Outline of political science

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to politics and political science:

Politics – the exercise of power; process by which groups of people make collective decisions. Politics
is the art or science of running governmental or state affairs (including behavior within civil
governments), institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the corporate, academic, and
religious segments of society.

Political science – the field concerning the theory and practice of politics and the description and
analysis of political systems and political behavior.

Fields of study of political science

Comparative politics
Democratization
Polarization
Politicization
Multi-level governance
see § Electoral systems and § Political institutions
Development studies
Geopolitics and political geography
Area studies
Globalization studies
Gender and politics
Institutional theory
New institutionalism
International relations
Security studies
Critical security studies
Copenhagen School
Paris school
Welsh school
Nationalism studies
Banal nationalism
Diaspora politics
Irredentism
Nationalism and gender
Nationalist historiography
Postnationalism
Revanchism
 Political behavior
Political activism
Political movement
Political economy
Political fiction
Political satire
Political research methodology
Political sociology
Political theory and philosophy
Political spectrum
Positive political theory
Game theory
Psephology – study of elections
Voting theory
see § Electoral systems
Policy analysis and Policy studies
Foreign policy analysis
Public administration and local government studies
Public law
Strategic studies

Related disciplines
Economics
Political economy
History
Political history
Jurisprudence
Constitutional law
International legal theory
Political jurisprudence
Philosophy
Ethics
Political philosophy
Psychology
Political psychology
Social science
Anthropology
Political anthropology
Sociology
Political sociology

Political theory
Anarchist schools of thought hold that all forms of hierarchy and authority are illegitimate.
 Social anarchism views individual freedom as interrelated with mutual aid.[1]
Individualist anarchism
Democratic theory
Athenian democracy a form of Greek democracy in which free male citizens had a direct vote
on all government actions.
Republicanism a strain of political thought which was common among the city-states of the
Italian Renaissance, such as the Republic of Venice.
Representative democracy
Direct democracy
Initiative
Referendum
Radical democracy
Deliberative democracy
Participatory democracy
International relations theory
Power in international relations
Realism in international relations
Neorealism (international relations)
Idealism in international relations
Liberalism (international relations)
Neoliberalism (international relations)
Marxist international relations theory
Functionalism in international relations
Critical international relations theory
Majoritarianism
Marxist schools of thought
Marxism-Leninism
Maoism
Trotskyism
Left communism
Anti-revisionism
Western Marxism
Structural Marxism
Neo-Marxism
The Frankfurt School
Autonomism
Analytical Marxism
Marxist Humanism
Marxist feminism
Post-Marxism
Metapolitics
 Peace and conflict studies
Democratic peace theory
Power transition theory
Hegemonic stability theory
Political geography
Political symbolism
Postcolonialism
Decoloniality
Blue water thesis
Three-world model
Third-Worldism
Theories of state
Consent of the governed
Social contract
Secession
Right of rebellion
Form of government
Islamic state
Nationalism
Patriotism
Sovereignty

Decision-making

Election
Electoral systems
Plurality voting allows each voter to vote for a single
candidate, with the candidate with most votes being the
winner. It is often combined with single-member districts,
resulting in a majoritarian democracy.
Cardinal voting systems
Approval voting
Satisfaction approval voting
Majority judgment
STAR voting
First-past-the-post voting
Single non-transferable vote
Limited voting Voting is a key form of decision-
Plurality-at-large voting making in politics. A female
General ticket journalist displays her inked finger
after casting her vote in
Afghanistan's western Herat
province.
 Proportional representation ensures that proportions of representation allocated in the elected
body reflect their proportions of support among the electorate.[2] Often combined with multi-
member districts to produce consensus democracy.
Party-list proportional representation
Mixed electoral systems
Mixed-member proportional representation
Parallel voting
Scorporo
Majority bonus system
Alternative vote plus
Dual-member proportional representation
Rural-urban proportional representation
Suffrage
Disfranchisement
Right of foreigners to vote
Right of expatriates to vote in their country of origin
Youth suffrage
Age of candidacy
Demeny voting
Voting
Compulsory voting
Electronic voting
None of the above
Secret ballot
Game theory
Political campaign
Political communications
Political qualifications

