·,

HAPTE \
PO LIT ICA L SC IEN CE : Ml: AN ING .
1 DE FIN ITI ON S J\N D SC OP E
• C::C :X= iolli,;;,._._.c·•• ••• •=- •~• •ea s•• ~ • • • ~ - - -•
"' •• ltt 1 the r,a ssage of tim~
P0 n· . .
ce is a very old and an important subjec t and w
• · · - •
1 ical Scien e Acco<ding
· meaning
and SI·tua t·ioris, its . and subject matter has gone under trern end ous chang· , .
the state and governmen t has ~en
to traditional thinkers of Political Science the study of d th 1'nkars· ' . Pohhca1
· • accor ding to the mo ern · i al'50
t I t
ce~ ra o the study of Politic al Scien ce, where as
th
and government, ra er_it s · ·
Science is not concerned only with the study of the state
struggle for power, use of influence,
concerned with all types of political activities such as
.
authoritative all_ocation of values , power, authority etc. 0
In th is chapt er, we will -m·ake a detail ed study of the meaning, defini tions· an? scope ~
.
the study of Political Science. . .
. .

S.
ORIG IN AND MEA NING OF..THE WOR D POL ITIC

•
. i' · )
al Scien ce. Word Politics is
. In the ancient times, (he word 'Politics' was used tor Politic
So; in the ancie nt times , the subject
( ,) derived from Greek word 'Polis ' which means CityS tate.
as Politics. Beca use of this, the book
concerned with the study of the City States was known
.
written by ~ who is also· known as the Fathe
r of
Political Scien ce conce rning the

:-,; administrationo.. the City States , which is also known

named 'Politics'. But with the passage of time, the age of
as the Bible of Political Scien ce, was
City States came to an end and the

•••:I,

i_J
)
prese nt day Nation States came into existence and the
nation states ·was named Political Science. With the inc~ea
Nation States, the scope of the study of Political Science
a result of which the mode rn Political Scienti.sts have also
subje ct dealin g with th& study of
se of the are~ and fu·nct ions of the
-has also increa sed consi derab ly, as
widened the scope of the subje ct

-·
- - _)
of Political Science: Accor ding to them, every.. activity
local, national or international, formal or informal can
Science, as a result of which the subject matter of it has
which is of politic al natur e, wheth er
be included in the scope of PoliHcal
becom e as wide as this unive rse.

-·
-\
DIFF ERE NCE BET WEE N POL ITICA L SCIE NCE
'· . -~

.AND POL ITIC S

-·
;.)
en Political Scien ce and Politics
Most of the thinkers do not make any diffe~ence betwe
are some basic differ ences betwe en
' and use both these words interc hange ably . But there

• :.
j
theories and princi ples of the state,
these lWO. The Political Scien ce is conce rned with the
! ?.t~ and the ind!Y-i dual _etc.~·w nerea s
) gover nmen t and the m~tu~ ~E:.~~! ig ns betwe en. the S
~hE;se take place . For exam ple, there
P9JjJtc_$ j s _ concerned with ~ctu_~!__Eoli~i_<?_<:3:!..~~~i! !l!~~ as
es as propo unded by vario us political
can be uniformity among the political princi ples or theori
of each indivi dual can be differ ent
thinkers where as the politics of each region ! state and even
is an activity conce rned with conflict,
.J According to the famous thinke r Alan A. Ball, "Politics
3

(
compromise; decision making, power and authority", and::there:is a close relationship between
Political Science and P·olitics and both influence en.ch .other.
. '
:-~
~
,
MEANING AND DEFINITIONS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

as :
There are two -✓iewpoints about the meaning and definitions of Political Science. such
.·"'
•;- . ~

·,. .:_ ..,'

-~

I. Traditional Viewpoint and

II. Modern Viewpoint i:'.".
.. ":'.,'

Both . these viewpoints have been explained below :

· I. MEANING AND DEFINITIONS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE-

TRADITIONAL VIEWPOINT
' .•
The viewpoint adopted till the beginning of _th~ 20th century is known as the Tradition_
Viewpoint of Politicar Science. The traditional thin°i<"ers-ha.ctdeveloped Political Science as an
in_dependent subject and refused to accept it an a branch of subjects like Sociology, Philosophy ·
al

