Political Science Class Overview

Professor Information

• Professor's Ph.D. in Political Science from Duke University, USA
• Earned undergraduate degree at University of Warwick, UK
• Previous positions: Postdoctoral Fellow at East Asia Center, University of Virginia, and Center for the Study of Contemporary China, University of Pennsylvania
• Research areas: Authoritarian politics, political institutions, political economy, China
• Contact details: @HongshenZhu (Twitter)

Syllabus Information

• Class Participation (10%): Students required to attend all lectures and tutorials; graded on class participation and contributions to discussions
• Tutorial Team Presentation (20%): Each student joins a team of four to present on a course topic.
• Term Paper (20%): A 7-page paper based on the team presentation, using Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced, and including references
• Final Examination (50%): Evaluates understanding of basic concepts, case studies, and debates in the course

Participation Details

• University regulations: Students cannot be assessed and awarded credit if their accumulated leave of absence exceeds one-third of the term (https://www.In.edu.hk/f/upload/44090/arup4.pdf)
• A maximum of 26 documented tutorial and lecture attendances total is specified.
• Medical leave is included in accumulated leave.
• No need for email notifications on absences.
• Penalty of 1/20th of the 10% grade is applicable for each absence exceeding 5.
• More than 10 absences may result in a lack of credits for the course.

Learning Objectives

• 1.1: Evaluate various explanations of political power
• 1.2: Justify political science as a science
• 1.3: Evaluate strengths and weaknesses of theoretical approaches to political science
• 1.4: Contrast normative theories of politics to political science

What is Politics?

• Political power is an aspect of government.
• Politics happens outside of government in workplaces, families, classrooms, etc
• Ongoing competition between groups to shape policy.

Political Power

• Machiavelli: Emphasized power to shape others' behaviour
• Biological: Forming political system and obedience is innate; the presentation questioned how to explain instances when political groups fall apart and people defy authority.
• Psychological: Obedience in terms of the Milgram study. Administrators subjected victims to shocks, surrendering actions to authority; this related to "Groupthink."
• Cultural: Behaviour is learned ("nature vs nurture") thus bad behaviour can be unlearned with societal improvement. Contradictions arise in the presentation from questioning where cultures come from, given the argument if all behavior is cultural, political structures should reflect this diversity.
• Rational: People have desires; "civil society" as a better alternative than anarchy, as explained in Hobbes and Locke. Presentation questions how change of mind can be explained.
• Irrational: People are emotional; control people via myths.

What is Political Science?

• Political science differs from politics in its approach
• Political scientists study disease-causing bacteria (as an example). Focuses on understanding how such subjects behave and grow, not on emotional responses

Comparing Politicians and Political Scientists

• Politicians love power and popularity Politicians seek short-term payoffs Politicians respond to groups
• Political scientists are skeptical of power Political scientists seek accuracy Political scientists seek professional prestige

The Master Science

• Aristotle, considered the founder of political science, posited political science as the master science; politics involves discerning who gets what (Lasswell).
• Political science encompasses almost everything, especially economics

Can Politics Be Studied as a Science?

• Science implies specific subject matter for study.
• Political science resembles methods of natural science to quantify data and validate hypotheses, but specific factors of politics cannot be quantified.
• Political science aggregates both quantitative and qualitative data points to be a valid empirical discipline.

Studying Politics Clearly

• Attempting to study politics as they are is more significant than personal desires
• Need to state assumptions to eliminate bias
• Avoid structures that support a specific viewpoint
• Be aware of different perspectives on the subject
• Be supported with rigorous evidence gathered from various sources (including primary and secondary, qualitative and quantitative)
• Theoretical connections and Polemics of broader theories need to be considered when evaluating the quality of the study.

Benefit of Political Science

• Provides objective and complex analyses, free from personal bias or political simplification
• Warns those in power about potential problems thus enhancing good leadership, as illustrated by the U.S. in the 1960s and Iran under the Shah's regime

Subfields of Political Science

• U.S. Politics
• Comparative Politics
• International Relations
• Political Theory
• Public Administration
• Constitutional Law
• Public Policy

Theory in Political Science

• Knowledge involves more than just facts; theories give meaning to patterns.
• Theories are not facts but suggest how facts should be organized.

Behavioralism

• Focused on U.S. institutions (late 19th to mid-20th centuries); examined communist and fascist dictatorships.
• Emphasized actual behaviour, not thoughts or feelings
• Became dominant in the 1960s
• Criticized as too focused on smaller issues, rather than big questions

Postbehavioralists' criticism of Behavioralism

• Considered departure from "scientific" and "value-free" ideals
• Too focused on relatively minor topics, away from larger question

New Institutionalism

• 1980s shift away from behavioralism.
• Institutions aren't just responses to social forces.

Systems Theory

• David Easton's model; Political systems are like living organisms
• Politics is a feedback loop
• Citizen "inputs" create "outputs" (government decisions/actions)
• Issues: Model simplifies events such as Hitler's Germany or Stalin's Russia; also struggles to explain events like the Vietnam war because the model is static and focuses on the existing status quo, and does not consider sudden significant change.

Rational Choice Theory

• Predicting political behavior based on actor interests
• Theorists sometimes call themselves neo-institutionalists.
• Uses game theory to understand policy outcomes
• Weakness: Accurately estimating expected payoffs.

Normative Study vs. Theory

• Departments often incorporate both political scientists and political theorists.
• Scientists strive to understand how things work, and theorists consider how things should work in terms of norms

Normative Study of Politics

• Aristotle viewed as leading political scientist despite his normative studies
• European medieval and Renaissance thought was heavily influenced by religion, aiming to identify "shoulds"
• Machiavelli promoted rationality and toughness for exercising power
• Contractualists (Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau): examined the "state of nature" with Hobbes criticizing its negativity, Locke supporting property rights, and Rousseau introducing the "social contract" and "general will".

Marxist Theories

• Events are not accidental. Economics dictates society, and individuals' actions.
• "Surplus value" benefits capitalists at the expense of workers who are overworked, leading overproduction.
• Society consists of small class (ownership) and large class(worker).
• War is a result of capitalist desires for economic gain, to maintain capitalist interests
• Marx's system was insufficient in explaining the complexities of capitalism's survival mechanisms.

This quiz evaluates your understanding of key components related to class structure, grading, and foundational concepts in political science. It covers topics such as participation grade, class requirements, and prominent theories in the field. Test your knowledge of both practical classroom elements and theoretical foundations!