Order of succession
Primogeniture

Sortition
Citizens' assembly

Political institutions

Branches of government

The separation of powers is typically set in the constitution or basic law in order to achieve checks and
balances within government. The typical model has three branches, and is referred to as the trias
politica.
 Legislature, deliberates and passes laws.
Unicameralism
Bicameralism
Upper house
Lower house
Tricameralism
Tetracameralism
Multicameralism Institutions are often the framework
Executive, executes laws. within which politics happens.
Pictured is the Supreme Court of the
Head of state, formal, often symbolic, leader of state. United States.
Sometimes has veto power over proposed legislation.
Monarch
Supreme leader
President
Head of government, the person(s) in charge of day-to-day affairs of the state. Usually heads
a cabinet, a Council of Ministers or a Council of State.
Chancellor
Chief executive
Chief minister
First minister
Premier
Prime minister
Judiciary, often involved in politics through judicial review.
Supreme court
Constitutional court

Political parties
Party systems
Nonpartisan democracy
One-party state
Dominant-party system
Two-party system Political parties, and their number,
Multi-party system are important aspects of
representative systems. The
Party coalition governments
number of political parties in the
Hung parliament Hellenic Parliament of Greece has
Confidence and supply varied across time.
Minority government
Rainbow coalition
Grand coalition
National unity government
 Majority government

Political behavior

Theories of political behaviour

Political culture
Civic political culture
Parochial political culture
Patrimonialism, a political culture which sees no difference between personal and political
power.
Neopatrimonialism
Prebendalism
Peace and conflict studies
Aggressionism
Greed versus grievance
Political psychology
Impressionable years hypothesis
Postmaterialism
Right-Wing Authoritarianism
Social Dominance Orientation
System Justification Theory

Political strategy
Accelerationism
Political campaigning
Campaign advertising
Campaign finance
Campaign management tools
Canvassing
Grassroots fundraising
Smear campaign
Opposition research
Push poll
Retail politics
 Power politics
Balance of power
Bandwagoning
Blackmail
Brinkmanship
Buck passing
Coercion
Hard power
Sharp power
Soft power
Smart power
Power projection
Power vacuum
Realpolitik
Cloward–Piven strategy
Starve the beast
Propaganda
Disinformation
Fearmongering
Framing
Indoctrination
Loaded language
Lying press
National mythology
Rally 'round the flag effect

Voting behavior
Abstention
Abstentionism
Election boycott
Economic voting
Altruism theory of voting
Coattail effect
Split-ticket voting
Straight-ticket voting
Tactical voting
Tactical manipulation of runoff voting
Vote pairing
Paradox of voting
Protest vote
Spoilt vote
Voter apathy
Political dysfunction
Political conflict
Civil disobedience
Boycott
Demonstration
Nonviolence
Picketing
Strike action
Tax resistance
Civil war
Wars of national liberation
Insurgency
Asymmetric warfare
Assassination
Guerrilla warfare
Law of war
International criminal law
Just war theory
War crime
Revolution
Bourgeois revolution
Communist revolution
Democratic revolution
Nonviolent revolution
Social revolution
Political revolution (Trotskyism)
Vanguardism
World revolution
Terrorism
Nationalist-separatist terrorism
Propaganda of the deed
Religious extremist terrorism
Right-wing terrorism
Left-wing terrorism
 Political corruption
Bribery
Cronyism
Economics of corruption
Nepotism
Political patronage
Clientelism
Earmark
Political machine
Pork barrel
Slush fund
Spoils system

Types of polities and forms of government

By level of social organisation

Traditional authority, political society which has not gone through state formation.
Band society
Big man
Chiefdom
Empire (before New Imperialism).
Local government
Unitary state (Unitarism)
City-state
Nation state
Federalism
Confederation
Federation
Regional integration
Intergovernmental organization
Supranational union
European Union (European studies)
Trade bloc
Global governance
World state

By formal power structure

Feudalism
Chinese feudalism
Indian feudalism
 Monarchy/Diarchy
Absolute monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Elective monarchy
Federal monarchy
Republic
Parliamentary system
Westminster system
Presidential system
Semi-presidential system
President for life

By source of power
Autocracy, the source of power is the leader.
Democracy, the source of power are the people through popular sovereignty.
Ethnocracy, the source of power is ethnicity.
Meritocracy, the source of power is talent.
Noocracy, talent is measured by wisdom.
Technocracy, talent is measured by expertise.
Stratocracy, the source of power is the military.
Military dictatorship
Military junta
Theocracy, the source of power is God(s).
Christian republic
Halachic state
Hindu nation
Islamic state
Oligarchy, the source of power is the elite.
Aristocracy, the elite are hereditary.
Gerontocracy, the elite are the elderly.
Plutocracy, the source of power is wealth.

