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NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF POLITICAL SCIENCE STUDENT, [NAPSS] NSUK

CHAPTER.

OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF ACADEMICS

Synopsis On The Introduction To Political Science

Pol 111

By
YAKUBU CORNELIUS
08114599598

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UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS POLITICAL SCIENCE

• Political science is a broad concept whose definition is vague
and elusive.
• There is no universally accepted definition.
• Definitions are all accepted but subject to criticism
• Political science encapsulates two concepts (politics and
science) that require careful clarification before attempting a
definition.
What Is Politics ?
• The word politics is derived from the Greek word “POLIS”
Meaning “CITY-STATE”
• To the Greeks, the polis was the most meaningful community
above the family level. It was argued that any community larger
than the family contains element of politics
Politics (from Greek:politiká, 'affairs of the cities') is the set of
activities that are associated with making decisions in groups,
or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as
the distribution of resources or status. While the branch of
social science that studies politics and government is referred
to as political science..
• Aristotle in his book POLITICS first used the term politics to
refer to the affairs of a Greek city-state. Aristotle observed that
‘man by nature is a political animal’. By this he meant that the

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essence of social existence is politics and that two or more men

interacting with one another are invariably involved in a
political relationship. .
• Otto Von Bismarck defined politics as the art of the possible.
This definition view politics as having to do with maneuvering
one’s way into power and manipulating people.
• Dahl Robert posits that politics deals with the study of conflict
which arises whenever people come together. He further
defined political science as the study of politics through
methods and procedures, which are designed to yield reliable
knowledge about the world. This definition shows the
distinction between the meaning of politics and political
science3

• Niccolò Machiavelli wrote, in his 1532 book, The Prince, that

politics was firstly about having and keeping power. He said
that without power, a leader could do nothing.
• Politics is the way that people living in groups make decisions.
In everyday life, the term "politics" refers to the way that
countries are governed, and to the ways that governments
make rules and laws to manage the human society properly.
Politics can also be seen in other groups, such as in companies,
clubs, schools, and churches.

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• David Easton defined politics as the authoritative allocation of

values in a society. This definition did not address the process
of power acquisition.
• Harold Lasswell defined politics as the study of who gets
what, when and how? This definition ignored aspect of power
utilization as it concerns itself with power acquisition.
• Yakubu Cornelius defined politics as the affairs that has to do
with power and coordinative interaction.
•Austine Ranany (1975) maintained that politics is a process of
resolution of conflict in society.
•For Max Weber, (1947) politics is the operation of the state
and its institutions. Politics for him, means the sharing power to
influence the distribution of power among individuals and
groups within a state.

Lasswell suggests that politics is essentially the struggle for

positions of other see it as the manipulation of the minds of
individuals and power struggle for the attainment of selfish
interest by some individuals.
Levels Of Politics
 Micropolitics
 Mesopolitics and
 Macropolitics

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 Micropolitics
Micropolitics describes the actions of individual actors within
the political system. This is often described as political
participation. E.g Voting, demonstration, activism etc Politics
within a normal and small scale.
 Mesopolitics
5Mesopolitics describes the politics of intermediary structures
within a political system, such as national political parties or
movements.
 Macropolitics:
Macropolitics can either describe political issues that affect an
entire political system (e.g. the nation state), or refer to
interactions between political systems (e.g. international
relations). [Politics at a large scale]
Example; Global politics (or world politics).
What Is Science?5
• The word science is derived from a Latin word “SCIENTIA"
which means “TO KNOW or KNOWLEDGE".
• Therefore science is a systematic method of knowing.
• Science is the observation of facts.
• It is an organized body of knowledge that is derived from
observations and can be verified or tested by further
investigations.

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Therefore, political science is the scientific study of politics and

power from domestic, international, and comparative
perspectives.
Scientific Nature of Political Science
Political science is essentially a study of human behaviour
through observation, data gathering and analysis. Using the
cannons of science political scientist seek patterns in the
reasons and outcomes for political events so that generalisation
and theories can be made.
• Political science can be defined as a systematic body of
knowledge that deals with acquisition of state power and
utilization of power.
The scientific notion has been criticized and argued against.
Some scholars have posited that political science is really a
science, to some, it's art while others said it's both science and
art.
Why Is political science refers to science?
The study of politics is generally regarded as science because
political scientist employs scientific procedures in their analysis
in order to explain and predict social realities.
Scientific Procedures in this case Includes;
• problem identification

 Observation
 Collection of data

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 Development of hypothesis
 Testing of hypothesis/Analysis
 Data presentation
The period 1945 – 1965 was a period of transformation of
political science. The period witnessed a revolutionary change
in political science methodology. The University of Chicago
pioneered a new method of studying politics – the Behavioural
Approach – which challenged the Historical and the
Institutional Approaches in Political science. The main focus of
Behaviorism is to make the study of Political Science Scientific.
While behaviorism has been acted and applied in research by
many scholars, there are number of scholars who doubt the
usefulness of behaviourism.

