POLSCI5 MODULE1 - Political Science Concepts PDF

Concept of Political Science, State, Politics, Government, Governance INTRODUCTION TO POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE Public Law – the (a) organization of governments, (b) the limitations upon government authority, (c) the powers and duties of governmental offices and officers, and (d) the obligations of...

Concept of Political Science, State, Politics, Government, Governance INTRODUCTION TO POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE Public Law – the (a) organization of governments, (b) the limitations upon government authority, (c) the powers and duties of governmental offices and officers, and (d) the obligations of one state to another are handled in the study of public law. Private Laws are the one which govern the relations among individuals, public law is so specialized that separate courses offered in each of its subdivisions, namely: (a) constitutional law, (b) administrative law, and (c) international Law. Public Administration - attention is focused upon methods and techniques used in the actual management of the state affairs by executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. INTERRELATIONSHIP OF POLITICS AND OTHER STUDIES 1. History Political Scientist adopts a “historical approach and employs knowledge of the past when he seeks to interpret present and probable developments in political phenomena. 2. Economics Refers to the study of production, distribution, and conservation, and consumption of wealth. Political Scientist adopts an “economic approach” when seeking to interpret matters like public financial policies and government regulation of business. 3. Geography Geopolitics It is concerned with the study of the influences of physical factors such as population pressures, sources of raw materials, geography, etc. Upon domestic and foreign politics. 4.Sociology & anthropology It is deeply concerned with the origins and nature of social control and governmental authority, with the abiding influences of race and culture upon society, & with the patterns of collective human behavior. 5.Psychology It promotes studies of the mental and emotional processes motivating the political behavior of individuals and groups. Particular topics under this are: public opinion, pressure groups, and propaganda. 6.Philosophy The concepts and doctrines of Plato, Aristotle & Locke are important to the specialist in academic philosophy and also to the political scientist. 7.Statistics and Logic Political theorist must have abroad background & knowledge of current political problems and he must employ scientific methods in gathering and evaluating the data & in drawing conclusions. 8.Jurisprudence This branch of public law is concerned with the analysis of existing legal systems & also with the ethical, historical, sociological, & psychological foundations of law. CONCEPTS OF STATE State State is a community of persons more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite portion of territory, having a government of their own to which the great body of inhabitants render obedience, and enjoying freedom from external control. Nation Nation is a group of people whose members believe they are ancestrally related. It is the largest group to share such a myth of common descent, it is, in a sentient sense, the fully extended family. ELEMENTS OF A STATE 1.People This refers to the mass of population living within the state. There is no requirement as to the number of people that should compose a state. 2.Territory 1.Terrestrial – land mass 2.Aerial – aerospace 3.Fluvial – internal waters 4.Maritime Domain – external water both surface and sub-aquatic 3.Government It refers to the agency through which the will of the state is formulated, expressed and carried out. 1.As to number of persons exercising sovereign powers: A.Government by one A1) Monarchy or one in which the supreme and final authority is in the hands of a single person without regard to the source of his election or the nature or duration of his tenure. Monarchies are further classified into: A).Absolute Monarchy or one in which the ruler rules by divine right; and B).Limited monarchy or one in which the ruler rules in accordance with a constitution. A2. Authoritarian or one in which the supreme power of the dictator whose power is usually through force. a. strict and demanding obedience: favoring strict rules and established authority; b. demanding political obedience: belonging to or believing in a political system in which obedience to the ruling person or group is strongly enforced. B.Government by few B1. Aristocracy or one in which political power is exercised by few privileged class. 1.People of highest social class: people of noble families or the highest social class. 2.Superior group: a group believed to be superior to all others of the same kind. 3.Government by elite: government of a country by a small group of people, especially a hereditary nobility 4.State run by elite: a state governed by an aristocracy. B2. Oligarchy 1.Small governing group: a small group of people who together govern a nation or control an organization, often for their own purposes; 2.Entity ruled by oligarchy: a nation governed or an organization controlled by an oligarchy; 3.government by small group: government or control by a small group of people. C.Government by many C1. Democracy or one in which political power is exercised by the majority of the people. It is further classified into: C1.1 Direct or pure democracy or one in which the will of the state is formulated or expressed directly and immediately through the people in a mass meeting or primary assembly rather than through the medium of representatives chosen by the people to act for them. C1.2 Indirect, representative or republican democracy or one in which the will of the state is formulated and expressed through the agency of a relatively small and select body of persons chosen by the people to act as their representatives. 2.As to extent of powers exercised by the central or national government: A.Unitary government or one in which the control of national and local affairs is exercised by the national government; B.Federal government or one in which the powers of government are divided between two sets of organs, one for national affairs and the other for local affairs, each organ being supreme within its own sphere. 1. As to source of power or authority: A. De facto is one not so constituted or founded with the existingconstitution but has the general sup port of the people and has effective control of the territory over which it exercises its powers. B.De Jure is one which is constituted or founded in accordance with the existing constitution of the state but has no control of the territory. 3.As to relationship between the executive and the legislative branches of the government: A.Parliamentary government or cabinet government. is one in which the executive and legislative branch of the government are dependent or executive branch is part of the legislative branch. B.Presidential government or one in which the state makes the executive independent from the legislative. 4.Sovereignty It is the supreme power of the state to command and enforce obedience to its will from people within its jurisdiction, and to have freedom from foreign control. Two manifestations of Sovereignty: 1.Internal or the power of the state to rule within its territory; 2. External or the freedom of the state to carry out its activities without subjection or control by other states. External sovereignty is often referred to as independence. -Legal sovereignty is the possession of unlimited power to make laws. It is the authority by which law has the power to issue commands. -Political sovereignty is the sum total of all the influences in a state which lie behind the law. It is roughly defined as the power of the people. ⚫ Characteristics of Sovereignty 1.Permanence means it exist in the same form forever or for a very long time. 2.Exclusivity means it is limited to a group of people. 3.Comprehensiveness means including everything, so as to be complete comprehensive knowledge of the subject. 4.Absoluteness means possessing unlimited power: having total power and authority. 5.Individuality means the state or condition of being separate from others. 6.Inalienability means it is impossible to take away or not able to be transferred or taken away, e.g. because of being protected by law. 7.Imprescriptibility means not to be taken away or impossible to remove or violate the people's imprescriptible rights 5.Recognition To recognize a community as a State is to declare that it fulfills the conditions of statehood as required by international law. If these conditions are present, existing States are under the duty to grant recognition. (Lauterpacht, J., 1944). Recognition can be either expressed or implied and is usually retroactive in its effects. It does not necessarily signify a desire to establish or maintain diplomatic relations. State recognition signifies the decision of a sovereign state to treat another entity as also being a sovereign state.