.-
·.••
and History etc. ThE:! traditional thinkers !!:)eluded the study of forrnal ·political i_n stitutions like-
. Ute ~ate., government arid Jaw ~tc Into _th~ subject matter of Political Science and the thinkers -
like Dr. Garner, Bluntschli, -Paul Janet/Dr~ Leacock, Willoughby, Lord · Seeley, Gettell,
•••
Lord Acton, Hobbes,- ·Locke and · Rousseau etc, were the main sup.porters of this view-
point . The views of these thinkers about Political Science can be divided into t),ree- categories
I
such as: ·
t Political Scientc in cor1cerned with ttie State. · .
. . .
II. Political Science .is concerned with the Government.
Ill. Political .Science is concerned with the· State and the Government.
.I
..,,
Below we will discuss these viewpoints separately : .
. '·
I. POLITICAL ·scIENC);: IS _, (:ONCERNED WITH TH~. STATE
Garner, Lord Acton, Bluntschli; ';dettel(, llyas ~hme_d and Garis etc ar~ of the view . '
that Political Science i~ concerned with ·the state and to support this, they have given the _. ·. -· '·,
following definitions : . -~
•
1. According to Garner, "Political Sci~nce begins and ends. with the State." .
2. According to Bluntschli, "Political Science is the science which is concerned -~ith ' •·•
_the state in its fundamental conditions, its essential nature, its various forms of manifestations a
and its development. " ....
. 3. According to Gettel!, "Political Science is histo1 icAI investigation of what the state has· ·-• -~
beer,, analytical study of what the state is and potitic_al ethicA_J discussion of what th0 state ·
ought to be." :_ 4'
4. Accord°ing to Lord Acton, "Political Science is concerned with the state and with the ·. •_· .. ·
~
•conditions essential for its development."
._
~
-j
 Political Science •· Meaning, Dern -• d
,, 11ions an 5 cope S
5
· Acco rd ing 10 llyas Ahmed , "Political Science is a systematized knowledge regarding·
J the problems o f the sta te. "

f th_
6
· Acco rd ing 10 Garis , "Politica l Science considers the s tale as a n institution of power in
e totality ~r it~ relations, its origin, its setting, its objects, its ethical significance, its economic .
p,oblems, ,ts l,fe conditions , its r,·na nc,a . I s,.d es, ,·,s en d s e tc . .. . .
_ Acco rd_ing to the definitions given above, the.·state is central to the study of Political.
Science as it deals with t_he various aspects of the state and makes its study in totality.
II. POLITICAL SCIENCE IS CONCERNED WITH THE GOVERNMENT
Acc?r?ing to Seeley, Leacock etc, .Political Science is the study of Government only
and to this effect · they have given the foII owing
. def'1m·t·ions
. :
1
: ~ccor~ing to Seeley, "Political Science investigates the phenomenon of govemment
a~ Political Economy deals with wealth, Biology with life, Algebra with numbers and.Geometry
with space and magnitude. "
2. According to Leacock, "Political Science deals with the government only."
3. According to McMillan Dictionary, "Political Science deals with the organization and
• administration of government." · · ·
The definitions given above limit the scope of Political Science to the study of government
only which is not a correct viewpoint. ·
Ill. POLITICAL SCIENCE IS CONCERNED WITH THE STATE AND .
GOVERNMENT
Paul Janet, Gilchrist and Oemock etc are of the opinion that Political Science is
concerne~ with both, the state and government and to support their viewpoint, they have
given the following definitions :
1. According to Paul Janet, "Political Science is that part of social sciences which treats .

-1ew ..

, ·)e
J
\ with the foundations of the state and principles of the government."
2. According to Gilchrist, ''Political Science deals with the general problems of the state
and the organization of the government."
1111 l 3. According to Oemock, · 'Political Science is concerned with the state and it means the
government. "
- ,.1ith

-
I
4. According to Willoughby, "Generally speaking there are three great topics with which
vhs Political Science has to deal-state, Government and Law."
) According to the definitions given above, the state and government both are the subject :
has
matter of the study of. the Political Science.
It
-..
ie
Conclusion - After reading the definitions written above, we come to the conc~ \.iS!on
-.· he
that the traditional thinkers have included the study of the state and the government into U1e
subject matter of Political Science. Besides this, traditional thinkers have laid emphasis on
the institutional study of the state and government but they have ignored their actual working

•t
~- -
and the factors which influence the working of these. Because of this, it is known as the
institutional and formal study .

