Q1 - Political Sciences - Introduction & Concepts PDF

Q1 - Political sciences | Anna Sonnenschein Part I – General introduction and foundational concepts 1. INTRODUCTORY SESSION: WHAT IS POLITICAL SCIENCE? a. What is politics in political science? The term political...

Q1 - Political sciences | Anna Sonnenschein Part I – General introduction and foundational concepts 1. INTRODUCTORY SESSION: WHAT IS POLITICAL SCIENCE? a. What is politics in political science? The term political is polysemic and has many different features, parts and aspects and what is considered as political also changes in time → it is a multifaced object → it is all about power o Relationship between those who govern and those who are govern Two understanding of the definition of political: − ESSENTIALIST understanding: They are specific things that are politics (election, government, …) and they form a specific compartment of society , distinct from other social activities − PRAGMATIC understanding: most common today and relies on an extensive vison of the political as something that is transversal to society o A lot of facts can be seen through politic ( asong can become political) and it reinforce the idea that politic is a moving object The word political has three dimensions: − Polity: How living together is politicly organized; how the state is organized; proposals, platform, civil government or constitution manifesto = political idea − Politics: All that has to do with political processes and activities (campaigns, based on the political value parties, how citizens express themselves) that are put forward by the − Policy: How government regulate the problem that society faces, and the candidate decisions proposed against those → Politique = That which relates to the government of a society as a whole *government of a society = capacity of a certain groups or individual to direct life in society, to guide the behaviours of all members of a society, to promulgate rules that apply to all and to be able to enforce them 1  Q1 - Political sciences | Anna Sonnenschein b. What is science in political science? A social science Political science is an academic discipline which aim is to understand, on a scientific basis the political functioning of societies → it’s not normative, it doesn’t say what is good and what isn’t → tries to explain and to develop theories beyond a particular case which it can explain to explain phenoma What political sciences is not: − the discourse of political actors: meant to convince to the ones listening − the work of think tanks: organizations that produce analysis of the work on specific subject, oriented by ideologic values − political philosophy: normative − political journalism: comments on facts or currents event What is a social science? = the scientific study of human society and social relationships that aims − to explain the social by the social − to establish the social causes of social behaviors All social sciences (including Political science) have 3 major characteristics: → Axiological neutrality (max Webber): doing an analysis without any value Political science emerged judgment with Aristotle who → Ambition of systemization: identify trends and patterns/regularities and use explained how different forms of government led to theory and concepts different political outcomes → Use of scientific method: qualitative and quantitative (statistics, interview, (stability or rebellion) archives, …) A crossroads discipline: Political science studies an object so broad that there are several branches to it : → Political theory and political institutions (polity) → Political sociology (politics) → Policy analysis (policies) → International relations (= power relations between states) There also are different schools of thought and national variations c. Conclusion : a gendered perspective on political science Compared to other disciplines, political science has been singularly resistant to gender studies : → Political science as a “science of the State” (taught to the elite) → Class vs. gender, race,…? → Late feminisation and glass ceiling What gender does to political science ? → The political production of gender → Shifting the boundaries of politics 2