their work also serves as a staunch critique of the capitalist economic system.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY is the home to the first department of political science in then the US. In 1903,
the American Political Science Association as founded. In the Philippines, the Philippines Political
Science Association was established in 1962 to bring Filipino political scientists and raise awareness of
all issues in the Philippines and Asian politics.