a
~
I
 6 ,., ,.. _ _ __ _ Politica1Theory (Semeste r-I) {_!~:!}-2"•···.•
MEANIN G AND DEFINIT IONS OF POLITIC AL SCIENC E
MODF.R N VIEWPO INT
Th e rnncl orn or cont nmoorn,y vi.ewpoint
. ., 1· .
of I o 1t1cc1 I ,Sc1
. , .
encc 1s qui·1e d'f-ferent
1 th an the
.
. . .. . G
traditiona l vi ewpoinl. In H)OB, famou s B11t1sh µh1tosoph er ra h am W a II as and An, e ncan
. . , and
pllitosopl1 er Arthur Bently published th eir famous books 'Human Nature In Poh~ics
. t
'Process of Governrrnrnt' respectively . In these books they rej ected the traditiona l view ~Oln
ol Political Science by calling it as 'Dead Political Science.' Th ese scholars laid emphasis _o
n
the study of actual human b~haviour and both formal and informal political institution s · which
in some way effect the working of political institutions. ,They also ma.de power central to t~e
study of Political Science. After them, the famous scholars like Harold Lasswel l, David
Easton, George Catlin, Charles Merriam, D.E. Apter, Almond and Powell, Robert A.
Dahl etc made the modern view point more popular and acceptab le.
',.
..·.,, ;:: Accordin g \o modern view point, politics is an a~tivity ~r a process which includes 'struggle
••J, : -:-
for power'' 1U!,C of influence' I 'aLi,horil<1tivP. allocation of values'' 'legitimat e use of power' etc.
·Y. !::_ Ar>ort from this, struggle ·tor the. rrotection of interests, resolution of conflicts and the a.~ ot
policy making etc are also lnclude.d in the·scope ul Politic.al Science. Farnoun modern µuhtical
scientist Robert A. Dahl ·has said, "Whether He lik(:J'S it' or not, virtually no one is complete
ly
beyond the reach ot some kind of p.olitica/ system.l'Today, entire environm ent around individua l
is political and whether he-likes it or not, he cannot escape politics and the supporte rs of
the
n1odern view point of Political Science have included almost each and every activity which
is
political by nature into the scope of Political Sci~nce ~s a result of which the scope of iLhas
become as wide as the universe. .. , . . .
- ..
.

DEFINI TION· OF POLITICAL SCIENC E

.. MODER N VIEWPOINT
Modern Political scier1tists have used the word !Politics' in -p lace of Political Science and
. they h~ve given the following definition s to clarify the meaning of it~
' ' . ·
1: Accordin g to_Herbert J Spirn, l'Politics is theprocess. by which a human community
as small as two persons or as large as the community of mankind deals with its problems
." .
2 . Accordin g to Edward·Banefiel d, ·"F'_q/i,ti~s is an activity (negotia tion, argumen t,
_discussion, application of force, persuation etclb}I which an issue. is agitated or settled."
3. Accordin g to Harold L8sswel l, 'Po/Wcsjs ,the study of the influence and influe·n tial.
Politics primarily tonceme d With who gets what, When and how." . . _
4. Accordin g to David Easton, "Politics is the study of the authorita tive a/location of
values."
5. Accordi.-19 to William Robeson , 1'The focus of interest of Political Scientis ts is clear
and unambiguous. It centres on the struggle to gain or retain power, to exercise power
or
influence over others or to resist that exercised:"
6 . Accordin g to Max Weber, "Politics is struggle for power or the influenc ing of ihose in
. power and it embraces the struggle between states as such and between organise d groups
·
. within the state.'' · . .
7 . Accordin g to Catlin, "Politics is the study of political aspect of organise d human
society."
...... .J ji
 Pc•/ific a/ Scien ce . M . \ '· · -
· ' eanmg , D efinitions and Scope 7
8 . According to Lipso n ..8 . . "
. • Y poltt,cs, I mean proce ss of ac tive contro versy.
9 . Accor ding to Oxfor d Dictio na "P 0 r . . .
,t,cs is the scienc e and art of gover nmen t. the
sr:ienc e of d eat,·,19 w,•th th e form o rg ry •· - . . . of one
and with the re 1 1. . · . amza 1,on and admm ,s trat,on of a s la te or part
gu a ,on of ,ts re lations with o the r s ta les."
. 1. . . . .
10. According to Alan R B a 11 "P O ,-,tics s an act1v1 ty conce rned with conflic t , comp romis e,
decisi on mak· ·
mg, powe r and autho rity."
.. . . .
. 11. According to Robe rt A · D a hi , Pol1t1c a/ Scien ce deals with power, rule or autho nty."
. . .. . ·
Conc lusio n-Th e sup por ters of the modern viewp oint of Pohttcal Science have
f p •· .
expan d ed the s
. .. cope o oht1cal Scien ce to a great extent and they have included all those .. .
act1v1t1es concerned w·th h • · . r influen ce authority and authomtat1ve
r ! s aping and sharin g of powe
11 hav~ made an attempt to make
: ~_c_a ton ~f valu_es in the scope of Political Science. They
all those activities of an individual
:•h.cal Scien ce an 'empirical science' and have included
0
ce as a result of which Political
wh_,ch are. political in nature in the scope of Political Scien · . ·
Science has become empirical science. . ·
tion of politics, J.C. Plano and R.E.
·. While giving a very simple but comprehensive defini
Riggs have written, "Politics connotes activity or proce
ss ..... .in a political seHing, politics- has
the study of who gets what, when
· been called the art of possible, the art of governing and
influence, the struggle for powe r and
· ~nd how. _It is commonly identified with the. exercise of
allocation of rewards or values within
the competition among individuals and groups over the
ss, including the setting and attaining
a socie ty. It is also said to involve a social steering proce
ion making: value allocating, goal
of collec tive goals, the many faces of politics, the _decis
ng activity may appear within any
setting, powe r seeking, interest competing, influence exerti ·
social group."
L SCIE NCE
SCO PE OR SUB JECT MAT IER OF POL ITICA
subject and its scope_or subject
We have read above that Political Science is a dyna mic
k thinkers confined the scop e of
matte r has kept chang ing with the chan ge of time. Gree
at t_ hat time city states were conce rned
· Politi cal Scien ce upto the study of city states. Because
Political Science had terme·d it as
with the total life of indivi d_ual, Arist otle the father of
tists made the study of the state and
'Mast er Scien ce.' After this, the traditional political scien
and this way the sco! ;)~ the study of
gove rnme nt as central to the study of Political Scien ce
t of the ·behavioural revol ution which
Politi cal Scien ce went on increasing. But as a · resul
) of 20th century a vast chan ge had
came in the study of Political Science in the begin ning
rn thinkers who are also know n as
come in the subje ct matte r of Po_litical Science. The mode
n behaviour and formal and inform al
beha viour alists had includ ed the study of the actual huma
into the scope of the study of Political
. politic al institutions which influence the political activi ties
the study of power, rule, autho rity,
Scien ce . Thes e mode rn thinkers have also inclu ded
nce, decision makin g proce ss and
legiti macy , influe nce, strug gle for powe r, use of influe
matte r of the study of Political Scien ce.
.,) autho ritativ e alloca tion of values etc into the subje ct
it has becom e very vast. Now every
As a resul t of which the scope or subje ct matte r of
.
activi ty which is of politic al -nature come s tJnder its study
following head ings-
Now the scope of Political Scien ce can be divid ed into
"Political Scien ce begins
) 1. Stud y of the State -Acc ordin g to famous scho lar Garner,
study of Political Science and the
and ends with the State." In fact, the state is central to the
_J
ll
8
-- ----
Scienc e is historical investigation of what the state has been,
l ·'o litic.1 / T/J uor v (Serncs ter-f) (P. U)
whole s11bject of Polttical Scienc e revolv es around it. According - - - --·- - - - - : -

