Introduction to political science

• Political science studies politics and power from domestic, international, and comparative angles.
• It seeks to understand political ideas, ideologies, institutions, policies, processes, behavior, groups, classes, government, diplomacy, law, strategy, and war.
• As a social science, political science uses humanistic and scientific perspectives and tools to study a state and its organs scientifically.
• Traditionally, political science is divided into subfields like political theory, public administration, national politics, comparative politics, and international relations.
• Political science is methodologically diverse, incorporating methods from psychology, social research, and neuroscience.

Political Theory

• Political theory studies fundamental questions about the state, government, politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of legal codes.
• It explores the nature, necessity, and legitimacy of government, along with the rights and freedoms it should protect.
• Political theory considers humanity's nature and the purposes of political association.
• This field aims to understand ideologies like liberalism, conservatism, socialism, anarchism, and feminism.

Public Administration

• Public administration studies government policy implementation and prepares civil servants for public sector work.
• The focus is on practical governance aspects, including bureaucracy, public management, budgeting, and human resources.
• Public administration explores organizational structures, management techniques, and policy analysis used by governments.
• It examines ethical considerations and accountability in public service.

National Politics

• National politics focuses on political processes within specific countries.
• Examined topics include electoral systems, political parties, legislative behavior, executive power, judicial politics, and public opinion.
• This subfield analyzes political culture, social movements, and interest groups within a nation.
• The interactions between government branches and the dynamics of political competition are considered.

Comparative Politics

• Comparative politics studies domestic politics across different countries.
• It uses systematic comparison to identify similarities and differences in political institutions, processes, and outcomes.
• Examined political phenomena includes democratization, authoritarianism, political development, and social revolutions.
• Different theoretical approaches and methodologies explain political patterns and trends across nations.

International Relations

• International relations (IR) studies interactions between states, international organizations, multinational corporations, and other global actors.
• Diplomacy, war, international law, international security, and international political economy are examined.
• IR seeks to understand the causes of conflict and cooperation, globalization dynamics, and the role of power in international politics.
• Realism, liberalism, constructivism, and critical theory are major theoretical perspectives in IR.

Methodology

• Political science uses diverse methodologies, including statistical analysis, case studies, survey research, and formal modeling.
• Quantitative methods analyze large datasets to identify statistical relationships between variables.
• Qualitative methods conduct in-depth case studies and interpret complex political phenomena.
• Mixed-methods research combines quantitative and qualitative approaches for a more comprehensive understanding.
• Experimental methods test hypotheses and evaluate policy intervention effectiveness.

Political science is the study of politics and power. It encompasses various subfields such as political theory, public administration, national politics, comparative politics, and international relations. It employs diverse methodologies from psychology, social research, and neuroscience.