Understanding Political Science

• Political science is an interdisciplinary subject that goes beyond just describing political events, it looks at their causes, dynamics, and effects at different levels of how society is organized.
• Political science focuses on power, how it's gained and used, the systems of legitimacy that support it, and the conflicts that arise from how it's distributed.
• As an academic discipline, it combines social sciences and humanities, using both empirical/quantitative and normative/qualitative methods to tackle issues like institutional design, political ideologies, electoral behavior, international relations, and the impact of public policies.
• Political science integrates knowledge from sociology, economics, anthropology, and philosophy to analyze complex problems and offer well-supported solutions.
• It examines formal structures like states and governments, as well as informal power processes in civil society, NGOs, and transnational networks. It studies interactions between diverse actors, from individuals to international coalitions, and how these shape political reality.
• Political science draws on classic thinkers like Aristotle, Machiavelli, and Hobbes, as well as contemporary contributions that address current global challenges like social movements, democracy vs. authoritarianism, and the political implications of climate change.

Practical application of political science

• Political science looks at the past to understand the present and anticipates future scenarios to provide tools for strategic and ethical decision-making in an interconnected world.
• It is a constantly evolving field that combines academic rigor with practical relevance, aiming to understand and transform the political world based on democratic principles, justice, and equality.

Key Concepts

• Weber defines politics as the direction or influence on a political association, characterized by the state's legitimate use of physical force within a territory.
• The state is viewed as the main political actor and organizer of collective life.
• Lasswell's approach complements this by defining politics as "who gets what, when, and how," highlighting conflict and competition in the political arena.
• Political science focuses on decision-making processes.

Evolution of Political Science

• Political science has roots in antiquity, with Aristotle identifying humans as political animals due to the need to live in community and participate in civic life.
• In classic civilizations politics was linked to ethics, philosophy, and religion, offering a holistic view of public life which lasted until the Middle Ages
• During the Middle Ages: Political thought was influenced by religious doctrines and theological debates about divine and earthly power and reflections on the legitimacy and limits of power emerged which set the stage for later separation of politics and religion
• The Renaissance: Authors like Machiavelli brought a radical shift in political thought, his secular analysis of politics broke conventional idealist views
• 17th - 18th centuries: Thinkers like Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau expanded political reflection and explored concepts of social contract, sovereignty, and individual rights and their work influenced political theory and inspired revolutions in Europe and America
• 19th century: Marked a move towards professionalizing political science, driven by positivism and advances in the social sciences and Karl Marx highlighted class struggle and economic systems as drivers of historical change
• Max Webber contributed methodological tools to analyze political events stressing the relationship between ethics, rationality and power.

Modern Political Science

• 20th century: Political science was established as a separate academic field and conductivism used statistical methods to study political behaviour and neoinstitutionalism emphasized institutions roles in shaping political outcomes.
• Specialized subfields such as international relations, comparative politics, and public policies emerged during this time.
• Today, political science addresses challenges from globalization, technological advancements, and complex political issues like climate change, global governance, and digital citizenship by expanding its traditional limits and adopting an interdisciplinary approach

The study of political science involves

• Understanding governmental structures, traditional political processes, and interactions between various actors at local and global levels.
• Analyzing institutions like parliaments, judicial systems, and public administrations, and considering the influence of NGOs, social movements, transnational corporations, and informal power networks.

Contemporary political field

• Is defined by the interaction between formal and informal actors, where state authority isn't the only source of legitimate power.
• Political science examines governance as a process involving multiple actors in policy creation, highlighting decentralization, citizen participation, and cooperation/conflict dynamics internationally.
• Political legitimacy is a crucial theme, involving citizen acceptance and support for governing authorities and institutions.

Analysis of power

• Power is seen as manifested visibly and invisibly in social/political relations.
• Visible power is exercised through laws and public decisions, while invisible power operates by manipulating agendas, shaping preferences, and exerting ideological control.
• The discipline integrates insights from sociology, economics, and anthropology.
• It combines quantitative (surveys, statistical analysis) and qualitative (case studies, normative theories) methodologies, enhancing its ability to address contemporary problems from multiple angles.
• Studies systems of parties and elections and the state as a central institution adapting to market and international forces.

Current political climate

• The legitimacy of the democratic process is linked to elections and the state's ability to guarantee rights, provide public goods, and respond effectively to social demands, is challenged by globalization and disruptive technologies.
• The study of political science provides a broad and adaptable approach, examining both formal institutions and informal power processes to interpret past and present events and devise innovative strategies for future challenges.