state is and poUtical ethica l discussion of what t11e state ought

to ~rof. Gettel! , "Political
ana lytical study oi what the
I (·
-,
f
to be." So, on the basis of Prof.
Gettell's viewpoint the study of the state can be divided into 1
three ca tego ri es such as-
1. Study of the past of the State- Political Science is the ·-'I
histori ca l investi gation of the
past of til e state. meaning by how and when the slate came into
state which we see today was not of it in the past. It took centur
e xi stence. The form of th e
!
.I
form and for this it has passed through various stages . In the
ies to rea ch up to its present ·1
beginning the familie s were l
', "J
. formed, then families got divided into various castes and castes
gave birth lo city states. The '! •
· city states · were srnall in size and population and were conce
rned with the total life of an
)
~
individual. Gradu ally the city states changed into nation (
states, and the Political Science
explains the historical growth of the state. Even otherwise we ; I
should not forgel that there is .I

'
i
close relationship between the -past and the present and in order ·;
to understand present we
need to understand past.
.
II. Study of the ·present of the State -The Political Science
makes analytical study of
_thB present of ·the state and seen what·ore. its. objectives and what are l11e relations between .
individual and the ·state. Besides .this, it is also seen that what
type of means are ·adopted by
ti it:! ~tate ror the fulfilment of its objectives·. :1he peopie
form · various · associations for the
ftilfilment of their differen\ needs buf all these associations work under lh·e supervision of the
state. The present day state is coi1cerned·with the overall develo
pment ·of its citizens and for
this purpose it provides various rights :and liberties _to its" citizen
s. The present day s!ate
· accepts the .fact that _the developm~nt of· the state -lies in the
developments of its people .
Besides this. the issues Uke:the -refations between -individual
and the slate, the slate and its
various assoc iations and among .various states are ·also discus
sed. . ..
·111. Study of the future_.o hhe State - The present for~ of
the state is not its final form
rather it has developed continuously and will continue to devel op : According to Aristo tle,
"The state origin ated in the bare needs of life a.ml contin ued
in existe nce for the sake of
gnod life;" So, with the purpose to ·make the.life of ·on individ
ual still better, the _chang es in ll 1e
form and nature of the state .were natural. It is the duty
coltec ting knowl edge about the past and present of the state
of the Political Scientists that by
they must give sugge stions for
the future of the ~tate so that ttie best state .could l::>e estab
lished.
2~ S~udy of the-Gove mmen t~ove rnme nt ts an ·important
eleme nt of the state and
the_study of the state is _incomplete-without the study of the gover
nmen t. There are various
forms of government such as Parliamentary ;Goyemment,: Presidential
Gov~rnmenJ, Federal
Gove rnmen t, ·unita ry Goyernment; D:emocratic ·Governme
_
nt and Dictatocial etc. :Each·
gover nmen t has three organs such'as Leg-islature, Executive and
Judiciary and .these organ s
I

