History of Political Science

Growth of Political Science as a Discipline: Classical and Christian Formulations

• Political Science began in ancient Greece, the Greeks used "politika" to refer to city-state activities
• Greek thinkers established a systematic science of politics, focusing on morality, ethics, and the ideal state
• Plato and Aristotle are key figures in the systematic study of politics
• 'Polis', meaning city, became the study of the state
• Plato and Aristotle viewed politics based on the moral purposes of decision-makers
• Aristotle considered ‘the highest good’ as ‘the end sought by political science’
• Christian thinkers like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas also contemplated ideal states
• Political Science, in classical and Christian contexts, was primarily political philosophy focused on the state

Growth of Political Science as a Discipline: Fifteenth Century

• Niccolo Machiavelli initiated the study of existing and historical political institutions
• Machiavelli's approach marked a departure from classical and Christian political philosophy traditions
• Emphasis shifted to identifying institutional arrangements for social order and political stability
• Machiavelli introduced power dynamics into politics, focusing on how to acquire and use power
• Machiavelli is considered a founder of political science along with Aristotle
• Political thinkers then addressed the historical origins and structural frameworks of political institutions

Growth of Political Science as an academic discipline: Academic Status

• Political Science as an academic discipline is a relatively recent development
• Francis Lieber, a Columbia University professor, significantly contributed to the growth of Political Science with "Civil Liberty and Self Government"
• A school of Political Science was established at Columbia University in 1880 by John W. Burgess and was called the Faculty of Political Science
• In 1886, the Political Science Quarterly, the first scholarly journal for the discipline, was inaugurated
• Johns Hopkins University's establishment in 1876 and the Historical and Political Science Association in 1877 were other milestones
• Columbia and Johns Hopkins significantly grew Political Science as an academic discipline
• Research expanded the scope of Political Science beyond political institutions and historical origins
• Concepts such as rights, justice, law, and sovereignty came under analysis, along with the function of governments

Growth of Political Science as an academic discipline: Before the Second World War

• The American Political Science Association's establishment in 1903 strengthened the discipline
• The association became a leading organization and provided a platform for scholars and institutions
• The scope of Political Science broadened beyond political philosophy and institutions
• Political Science shifted towards positivism in the 1920s aiming to make the study of Political Science scientific using empirical and statistical methods
• The rise of behavioralism in the 1950s was a major landmark, emphasizing a scientific approach
• Behavioralists aimed to make Political Science interdisciplinary using statistical methods and tools
• Behavioralism shifted the focus from political institutions to individuals' day-to-day behavior in society

Growth of Political Science as an academic discipline: Post-WWII to the late 1960s

• Political Science was highly influenced by sociologists like Tocqueville, Mosca, Weber and Parsons
• The link with sociology brought the study of Political Science closer to society
• The concept of the state shifted to analyzing the "political system" a concept developed by David Easton, highlighting society and the political process interaction
• From the 1950s to 1960s, a behavioral revolution stressed the scientific study of individual and group behavior
• Early behavioral political science focused on political behavior and included work by Robert Dahl, Philip Converse, Paul Lazarsfeld and Bernard Berelson
• Political Science entered a phase of post-behavioral revolution in the late 1960s
• Post-behavioralists aimed to make Political Science more relevant to society
• Political Science has undergone tremendous changes and its scope is continuously widening

Growth of Political Science as a Discipline: Recent Developments

• The late 1960s to early 1970s saw a rise in deductive, game-theoretic, and formal modeling techniques
• There was a surge of research incorporating methods from economics to study political institutions and behavior
• William H. Riker and his students at the University of Rochester were key proponents of this shift
• In 2000, the Perestroika Movement reacted against the mathematicization of political science
• Advocates of the movement argued for methodological diversity and greater relevance
• Evolutionary psychology theories propose that humans evolved psychological mechanisms for dealing with small group politics

Growth of Political Science as a Discipline: Summary

• Political Science as a university discipline emerged with the creation of university departments and chairs
• The term "Political Science" became common in the late 19th century
• The American Political Science Association was founded in 1903 and began publishing the American Political Science Review in 1906

Fields and Subfields of Political Science

• Modern political science includes comparative politics, international relations, and political theory
• Sub-disciplines include public policy and administration, domestic politics and government, political economy, and political methodology
• Political Science relates to economics, law, sociology, history, philosophy, human geography, journalism, political anthropology, and social policy

Fields and Subfields of Political Science: Comparative Politics

• Comparative politics involves studying politics outside the United States or comparing politics across countries
• Comparative politics includes governing institutions, electoral behavior and procedures, public policy, political economy, social movements, organizations, and revolution
• Comparative politics focuses on politics within countries/regions, and analyzes similarities and differences between countries.

