Brief History of Political Science

 Political science as a separate field is a rather late arrival in

terms of social sciences. However, the term "political science"
was not always distinguished from political philosophy, and
the modern discipline has a clear set of antecedents including
also moral philosophy, political economy, political
theology, history, and other fields concerned
with normative determinations of what ought to be and
with deducing the characteristics and functions of the
ideal state

 The history of political science serves as a context within

which we make sense of the nature and role of our discipline.
Narratives about the past development of British and
American political science help to frame debates, choices, and
identities within the contemporary discipline in Britain. What
do recent studies on the history of political science tell us
about the character of political science in Britain and America?
What do they suggest about the relation of the British study of
politics to British identities more generally? Our review of
recent work concentrates on three issues: (1) how historical
studies of political science relate to approaches and identities
within the contemporary discipline; (2) how they relate to the
past, i.e. whether their historical vision is marred by
presentism; (3) whether they look beyond the boundaries of
the discipline.
SOCIAL SCIENCE

 the scientific study of human society and social relationships.

a subject within the field of social science, such as economics or
politics.

 Any of various disciplines that study human society and social

relationships, including sociology, psychology, anthropology,
economics, political science, and history

 The study of how groups of people behave, often in an effort to

predict how they will behave in the future. The social sciences
include economics, anthropology, sociology, political science,
and aspects of psychology and history

 The study of society and of the relationship of individual memb
erswithin society, including economics, history, political scienc
e,psychology, anthropology, and sociology

APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCE

 the study of society and social behavior.
 a science or field of study, as history, economics, etc., dealing w
ith anaspect of society or forms of social activity

 is a discipline of science that applies existing scientific

knowledge to develop more practical applications, like
technology or inventions

 are those social science disciplines, professions and

occupations which seek to use basic social science research
and theory to improve the daily life of communities,
organizations and persons.
POLITICAL SCIENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES

 The study of politics in Southeast Asia emerged out of

significant junctures in historical state-making and nation-
building in the region. Given the “neglect” of Southeast Asia
in “mainstream” Western political science, efforts have been
made by scholars within and outside Southeast Asia to form
“epistemic communities” like the Asian Political and
International Studies Association (APISA) to promote
studies about Asia. The Philippines is an interesting case in
this regard because it mirrored significant periods in
its political history – from colonialism to nationalism,
modernization, authoritarianism, and democratization.
Notwithstanding the strong influence of
American political scientists in the early teaching and
writing on Filipino politics, the discipline has generally
avoided the quantitative methodologies privileged by its
American counterpart. Moreover, a vibrant and pluralist
approach has been evident in the scholarly output of
the Philippine Political Science Journal (PPSJ). Despite initial
setbacks in its organization, the
Philippine Political Science Association (PPSA) has been
successful in fostering a national “epistemic community” of
academics, scholars, and practitioners.
Political Science: a social science
As a political scientist you answer question in a scientific way.
Questions that have to do with power and questions that have to do
with how one person's behaviour influences another's. In other
words, political science is a social science. It is a science because a
political scientist thinks critically and a political scientist tests and
improves explanations, ideas, theories and rules over and over again
- including the rules for conducting good research. If you read this
page and if you start find yourself asking critical questions, then you
probably are interested in science and you might even possibly have
a talent for political science. But what makes political science a
social science? Politics is always about two or more people, or
organizations, and their relationship with one another. It always has
to go with how something is shared: wealth, influence, obligations,
pollution, health, power. Because we are always involved with
people and organizations as actors, those who are participating or
the organizations which are participating, this has an influence on
our research. In the ‘hard' sciences there are hard and fast rules: if I
release something into the air then it will fall down, if you heat a
solid material then it will melt and become liquid, and eventually
evaporate. These rules do not exist in social sciences: If the poverty
in a country increases, then sometimes a revolution will occur and
sometimes it won't. One person votes because of the content and the
other person votes because of a sentiment.  A social science is about
generalities, but certainties do not exist; we have to do with people
and the way they behave. Some political scientists believe that these
‘laws' have been invented (democratic peace: democratic countries
do not wage war with one another and ‘the law of petro politics':
countries with lots of oil reserves are not democratic). But even
these ‘laws' are strongly contested.