of
· perfor m different functions. The study the gover nmen fis also·:i
mport ant becau se the st<\te
expr~ sses and enforc es its will t:hrough the gover nmen t.
The · subje ct of Politicai" Scien ce
. make s . the s·tudy of all ·the forms of governments and · their
organ s and also tells us which
form of gover nmen t is better and why. It also make s the
study of th_e relatio nship tJetw·e en
individ ual and the state and the government.
3. Study of lnt~rn ationa l Relations and -lnte_ rn~tional Orga nizat ions- . Prese nt is
the age of intern ationa lism, therefore each state has to estab
with 0th.Ar states .
lish relatio ns _
Besid es this, there is need of international relatio ns for
the maint enanc e · of intern ationa l
peace and stability and also for economic, social and cultur al
devel opme nt.Tod ay internat\onal
 ,_
) ..
····i:.?f. . .~~ .. ~--
ns a;,d Sco p~
', I •• ' f~\, 9
• .. Political Scie nce : Mea ning , Defi nitio ·
)
I
ii
laws and international organiza
.
·
· ·
tion
1 1 -
s hav
·
e been formed to regulate mutual rela
· ·
tions among
· t·
and international orgc::niza ions
" vanous states and ir'er '' nat Iona re a1ions , 1nternat1onal laws t of international
th Pol itical Science . For the establishrr,en
were e sutj ect matter of the study of Seccnd World
t V.Jorld War and United Nations o:-ler
)
~-
pea ce, Lea£ ;ue of Na tion s af1e r the Firs
ons, SAARC,
s !ike NAM, Common - Wealth of Nati
I'
~
War and m;;ny more such organization the study of all
European Union etc were formed and
)
ASEAN, WTO , G-8 , G -20, G-7 7 and to Ben i Par~ad
matter of Political Science . According
~~es~. organizations was the subject prise ihe ,drg e
affairs of city. Late r it broa den ed to com
( Politics stane d as the scie nce of the of
world orgc.:nization." ·
\
ntry stat e. It has now to take fina l step and stand forth as the scie nce
cou
g, he ls political
ng- The man is not only a social bein
_ 4 . Stu dy of man as_ Pol itica l Bei activities. For the
stat e, he performs various political
being also.- and whi le lfv.ing in the tions, takes
ous .types of organizations, contests elec
protection of his interests, he form s vari efore r..akes the
l parties etc. The Political Science, ther
out processions, joins various poli tica vities and political
y of man .also . In fact man · is an acto r around which all the political acti
stud ed wit11 the ~otal
, ·the present day state is also concern
organizations etc revolve_. Besides this therefore.
an indi vidu al and mak es effo rts for his .all round deve.lopment, the man
life of
l Science. · ·
bec ome s the subject mat ter of Poli tica
state, why the people live
5. _Stu dy of Pol itica l l_ d e~l ogi es- Wh at is the purpose of the
not do, wha t are
t the state should do and wha t it should
in the stat e and obe y its orders; wha e to the mind of
are the questions whi ch gen er9 lly com
the duti es and rights of the state etc ns according
vidu al. Diff
_ ercn t sch olar s hav e gi_ven different answers to thes e questio
an indi e are known as
to the situations of thei r time · and thes
to thei r understanding and acc ord ing Socialism,
isms. There are so man y isms suc h
as Individualism, Utilitarianism, Communism,
e ism s are also
m, Idealism, Liberalism etc and all thes
Mar xism , Fascism, Naz ism , Gan dhis the pre sen t and
sub ject mat ter of Poli tica l Sci enc e. These isms cast a deep· imp act on
the logies and tells us
mak es critical analysis of thes e ideo
future of the state. Political Scie nce . _
ideology is more _appropriate and why
that und er different situations, _which
s ol various
makes. the stud y of the poli tica l idea
Bes ides this, Poli tica l Sci enc e also Rou sse au, Laski,
e, Bodin, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Loc ke,
phil oso phe rs suc h as Plato, Aris totl ter of
The poli tica l idea s of thes e phil oso phers form the bed rock of sub ject mat
Blu ntsc hli etc.
bas is for the mod ern thinkers.
Poli tica l Science and provide sou rid
hat are the
re Gro ups and Inte res t Gro ups -W
6. Stu dy of Pol itica l Parties, Pre ssu tion s and wha t role
e into existence, wha t are thei r func
poli tica l parties, why do these com the con cer n of the
etc are a few que stio ns whi ch are
the se play in the pre sen t day poli tics poli tica l parties
Poli tica l Science . In the pre sen t age
; no state is free from the influ enc e of
ties has bec ome ver y imp orta nt. Lor
d Bry ce is of the
ther efor e. the stud y of Poli tica l par them . No one has
le. No free country has been without
opin ion, "Political par ties are inevitab
ts could work without the m."
sho wn how representative gov ern men
of his different
ous type of gro ups for the f1,.1lfilment
Beside poli tica l part ies, man form s vari it to take decisis;-,3
ssu re on the gov ern men t and mak e
nee ds which from time to time put pre t gro ups and thEse
wn as pres sure gro ups and inte res
in thei r favour . Suc h gro ups are kno
y of Political Scie nce .
are also the sub ject mat ter of the stud
 10 Politica l Theo ry (Sem este r-I) (P. U.)
·st~d·y'
7. of .Rig hts and Duti es:. . .- Rights are thos
e conditi9n s of soci al life which are
essential for the development of an indiv
iduaL But the rights can be enjo yed by the
only in the society and the state and these individual
must be accepted by the soci ety and reco
by the state . For the overall deve lopm ent of gnized
an individual, the prese nt day stat e tri~s t?
provide maximum rigl1t s to him . In fact,
mod ern state is recogni zed from the righ
ts which ,t
gives to its citiz ens.
Duties are also related to rights. The fact
is that the rights cann ot be enjo yed in
absence of dutie s. Because of this, it is the
said that rights and duties are co-r elat ed
two sides of the same coin . Because ~f and are the _
this, the traditional thinkers have inclu ded
of rights and duties in the scope of Polit the study
ical Science.
8. Study of the Elec tora l sys tem s-In the
present day dem ocra tic stat es, ~lections
have special significance. The elec tions
provide an opportunity to the peo ple
_gove rnm ent of their choice and to chan to elec t the
ge it if ne·ed arises. · Bes ides this , at
the time ·of ·_ 1
elections, the different- political parties
raise different issu~s as a result (?f whic
become awa re about" different problems h the people
. The people analyse these _issu es and
opinion for·a nd against the different •poli make their ·
tical parti~s, the elections aJst> prov ide
the administration and through elections legit imac y t? ...
, the ·peuµIH .:Ha able "to mal nta_ih thei r
their elected representatives and adm1nis cont rol· ove r
the hea rt and soul of_democracy. In dem
tratibn. The·reforc; ifma y not hA wro ng to
ocracy, different electo•ral met hod s are
can et"ections .
elect repres~ntatives and the Political Scie ado pted to
nce mal<es- the study of -diffe rent elec tora
and tells 'the peo ple that which electora l ·system·s ·.
l syst em is goo dari d Why . . .
9. Stud y of Con stitu tiort ~I sys tem s--E
. ... i
very country -has its own con stitu tion al
whic h is prep ared keeping -in mind the systP.m · ·
.This is the·reas on tnat the nature of the
needs, .trad itioh sand the Jutu·re 'go~ ls
o_f the cou ntry : l ,
cons titut iona rsys tem s diffe rs from .cou I
Tho ugh ther e is the. influence of the. cons ntry to coun try.
titutional systems oLo thei .coii ntr\e s on
cons titut iona l systP.m, yet it is ·not alien the Indi an _
in natu re, ·rather it is _root ed .in •the lndi
and is in cons ona nce with the .needs of the country. anfr adit ions
Political Scie nce m·a kes the :stu dy of the
diffe rent constl~utlonal systems and of .
-their natu re: · · ·
to. Stu dy of · Law....::...There is .nee d of rul~s to
regulate the life of .indi vidu als .whi le livin
in the stat e and the rules and regu latio ns g
mad e and ·enforced by the state are kno
The re is cqe rciv e pow er beh ind the laws wn as law..
ma:c:ieby the staf o:-an•d any bod y <who
viol ates -the se
. gets pun ishm ent. Eve ry state l1as hs uwr
l"governme'nt Which makes laws, enfo rces laws and :
pun ishe s thos e who _viola te-th e laws .
In democr~UG states, ther e is rule ' of law
whi ch mea ns
that the gov ernm ent runs the adm inist ratio n !lcco rdin g to. law and
ev~ry: indi vidu al how so~ ve·r ...
high he m~Y be, is resp o"ns ibleb efor e laws
and gets pun ishm ent on viola ting the law.
Science mak es. the ~tudy of the mea ning , kind s, Poli tica l ·
sour ces arid the law n1a king proc edu
r~ etc.
11. Stu dy of PolJ tical Sys tem -The mod
i ern poHtical scie ntis ts hav e mad e the
stud y
i of polit ical syst ems ·central to the stud y
i of Political Science. The y pref er to mak
i
- term poli tica l syst em iff plac e of stat e use of the
e and government. The y are of the
stat e has its own pqlitical system whic
opinionthateve~
h is muc h wider.than the constitutional sys
gov emm enta l system. Political s~stem tem . and the ·_
does not include only the constituti_ onal apg legal ._.