Approaches to the Study of Politics

Approaches provide the political scientist with the conceptual
framework in understanding political life. Traditional
Approaches: There are two major approaches under the
traditional approaches
(a) the historical;
(b) the institutional approaches to the study of political process.
(c) Philosophical approach i.e ethics and norms
(d) Legal approach i.e constitutional and legal framework
The historical approach relies mainly on the facts of the past to
explain the present and probable future political development
within political institutions and process.
Institutions like Legislative, Executive and Judiciary are also put
into consideration.
Class Analysis Approach This is the most radical approach in
political science. The approach
focuses on division of society into classes and how this social
stratification determines social conflict and social change.

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Most Marxist political scientists insist that class exist in all

societies because of the nature of mode of production. They
insist that those who own the means of production take
decisions that affect the lives of workers who work for pay. It
further explains that those who own the means of production
continue to expropriate the surplus wealth created by workers;
and that it is this class relationship that has brought
about8class antagonism and class wars/revolutions.
Structural Functionalism Approach: This approach is an
offshoot of systems analysis. It focuses largely on explaining the
functions a political system must perform to survive and
defines structures or organizations which can most efficiently
perform the functions. The structures may be political parties,
pressure groups or formal government institutions performing
system-maintenance
functions such as informing the electorate on important issues
and allowing for wider participation in the political system.
Systems Analysis Approach: System analysis is an attempt by
David Easton, its originator to apply general systems theories to
political science. In this pioneering effort, Easton insisted that
political system “is that system of interactions in any society
through which binding or authoritative allocations are made”. 8
Behavioural approach: Behaviouralism was developed by
American political scientist as an alternative to the traditional
approaches
• Behavioural approach is regarded as the movement in
political science,
which was founded on the belief that political phenomena
could be better studied by scientific method of observation,
quantitative analysis and verification. In opposition, we have
post-behaviouralism.

Sub-field of political science

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a. Political Theory/Philosophy
b. International Relation
c. Comparative politics
d. Political Economy etc
Political theory or philosophy is a branch of political science
which entails the examination of social and political thoughts of
classical, medieval and modern political philosopher such as
Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Saint
Augustine, Nicclo Machiavelli amongst others.
Comparative politics is a subfield of political science that
involves two elements (i) it is a subject of study comparing the
nature of politics and the political process across different
political systems9(ii) it is a method of identifying and explaining
similarities and differences between countries.
International relations is concerned with the study of the
interactions or relationship between states and non-state
actors such as non-governmental organisations. Such
interaction can be political, economic, social, cultural or
technology.

Political economy studies the social relationships between

people taking part in the 9process of distribution of material
values, and laws governing the production, distribution,
exchange and consumption of material goods at different
stages in the society’s development.
Relationship Between Political Science and Other Discipline
Political science and history: the study of history includes a
survey of economic, religious, intellectual and social
developments as well as a study of states, their growth and
organization and their relationship with one another. Historical
records are very useful in the study of political processes.
Political scientist therefore selects facts from history and uses
historical method in political analysis.

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Political science and Law: Some aspects of political science are

concerned with law making and implementation. Political
activities in any political system are carried out within the
framework of law. Aspects of law studied in political science are
constitutional development, administrative and international
law.
Political science and sociology: sociological theories and
writings are useful for explanation and prediction of political
phenomena. A sub field of political science is called political
sociology which involves the application of sociological theories
and concepts to political behavior and processes.
Political science and philosophy: The contribution of
philosophy has greatly enriched the study of political science.
The origin of the study of politics cannot be separated from
philosophy. Political philosophy is one of the subfields of
political science. In political philosophy, the philosophical
thoughts of classical, medieval and modern political
philosophers are examined.
Political science and economics: aspects of economics such as
public financial management and public sector economics are
related to political science. These and many more.
CONCEPT OF POWER AND AUTHORITY
• Power the is relational
• It is the ability of one person or group to control the actions
of another person.
• It is the ability to get things done, to make others do what
you want, even if they do not want to do it.
• A person is said to have power to the extent that he influence
the behaviour of others in accordance with his own intentions.
• Exercise of powers can be through the use of force or
persuasion
10Types of power

