LU1 SSF1053 (1).pptx

SSF10 53 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE Learning Unit 1: Nature and Scope of Political Science Objectives to discuss the meaning of politics, its importance, manifestations and modes of transmission to introduce key disciplines/areas in political...

SSF10 53 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE Learning Unit 1: Nature and Scope of Political Science Objectives to discuss the meaning of politics, its importance, manifestations and modes of transmission to introduce key disciplines/areas in political science to introduce approaches to the study of politics to discuss the goals and uses of political science Learning outcomes You should be able to: Define politics Recognise the difference between politics and political science Identify the different areas/disciplines in political science Describe the goals and uses of political science Why does politics matter? 10 minutes class activity Anxieties towards politics Manipulation of power Greed Money Corruption Is this what politics all about? Generally politics is understood as: a process of how and why people are making decisions that affect their lives the “art” of acquiring, applying and managing power activities of the government  What is politics? the original word is “polis” – in Greek – which means “city” Aristotle said, ○ “man by nature a creature intended to live in a Polis” ○ it is the “master science”,  Aristotle, the founder of the discipline, called politics “the master science.”  He meant that almost everything happens in a political context, that the decisions of the polis (the Greek city-state and root of our words polite, police, and politics) governed most other things.  Man is by nature is a social animal, an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath out notice or more than human Aristotle said, this because human live in groups whether they are smaller like a family or larger like a city or country ‘Political community’ - highest form of community is the polis as opposed to other types of communities and partnerships such as the household  Harold Lasswell suggests that it is a study of “who gets what, when and how” viewed political science as the study of changes in the distribution of value patterns in society, and, because distribution depends on power, the focal point of his analysis was power dynamics. Why is studying politics important? 10 minutes class activity Analogy of your life as a Malaysian citizen. Malaysian IC - identity - STATE / STATELESS Voting - democratic rights - DEMOCRACY Law & order - AUTHORITY Sipadan, Ligitan & Pulau Batu Putih - SOVEREIGNTY Manifestation of politics Politics are manifested through: Political behaviour Political culture Political values Conflicting interests Levels of government Political behaviour Is the study of the way people think, feel, and act with regards to politics Psychological: thought, perception, judgement, attitudes, beliefs Social: action, demonstration, election campaign, social movement Examples of political behaviour Political culture Lucien Pye: “set of attitudes, beliefs, and sentiments, which give order and meaning to a political process and which provide the underlying assumptions and rules that govern behavior in the political system" related to a set of shared customs, beliefs, symbols, attitudes, values, etc. participant culture (democracy) vs subject culture (authoritarian) Political values value judgement of the people Americans value personal freedom more Malaysians & Canadians have high regard for the authority Conflicting interests interest groups (NGOs) vs ruling elites groups oppose to government policies & claim to represent the people Activists at work Levels of government local and national local issues are perceived differently i.e. Sabahans view seriously illegal immigrants problems Transmission of politics through political socialisation Political socialisation is “the establishment and development of attitudes to and beliefs about the political system” (Ball 1993: 63) How is politics being transmitted to you? Scope of political science Political theory International relations Comparative politics Public administration Political science & other disciplines Philosophy “Social science is, in its broadest sense, the study History of society and the manner Economics in which people behave Sociology and influence the world Psychology around us.” Law Economic and Social Research Council an politics be scientific? What is science? “(Knowledge obtained from) the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical world, especially by observing, measuring and experimenting, and the development of theories” (Cambridge Online Dictionaries) Political science in a “lab” Lab: a set of theories to guide our observation Experiment: the empirical data which we obtain from a field research the rule of thumb: SYSTEMATIC, LOGICAL & IN ORDER Approaches to the study of politics political philosophy - deals with political ideas - asking normative questions i.e. how should political leaders behave? political behaviour - more empirical - deals with the question of why? public choice theory - political actors act based on cost & benefit outcomes Goals & uses of political science does not guarantee you a job in politics does not make you a good politician provide a “citizenship training” – how and why one should fulfill his/her obligations to the country understanding of policy making process understanding of forces involved in every political decision References Chapter 1, “A Science of Politics” (Political Science: An Introduction, Michael G. Roskin et. al) Chapter 1 and 2, “Nature and Characteristics of Politics” and “Nature and Scope of Political Science” (Introduction to Political Science, Abdul Rashid Moten and Syed Serajul Islam) Part 1, “The Idea of Politics” (Power and Choice: An Introduction to Political Science, W. Phillips Shively)