l
J
I )
t
) I
~
~
·
•
Politi cal Scien ce . M eanm . .
g, Defm ,tions and Scope
institutions, rather it incIudes all such forma ·
l and
.
inform al
. .
instit ution
.
11
.
s which take part 1n
\
;
i
\
·t· . ..
.~,
po l11ca 1 act1v1t1es and inti .
) . .. 11
uence 1e work1 n~1 o f th e constitutional and legal institutions. So,
1c1ary etc, forma l institution s of political system also
besides legislature . d ..
execut'iv e anc1 fu
.,~ . · ·· - . .
.....
)
:f include pressure groups , c,as te groups, religio
. . us group s political parties ' elections · violent
tion d · · r etc. In fact
incidents demonstra
' .. s an variou s efforts made to acquire and hold powe
th ary change in the scope of Political
) ~ concept of pol,~i~al system has brought a revolution
manifold .
Science and the utility of the subject has increased
l
12 · Slud y of Pow er-T he modern thinkers have made the study ot" power central to
) th n that wherever there is struggle for
e scop e of Political Science. They are of the opinio
ion, political parties and
) power, there _ is politics. Today the goal of every individual, org~nizat
th st ate etc 1s to acquire power and all are one way or the other involved in it. According to
e
r that ceas eth only with death .." Because
Hob ~es, "Life is perp etua l and restless ·desire of powe
central to the discussion among
!0 th
is reason, the c~ncept of power has always remained
thinker Ulme r "Oi all the social sciences,
diffe rent political scho_lars. According to the famous
j

