Introduction to Political Science

Prepared by: Arnel O. Rivera

MAT-SS
What is Political Science?
• Political science is defined as the study of
the state and government.
• It comes from the Greek word polis, which
means city-state, and ciencia, which means
knowledge or study.
 Stages in the Study of Political
Science
• Religious Stage – the government, it’s leaders and
laws was considered as divine or divinely inspired.
• Metaphysical Stage – the state was considered as
a human institution and it is therefore absolute
(cannot be changed).
• Modern Stage – the state was deemed capable of
being improved by rulers and subjects according
to certain principles and laws.
 DEVELOPMENT OF POLITICAL
SCIENCE
• Aristotle
– wrote “Politics”, the first systematic work on political
affairs.
– Father of Political Science
• Niccolo Machiavelli
– wrote “The Prince”, a handbook for rulers in the art of
government.
– Father of Modern Political Science
• Prof. Francis Lieber
– wrote “Manual of Political Ethics”; the first systematic
treatise in political science
What is a state?

• A group of persons, more or less

numerous, permanently occupying a
definite portion of territory, independent
of external control, and possessing a
government to which a great body of
inhabitants render habitual obedience.
 Elements of a State

• People
• Territory
• Government
• Sovereignty
 What is the difference between
Nation and State?

• State is a legal or juristic concept, while

Nation is an ethnic or racial concept.
• Nasci = to be born indicates a relation of
birth or origin and implies a common race.
• Thus, a nation may comprise several states
Example: Egypt, Iraq, Saudi, Lebanon,
Jordan, etc. belong to Arab nation.
 What is the difference
between Nation and State?

• It is also possible for a single state to be

made up of more than one nation, e.g. US
which was the “melting pot” of many
nations that were eventually combined into
the “American nation”
 A. People
• Different meanings as used in the 1987
Constitution:
– Inhabitants (sec. 2, Art III; sec. 1, Art. XIII);
– Citizens (secs. 1 & 4, Art II; sec 7, art. III);
– Electors (sec. 4, Art. VII)
• As a requisite for Statehood, there should
be an adequate number for self-
sufficiency and defense; of both sexes for
perpetuity.
 What is the Difference between
Citizenship and Nationality?

Citizenship Nationality
• Legal or juristic • Ethnic or racial
• Can be changed • Absolute, Innate
or taken-back
 Citizens

• “A people bound together by common

attractions and repulsions into a living
organism possessed of a common pulse, a
common intelligence and inspiration, and
destined apparently to have a common
history and a common fate.” (Malcom)
 B. Territory

The National Territory

Sec. 1, Art. I: The national territory comprises the
Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and
waters embraced therein, and all other
territories over which the Philippines has
sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its
terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains, including
its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the
insular shelves, and other submarine areas.”
Components of Philippine Territory :

• Terrestrial = land
• Fluvial = internal waters
• Aerial domains = aerospace
• Marine = external waters both
surface and sub-aquatic
C. Government

• The agency or instrumentality through

which the will of the State is formulated,
expressed and realized.
• Our Constitution, however, requires our
government to be democratic and
republican.
 C. Government

Section 1, Art II. The Philippines is a democratic

and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the
people and all government authority emanates
from them.
REPUBLICAN
• It is one wherein all government authority
emanates from the people and is exercised by
representatives chosen by the people.
 C. Government

DEMOCRATIC
• This emphasizes that the Philippines has
some aspects of direct democracy such as
initiative and referendum.
 D. Sovereignty

• The supreme and uncontrollable power

innate in a State by which that State is
governed.
• Sovereignty resides in the people and all
government authority emanates from
them. (Sec. 1 Art.II)
 Sovereignty vs. Independence

• Sovereignty is the broader term. It has two

aspects:
– Internal – freedom of the State to manage
its own affairs;
– External – freedom of the State to direct its
foreign affairs.
• Independence is synonymous with external
sovereignty. It is defined as the power of a State
to manage its external affairs without direction
or inference form another State.
Duties of the State
• Peace and Order
• Political Harmony (Good Laws)
• Social Justice
• Economic Development
Theories of State Origin
• Divine Theory – the state is of divine origin, all
political authority emanates from God.
• Social Contract Theory - this theory states that
men agreed among themselves to live under one
civil society or body politic. A person surrendered
his natural liberty but gained in return the
protection and civil rights guaranteed by the
governments.
• Force Theory – the state has arisen through sheer
force; a tribe conquering other tribes to form a
kingdom.
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