Fields and Subfields of Political Science: International Relations

• International relations examines political relations between nation-states
• International relations considers political relationships/interactions between countries, including the causes of war, foreign policy formation, international political economy and policy options available to governments
• International relations often exists as a separate department in some universities.

Fields and Subfields of Political Science: Public Policy

• Public Policy explores substantive policy areas and the procedures of policy making itself
• Substantive areas of Public Policy can include social welfare, communications, & morality policy
• Public Policy is linked to American or Comparative Politics, and increasingly International Relations

Fields and Subfields of Political Science: Political Theory

• Political Theory integrates timeless questions about political ideology, fairness, justice, and equity
• Political Theory includes classical political philosophy and contemporary theoretical perspectives

Fields and Subfields of Political Science: Other Fields

• Domestic politics includes public opinion, elections, national, state, local, or regional government
• Public administration studies the role of the bureaucracy, for practical applications and civil service careers
• Public policy examines government policies related to civil rights, defense, health, education, economic growth, urban renewal, regional development, and environmental protection

Scope of Political Science

• It includes political theory, public administration, comparative politics, and international relations
• These sub-disciplines cover the modern political economy, and are a basis to understanding the global political economy
• The study of the allocation, distribution, and transfer of power is a main focus
• The success of governance structures is assessed by examining multifaceted factors that contribute to governance
• Political scientists study democratic elections and their scope of study has been enhanced with political systems all over the world
• Political science studies governmen
• Subjects related to government, such as political philosophy, liberalism origins, media/government relationships, political opinion/value formation among people are also covered
• Political science can study any aspect of government, the relations between people and their governments, and the relations between different governments

The Nature of Political Science

• Political science can be both a science and an art

Political Science as a Science: Definitions of Science-

• Science is based on the observation of facts
• In science, there is systematic observation of nature, events, and conditions in order to discover facts and formulate laws/principles based on these facts
• Science is an organized body of knowledge derived from observations that can be verified/tested
• Science can be regarded as a systematized body of knowledge and social science deals with human behaviour while physical science deals with the physical world
• Political science is a body of systematized knowledge organized through observation, e.g, studies on elections

Political Science as a Science: Arguments for Viewing Political Science as a Science

• Broad conclusions can be drawn, like the necessity of an independent judiciary for democracy
• Hypotheses are applied to empirical verification, rather than speculation
• Survey methods, graphs, and charts are used to reach research conclusions
• Political science can be studied systematically
• It is possible to make predictions
• Experimentation is possible

Political Science as a Science: Arguments Against Viewing Political Science as a Science

• There is disagreement in definition, terminology, and methods
• Its principles are imprecise, unclear, and may cause controversy
• It deals with human beings whose minds are unpredictable

Political Science as a Science: Considerations

• Experimentation is possible but limited; laboratory experiments are not feasible
• Prediction is possible but difficult, as political phenomena do not follow a precise sequence and effects can be contrary
• The study of politics is regarded as scientific and it has certain pertinent questions
• Robert Dahl considers political analysis to be both art and science
• Politics is an art when analysis is acquired by practice and training under a skilled supervisor
• Political science is a science when students test generalizations and theories against data

Political Science as a Science: Scientific Patterns in Political Analysis

• The study of politics is a science as political scientists use scientific procedures in analysis to explain/predict social realities
• Political phenomena can be observed, verified, and quantified to generate laws
• Scientific methods/observations of events/conditions are employed to formulate principles

Political Science as an art

• Art involves the practical application of knowledge for a particular goal
• Political Science as systematized knowledge about the State can be applied in practical situations, such as constitution drafting
• Knowledge of political science is also necessary in administering state affairs, formulating foreign policies, and conducting diplomatic relations
• Political science does not merely accumulate theoretical knowledge