of powe r as Political Science. A correct

none has been mo~e conc erne d With the concept-
nt ·world, no doubt reveal power as the
anal ysis of the politi cal writings from Aristotle td prese
politics have revolved." Famous scholar
cent ral conc ept arou nd which attempts to explain
of powe r shou ld be made central to Political
H.J. Morg enth au h~s said in 1957 ," The concept "'
Scie nce.- " ·
that without making .the study of
After reading the views written above, we call say
e will be incom plete . Today, who gets how
the conc ept of power, the study ·of PoliticalScienc
cal Science .
and how much powe r is the subject matter of Politi
well, "Poli tics is the study of influence
.,.-. 13. Stud y of Influ ence -Acc ordin g to Haro ld Lass
from othe rs without th.e use of force or
and influe ntial. " Influence means to get a thing done
t and. its use depends upon the personal
coer cion. In influe nce, there is no fear of punishmen
n . Acco rding to Robe rt .A. Dahl ," The
qual ities and the individual and personality of a perso
s in whic h one acto r induces othe r actor
mea ning of influe nce is a relationship amo ng actor
.acte d." So the study of Political Science
to act in some way they woul d not have othe rwise
nce beca use it plays an important role in
cann ot be comp leted without the study of influe
and in getti ng the things done.
getti ng votes, in taking and implementing decisions
the people get organized for
14. Study of Lead ersh ip-G ener ally it is seen that when
objective, they feel the need of leadership.
the fulfilm ent of their dem ands or any other political
ut lead ersh ip. The leaders organize the
No orga nizat ion can succ eed in its objectives witho
They mob ilize the people and prepare
peop le and mak e them awar e about their demands.
r to get their griev ance s redressed. Those
them for launc hing move men ts and agitations etc
ties. "fhey are more wise than the common
" pers ons who prov ide leade rship have special quali
beco me eligib le for providing leadership.
peop le and beca use of their special qualities, they
lation, inter est aggregation, policy ~aki ng
Such people play an impo rtant role in interest articu
the mod ern polit ical scientists have included
and decis ion mak ing etc. Because of this reason,
ce.
y the stud y of lead ersh ip in the scope of Political Scien
e scholar Davi d E~st on
15. Stud y of the Auth orita tive Alloc ation of Valu es-- Fam ous
ii
is of the opinion that "Politics is authoritative alloc
ation of values". Acco rding to David East on,
l! {_.
12 ... ···. ,· ... , , . i;
_ _ _f 'nl,t ica / Th eory (Sem ester -I) (P. ~;