Political ideologies and philosophies

Authoritarianism
Absolutism
Totalitarianism
Left-wing politics, usually focused on increasing egalitarianism.
Far-left politics
Anarchism
Communism
Socialism
Agrarian socialism
Democratic socialism
Liberal socialism
Libertarian socialism
Religious socialism
Centre-left politics
Social democracy
Gradualism
Progressivism
Reformism
Green politics
Green anarchism
Ecofeminism
Eco-socialism
Centrism, usually defined by highly pragmatic politics.
Radical centrism
Syncretic politics
Third Position
Third Way
Liberalism, defined by high valuing of liberty.
Classical liberalism
Conservative liberalism
Neoliberalism
Social liberalism
 Right-wing politics, often defined by opposition to social change, and a veneration of tradition.
Centre-right politics
Christian democracy
Compassionate conservatism
Liberal conservatism
One-nation conservatism
Progressive conservatism
Conservatism
Fiscal conservatism
Fusionism
Libertarian conservatism
National conservatism
Neoconservatism
Paleoconservatism
Social conservatism
Traditional conservatism
Far-right politics, political ideas which are described as reactionary, ultranationalist,
chauvinistic, xenophobic or racist.[3]
Alt-right
Fascism
Nazism
Identity politics, political ideologies concerned with the interests of the members of a specific
group.
Black power
Feminism
Gay pride
Indigenism
Islamism
Nationalism, based on the centrality of the nation.
Civic nationalism
Ethnic nationalism
Expansionist nationalism
Irredentism
Pan-nationalism
Racial nationalism
Left-wing nationalism
Liberal nationalism
Secessionism
Zionism

Governments of the world

Political issues and policies

Rights
Animal rights
Civil and political rights, usually related to topics of negative liberty.
Freedom of assembly
Freedom of association
Right to asylum
Freedom from discrimination
Freedom of education
Freedom of information
Freedom of movement
Freedom of speech
Freedom of the press
Freedom of thought
Right to petition
Right to protest
Right to property
Freedom of religion
Right to life
Economic, social and cultural rights, usually cover issues of positive liberty.
Digital rights
Labor rights
Equal pay for equal work
Right to an adequate standard of living
Right to clothing
Right to development
Right to education
Right to food
Right to health
Right to housing
Right to Internet access
Right to science and culture
Right to social security
Right to water
Right to work
LGBT rights
Minority rights
Affirmative action
Women's rights
Abortion law
Economic policy
Agricultural policy
Agricultural subsidy
Land reform
Energy policy
Nuclear energy policy
Renewable energy policy
Fiscal policy
Budgetary policy
Industrial policy
Import substitution industrialization
Investment policy
Sovereign wealth fund
Monetary policy
Capital requirement
Central bank
Contractionary monetary policy
Expansionary monetary policy
Tax policy
Internet taxation
Tax cut
Tax competition
Tax holiday
Tax reform
Flat tax
Tax harmonization

Foreign and security policy

Arms control
Nuclear disarmament
Nuclear-free zone
Nuclear nonproliferation
Criminal justice
Capital punishment
Life imprisonment
Mandatory sentencing
Space policy
Extraterrestrial real estate
Militarization of space
Space force
Counter-terrorism
Anti-terrorism legislation
International Trade
 Military policy
Military recruitment
Conscription
Military-industrial complex

Social policy
Cultural policy
Arts council
Environmental policy
Climate change policy
Fisheries management
Drug policy
Drug decriminalization
Drug policy reform
Harm reduction
Legality of cannabis
Legal status of cocaine
Legal drinking age
Legal status of methamphetamine
Legal status of psilocybin mushrooms
Legal status of Salvia divinorum
Education policy and reform
Education reform
Immigration law
Family reunification
Immigration equality
Immigration of felons
Immigration reform
Open border
Permanent residency
Work permit
Race relations
Affirmative action
Institutional racism
Racial profiling
White privilege
Religion and politics
Separation of church and state
Health policy
Legality of euthanasia
Stem cell controversy
Universal healthcare
Health care reform
 Welfare state
Guaranteed minimum income
Job guarantee
Welfare reform
Unemployment benefits
Universal Basic Income
Workfare