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• Political power
• Economic power
• Military power
• Physical power etc
How power is exercised
• Persuasion
• Granting of rewards
• Threat of punishment
• Infliction of non-violent punishment
• Command from a person in authority
• The use of force
• Domination
• manipulation lots more
AUTHORITY
• Authority is the legitimate exercise or lawful exercise of
political power.
• Authority is associated with a hierarchy of human
relationships, which enables those higher to command those
lower in the hierarchy, and which compels those lower in the
hierarchy to obey the command of those higher up the
hierarchy.
• Authority is vested in a person because of his role, position
and his office within the organisation or society.
• Authority is often exercised through the use of persuasion. 11
Types of political authority
• Traditional authority
• Legal-rational authority11

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• Charismatic authority12
Difference between power and authority
*Power #Authority
*Ability to command and Influence behavior of another. #It is
legal right to command.
*It rests with person in their capacity #It lies in position in an
organization
*It doesn’t follow any hierarchy #It is hierarchical in nature
*Power is personalized cannot be delegated #Authority is
institutional
*Power has no relation to position Authority is attached to
position
Concept of influence
• Influence is the ability to affect decisions through persuasion.
• Influence has the same relational attributes as power.
• However, the exercise of power depends upon potential use
of sanctions, while influence depends largely on persuasion.

Concept of State and Nation

 State Nation *Political

concept #Ethnic concept
*It is a legal political entity #Ethnic cultural system
* People organized by law within a definite territory
#People joined by common will
* A state must be sovereign #Nation might not be
sovereign
* Inhabited by heterogeneous group of people #Inhabited
by homogeneous group

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Theories Of A State
 Social contract theory
 Natural/Evolutionary theory
 Divine right of king theory
 Force theory
 Genetic; family theory (Patriarchal Theory & Matriarchal
Theory13) etc
Purpose of the State13Plato regarded the state as a
macrocosm in which the individual could find his proper place
and perform the duties for which he was best
fitted.13However, Aristotle believed that the purpose of the
state was to secure the development of virtue in the citizens,
but he too believed in the self- sufficiency of the Greek city-
state. According to Hobbes, the purpose of the state was to
maintain order and the right of property. Rousseau, we find a
revivalof the idea that the state exists to make a good life
possible for the individual.
Features of a State
1. Sovereignty13
2. Government133. Population134. Territory135. Recognition 6.
7.Permanence
Political culture
Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba outline three types of
political culture.
 Parochial : people who don’t care about politics13
 Participant: people are active citizens and closely watch
politics
 Subject: people who are passive
In the political process
 Parochial political culture: citizens lack knowledge/ interest
in political input/output
 Subject political culture: there is awareness of the process,
but citizens are less passive participant

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 Participant: awareness of the process, citizens belief in the

right to participate

political socialization: process of shaping one’s ideas and

attitude about government
Agents/ factors that affect political view
Family, School, Government, Peers, Media, Religion, Ethnic
background
Political participation is any activity which is designed to
influence public opinion or decision
Types of political participation
Conventional- includes voting, letter writing, contact with
representative, campaign, joining groups
Unconventional: boycott, demonstration, industrial strike
Rule of law14• Basic fundamental principles of government.•
The purpose is to ensure proper application of laws contained
in a
constitution of a country.
• Basic tenets are;
• The supremacy of the law
• Equality of all before the law
• Fundamental human right
Constitution
• A body of fundamental rules and regulations which spells out
the powers and functions of the organs and agencies of the
government including the fundamental human rights of
citizens.
• Sources of constitution are;

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• Custom/conventions
• Past historical experience
• Judicial precedents, international treaties, constitutional
conference and
intellectual works.
• Types of constitution; written, unwritten, rigid, flexible,
unitary, federal and confederal.

Constitutionalism
• Constitutionalism is the principle that governmental powers
should be limited and controlled by enforceable rules of law as
contained the constitution.
• Constitutionalism or constitutional government exist where a
country is governed in accordance with the laws of the
constitution.
Relationship between constitution and constitutionalism• A
constitution is the system of governmental laws and principles
by which a country is governed.
• Constitutionalism is governing according to constitutional
provisions. 15
MILITARY RULE
It has to do with rule by men on khaki. It is a rule by the military
government and institution through coup d'etat
Features
*Suspension of the constitution.
*The military comes to power through coup d’etat.
*The military rules by decree or edits.
*The military does not tolerate opposition.

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*Military rule is dictatorial in nature

Theory for military intervention
1. Contagious theory
2. Anomic theory
3. Custodian theory

Signed
YAKUBU CORNELIUS
08114599498

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