Political Science Concepts Flashcards
Understand: The meaning, Scope, interrelationships with other branches, function, Importance, and Goal of Political Science
Reduced to its simplest form what is Political Science?
Political science is the systematic study of the State and Government.
Where did the word “Political” come from?
The word “Political” was derived from the Greek word “Polis” meaning a city.
Where did the word “Science” come from?
The word “Science” was derived from the Latin word “Scire” meaning to know.
What is the science of politics about?
It is primarily concerned with the association of human beings into a “body politic,” or a political community one organized under government and law).
Deals with those relations among men and groups which are subject to control by the state, with the relations of men and groups to the state itself, and with the relations of the state to other states.
What is the “classical meaning” of Politics ?
Refers to the art or science of government concerned with the proper management of the affairs of society.
What is Politics in a “local sense” ?
The word politics has been given a bad name as it is usually seen as a “partisan power struggle” to win or prevail at all costs or political wranglings motivated by political or personal interests.
Is Political Science a Comprehensive field? Why?
Yes, Political Science is a comprehensive field because it is almost sure to include courses in political theory, public law, and public administration as well as in various more specialized subjects.
What is Political Theory?
The entire body of doctrines relating to the origin, form, behavior, and purposes of the state are dealt with in the study of this subject.
What is Public Law?
The organization of governments, the limitations upon government offices and officers, and the obligations of one state to another are in public law.
Moreover, public law is so specialized that separate courses are offered in each its subdivisions namely: constitutional law, administrative law and internation law.
What is the Rules of Private law?
Private law also known as civil law governs the relations among individuals.
What is Public Administration?
In the study of public administration, attention is focused on the methods and techniques used in the actual management of state affairs by the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.
The more complex the government activity grows, the traditional distinctions among the powers of these branches become less clear-cut.
What is the purpose of public administration?
The purpose of public administration is to conduct government for the common good, and not for personal or partisan advantage.
What are the eight (8) branches of learning that Political Science has an interrelationship with?
(1) History, (2) Economics, (3) Geography, (4) Sociology and anthropology, (5) Psychology, (6) Philosophy, (7) Statistics and Logic, (8) Jurisprudence
How is HISTORY interrelated with Political Science?
“History is past politics, and politics present history.” Political Scientists frequently adopt a “Historical Approach” and employ knowledge of the past to interpret present and probable developments in political phenomena.
How is ECONOMICS interrelated with Political Science?
Until late in the 19th century, political science and economics (the study of the production, distribution, conservation, and consumption of wealth) were coupled under the name of “political economy.”
Today, fields are jointly concerned with the fact that economic conditions affect the organization, development, and activities of states, which in turn modify or even prescribe economic conditions.
Political Scientists regularly adopt an “economic approach” when interpreting such matters as “public financial policies” and government regulation of business.
How is GEOGRAPHY interrelated with Political Science?
Geopolitics (a science concerned with the study of the influences of physical factors such as population pressures, sources of raw materials, geography, etc., upon domestic and foreign politics)
Geopolitics indicates one approach which a political scientist frequently must adopt to help explain such phenomena as the early growth of democracy in Great Britain and the United States and its retarded growth in particular Continental Europe, and the rise of authoritarian governments in developing countries.
How is SOCIOLOGY and ANTHROPOLOGY interrelated with Political Science?
Sociologists & Anthropologist are deeply concerned with the origins and nature of social control and governmental authority, with the abiding influences of race and culture upon society, and with the patterns of collective human behavior.
What is a Sociologist?
Sociologist (who specializes in the study of “society as a whole”)
What is a Anthropologist?
Anthropologist (who studies “mankind” in relation to physical, social, and cultural development)
How is PSYCHOLOGY interrelated with Political Science?
Both political scientists and psychologists promote studies of the mental and emotional processes that motivate the political behavior of individuals and groups.
Moreover, one of the many topics Political Scientist handles from a “psychological approach” is that of public, opinion, pressure groups, and propaganda.
How is PHILOSOPHY interrelated with Political Science?
The concepts and doctrines of Plato, Aristotle, and Locke (and other universal thinkers about the state) are essential to the specialists in both political science and academic philosophy.
These thinkers’ concepts are underlying forces in the framing of constitutions and laws.
Moreover, political scientists consider the branch of philosophy called ethics when contemplating the moral background of proposed changes in social legislation.
How is STATISTICS and LOGIC interrelated with Political Science?
Political theorists must possess a broad scientific background and knowledge of current political problems and employ scientific methods to gather, evaluate, and conclude data.
These involve the proper application of statistical procedures for the quantitative measurement of social phenomena and logical procedures for the analysis of reasoning.
How is JURISPRUDENCE interrelated with Political Science?
This branch of public law is concerned with analyzing existing legal systems and the ethical, historical, sociological, and psychological foundations of law.
“Law and state are inseparable.” Why? Because all states proclaim laws that are effective within their jurisdictions and enforce them through penalties or sanctions.
What is the Function an Importance of Political Science?
The function of political science is to discover principles that should be adhered to in public, study the operations of government in order to demonstrate what is good, criticize what is bad, and suggest improvements.
Finding conclusions may be of immense practical use to constitution-makers and the branches of government.
Moreover, the study of political science deals with problems of social welfare, governmental economic programs, international cooperation, and a wide range of other matters that are of urgent concern to public officials and private citizens.
What are the 3 Goals of studying a political science course?
(1) Education for citizenship, (2) Essential parts of liberal education, (3) Knowledge and understanding of government.
Why is “Education for citizenship” a goal in the study of political science courses?
It should be made clear that the political science curriculum’s primary objective is citizenship education.
Preparing students for careers is secondary to equipping them to discharge the obligations of democratic citizenship, which grows heavier in the modern world.
Why is “Essential parts of liberal education” a goal in the study of political science courses?
Most political science courses should be considered essential parts of liberal education, bearing no materialistic price tag and promising no job security.
Intelligent, responsible citizenship can save democracy; ignorance and negligence can lose it.
Democracy has practical advantages that no one can appraise in monetary terms. Just how much is freedom worth?
“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
Why is “Knowledge and understanding of government” a goal in the study of political science courses?
Political science seeks to gather and impart this knowledge and understanding. The “good” citizen who behaves himself and votes regularly is no longer enough. He must also be a citizen who knows the answers.
He must know how his government really operates, what interests and forces are behind particular policies, what the results of such policies are likely to be, what his rights and obligations are, who his elected representatives are, and what they stand for.