Politics by continent

Foreign relations by continents

Political parties by continent

History of politics
History of political science
History of political thinking
Political history
List of years in politics

Political scholars
List of political scientists
List of political philosophers
List of social and political philosophers
List of political theorists

Influential literature
The Art of War – by Sun Tsu (c. 544–496 BC)
History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides (c. 460 – c. 400 BC)
The Republic and Laws – by Plato (427–347 BC)
The Politics and Nicomachean Ethics – Aristotle (384–322 BC)
Arthashastra – Chāṇakya[4] (c. 350–283 BC)
Meditations – Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161–180 CE
The Prince – by Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527)
The Book of Five Rings – Miyamoto Musashi (c. 1584––1645)
Leviathan – Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679)
The Wealth of Nations – by Adam Smith (1723–1790)
On War – by Carl von Clausewitz (1780–1831)
 The Communist Manifesto – by Karl Marx (1818-1883)

See also
Politics portal

Anthropology
Constitutional economics
Debate
Food politics
Government simulation game
Music and politics
Policy
Rule According to Higher Law
Office politics
Official statistics
Organizational politics
Political activism
Political corruption
Political criticism
Political economy
Political fiction (list)
Political movement
Political party (list by country)
Political power
Political psychology
Political spectrum
Theories of Political Behavior

Further reading
Roskin, M.; Cord, R. L.; Medeiros, J. A.; Jones, W. S. (2007). Political Science: An Introduction.
10th ed. New York: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-242575-9 (10). ISBN 978-0-13-242575-
9 (13).
Tausch, A.; Prager, F. (1993). Towards a Socio-Liberal Theory of World Development.
Basingstoke: Macmillan; New York: St. Martin's Press.
Oxford Handbooks of Political Science – ten-volume set covering the political science topics
political methodology, public policy, political theory, political economy, comparative politics,
contextual political analysis, international relations, Law and Politics, political behavior, and
political institutions. The general editor of the series is Robert E. Goodin.[5][6]

References
1. Suissa, Judith (2001). "Anarchism, Utopias and Philosophy of Education". Journal of Philosophy
of Education 35 (4). pp. 627–646. doi:10.1111/1467-9752.00249 (https://doi.org/10.1111%2F1467-
 9752.00249).
2. Mill, John Stuart (1861). "Chapter VII, Of True and False Democracy; Representation of All, and
Representation of the Majority only" (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5669/5669-h/5669-h.htm#link
2HCH0007). Considerations on Representative Government. London: Parker, Son, & Bourn.
3. Carlisle, Rodney P., ed., The Encyclopedia of Politics: The Left and the Right, Volume 2: The
Right (Thousand Oaks, California, United States; London, England; New Delhi, India: Sage
Publications, 2005) p. 693.
4. Mabbett 1964 "References to the work in other Sanskrit literature attribute it variously to
Viṣṇugupta, Cāṇakya and Kauṭilya. The same individual is meant in each case. The Pańcatantra
explicitly identifies Chanakya with Viṣṇugupta."
5. Oxford Handbook Of Political Theory (http://www.oup.com.au/titles/higher_ed/social_science/politi
cs/9780199270033)
6. Walsh, Mary (1 May 2008). "The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory" (https://doi.org/10.1057%2
Fcpt.2008.2). Contemporary Political Theory. 7 (2): 232–234. doi:10.1057/cpt.2008.2 (https://doi.o
rg/10.1057%2Fcpt.2008.2).

External links
American Political Science Association (http://www.apsanet.org/)
European Consortium for Political Research (https://web.archive.org/web/19980215221318/http://
www.essex.ac.uk/ECPR/)
International Political Science Association (http://www.ipsa.org/)
Political Studies Association of the UK (http://www.psa.ac.uk/)
PROL: Political Science Research Online (prepublished research) (https://web.archive.org/web/20
160304092151/http://www.politicalscience.org/)
Truman State University Political Science Research Design Handbook (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20020616040916/http://www2.truman.edu/polisci/design.htm)
A New Nation Votes: American Elections Returns 1787-1825 (https://web.archive.org/web/200612
08183011/http://dca.tufts.edu/features/aas/)
Political links resource (http://www.p-jones.demon.co.uk/linksIV.htm)

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