INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE

TOPIC I. Introduction
Politics
- Politics is as old as man
- Deals with the question “who has power” and “how the power is being practiced /
utilized”.
- The origin of politics is related to when man began to live a sedentary life.(the kind of
life that eliminates nomadism) Settlement in one place, villages etc
Because - quarrels began over ownership
- People had to be given power to solve quarrels
Politics is thus inevitable in every society (‘man is by nature a political animal’ Aristotle)

The goal in politics is to monopolize power because power determines the allocation of
resources.
Definitions:
Harold D. Lasswell describes political science as being concerned with who gets what, when and
how.
1. Politics is only practiced within the social context.
2. Politics is about decision making about certain desired things.

David Easton
Looks at politics from a systematic manner (as a system)
- Politics is the system of interactions in society through which binding and authoritative
allocations are made. This adds two more ideas to the meaning of politics.
1. Politics deals with the allocation of scarce reserves.
2. The nature or political decisions – that all political decisions are binding (must be
obeyed) MOU e.g Michuki and the safety days. Are binding when there is sufficient
power to enforce the decision.

Four major perceptions /ways of understanding politics

1. Politics is an act of government

This came about out of the ideas of Otto Von Bismarck. To him politics was about exercising
control in society hence has to do with the making and enforcement of collective decision.
Therefore politics is related to what the state does (how it functions) and how it exercises
authority.

2. Politics as public affairs (wider than the above narrow one) says politics has to do with life.
That life is divided into two. Private life and public life politics deals with public life – trying
to understand the common good or affects all of us.

3. Politics as a compromise and consensus

Politics as allocation of resources is very contagious and generates conflicts politics is thus
used as a tool to resolve these conflicts.
Is a way of bring about reconciliation, compromise where there is conflict
4. Politics as power
This opens politics beyond the sphere of government, public affairs or compromise and
consensus.
In this case it is taken as a social activity.
Without politics a society is dead.

Development of the study of politics

The study pre-dates the birth of Jesus Christ some earliest schools then were:-
Confucius 550-479 BC
Looked at politics in terms of relationships between human beings. He looked at the relationship
between the ruler and the ruled
States here were looked at as divine and so rulers had to be obeyed
The rulers (super ordinate) and the ruled (subordinate)
The principles that were to govern the two were supposed to be the principles of benevolence
and justice
The king was supposed to be just and kind
The principle governing the subordinate in relation to the super-ordinate is that of obedience and
respect
Super-ordinate were expected to apply equality and cooperation in their relations to the
subordinates

Plato 428, 346

Also looked at the relationship between the ruler and the ruled
In his book “The Republic” Aristotle looked at the best ruler as a ‘philosopher king” who
understands best the common good. St Augustine of Hippo also expressed the same idea in his
book “The City Of God”

Aristotle changed the way of studying politics by deemphasizing the idea of looking at politics
as a relationship between the ruler and ruled but said the study should be an examination of the
behaviors of the people who engage in politics
His ideas were adopted by Machiavelli who wrote about a perfect politician in his book the
prince.
Others include
Thomas Hobbes, John Locke George Hegel Stuart and Karl max

There are three approaches

Tradition historical philosophical approach
Theoretical empirical behavioral approach
Post behaviorist approach

This debate on whether Political Science can be considered as science was dominated by two
views
Behaviorist view
Criticized the philosophical tradition in studying things because it was subjective and hallow.
It was based in the views & feelings of the one studying it hence it was not balanced. This called
for a method of studying that would be detached and objective based on scientific enterprise.
They developed a science of politics. This study had to have empirical evidence based on
observation and experiment i.e. through hearing touching and feeling.

Post behaviorism
This group emerged and insisted that there must be an end to the demand for empirical evidence
because not everything could be proved.
Even our feelings sometimes may be acted by insisting on empirical evidence undermine the
study of political science
Hence, the study of political science must be made to answer problems in politics
They rejected the overdependence on brute empiricism
Based on this therefore:
Political science is a science because it is blended theory (a systematic explanation of empirical
data usually presented as reliable knowledge) and scientific methods.

However any attempt to construct a science of politics confronts the following Problems
1. Problem of data: because human beings cannot be observed in a laboratory situation.
2. Problem of hidden value: As we study human beings, we have values. These values
sometimes influence what we observe.
3. Problem of neutrality: We lack neutrality because sometimes we are studying humans
whom you are attached to in one way or the other.

The Role of political science in society: why study politics?

Political science focuses on a segment of human life that deals with interactions of institution
and rules of government and processes that are involved.

ASSIGNMENT
IDENTIFY AND DISCUSS FIVE SITUATIONS IN LIFE WHERE POLITICS IS
PRACTICED