values are decisions or µolicies which are mad

U.) ;
r•
e for lhe entire socie ty . He is of the opinion
that In ever y society, th ere are some pers ~ ,
ons who want to make anc:l enforce decision -~ ;.
according to their wishes and want to get max s
imum benefit out of it . But political system gets
these deci sions or policies l~nfo rced with the
use of legitimate auth ority and tries to provide
to every pers on his or her legitimate share an<i
th e Political Scinnce mak r~:; th e study ol
entire proc ess of the authoritative alloc ation the
of values etc.
· 16. Study of Aut hori ty-In the special conc
ept of Political Science, the concept ot
authority has special significance. Authority Is
the basis of all human organizations. According
to modern viewpoint, authority is legitimate
power which is accepted and respected . The
government officials make use of their legitimate
authority and give orders to their subordinates
who are boun d to obey these .. According to
famous scholar Beach, «Au thor ity is legitimat
right to dire ct or influence th_ e
e work of othe rs." Authority Is always legit
ability to give orders and to get these acce imat e and it has the
pted .
. 17. Stud y of Prob lems and Con flict s-In
ever y soci ety, the peop le have different
iriterests and the resources are limited, there
fore, it is ilatural for lhe problems, conflicts
cont.rovc mies to arise. According to Sleµ hen and
L. Wasby, "Where there ,s politics it is said
there is cont rove rsy; whore there are·Issue ··
s theie 1s polit ics. Where no controversy exist
when~ no issu es are bein g d6bated, p(Jlii s, ·
ics does not exist there." While expressing
view s Prof . Mille r has said, "Conflicts lie simil ar
at the hear t . of politics. Othe r worl d of
agre eme nt tt,ere wou ld be no room for it." univ ersa l
In other word s,· we can -say that conflicts
ever ywh ere and where there are conflicts; are
polit ics is also there.- The v~ry exis tenc e of
depe nds upo n the _ polit ics
existence of problems, controversies and
conflicts etc . or in other word s,
conf lic.t s are at the heart of politics arid are
the subject -mat ter of Political Scie nce .
.18. Stu dy of Consensus and Coo pera
tion -We sbou l9 , also keep the fact in mind
that whe re ther e is disa gree men t there is
agreement also and where ther e is conf lict
cooperam:>n also beca use w-e cannot live .in ther e is
the state of perm anen t conflict anct r.ontrove
It is not esse ntial that on ever y .political issu· rsiE::s·
e there are _ conflicts: In thes e days effo rts arc
mad a to solv e mos t of the political ·problems
through cons ensu s·; agre.eme nt and .coo pera
Now the polit ics of cons ensu s Is v,ery popu tion.
lar as it reduqes tens ion and prom oles coop
So, the stud y of co·n sens u erat ion.
_ s ai:ld cooperati:on is also inclu ded in ·the
subj ect mat ter of Political
Science. Acc ordi ng to Step hen L. Was by,
"-While deb ate and con flict , clea vag e .and
diss essi ons are frequently asso~iated with.
politics;· conc entr ation .on them to the excl
agre eme nt and cons ensu s wo u usio n of
_ ld .feave an incompl~te pictu re -of 'the polit
ical worl d." .
19. Stu dy of Conflicts :and Cpn trov ersi
es~ So man y dive rsiti es are foun d amo
ng:
the peo ple livin g in the state on the basis of their cast , religion, colo ur,
race , 1a·n gua ge,
nalu re and thei r attitu des and emotions etc.
Besi des this, in ever y soci ety there is scar
reso urce s and good s . While living in the· city ot
soci ety ljach indiv idua l wan ts to grab
reso urc~ s. and good s and all this leads
maximum
to conflicts and controversies. Acc ordi ng
viewpoint, polili<;al science makes the study to mod ern
<Jf the caus es of these conflicts and con trov
and thei r effe cts on the soci ety .and the ersi es
state. ·

j
~~
.J
'I Polit1caf Science . M._, . ·
· "'anmg • oe r·int/ions
· · ancJ Scope 13

_.)
~') ,:
~
~

!
~

:1
20. Study of Who gets Wh
modern view of Political Scien
to Prof · w·iseman and Raph ce,
individual wa 1 1O .
11 ·
.
a_t: W_hen a nd How- According to tne supporters of the
pohttcs •s the process of. the allocation
.
of resources. According
a_ ' 1n every country there 1s scarcity of resources whereas each .
n s _ establish h,s
-
contro 1 over maximum
·
resources, but because of the scarcity
t
o resources, this ca nnot ha .
~) a, . th . ppen as a resu lt of which ;:.i state of perpetual conflict continues
1n e society -and where there are con ,,.1cts poht1cs..

•0
~ - ,:~
· . •
,. ..
Lasswe~I, Po!tr,cs is primarily concerne d wirh
Prof Cnck "P0 ,.,- ·
, ,cs is some
·
who
is always there . According to Prof. Harold
gers what when and how". According to
'
son of market in .which it is fixed that who gets what, when and
.
. d ..d 1gets hts
how. It 1s not necessa ry that every ,n due share without asking for it because -
() ~ ,v, ua
what he ge~~ . depends upon the pressure put by an individua l on the society and the
a ") go~emm ent. Therefore, there is always unequal distribution of goods and. resources in ·
the
( society. .
► , ---
l J . 21 - Study of Decision Making P_rocess-P olitlcal Science is closely related to decision
~aktng _process. The peopfe present ·their demands before the political system w_ hic:h are
'") ?ven the name of _ 'inputs' by David Easton. Then lhe Political System converts these 'inputs'
..
into ·outputs' which are in the form· of decisions and policies. The decisions and policies
.. ,

made by the political system again take the form of 'inputs' and again these are converted
:J into outputs by the political system and this process continues continuously. Remember, to
.-) convert inputs into outputs depe.nds upon the capacity-resources and the pressure exerted
on the political system. Therefor·e, it is not necessary that the political system is able to
convert all the inputs into outputs. P_olitical Science makes the study of the process of
)' convertin g inputs into outputs.

-) 22. Study of the Politic~! behavio ur of an Individu al -Accord ing to famous Greek
philosop her Aristotle , man is a political being and he .performs different types of political
activities . The other thing is that there can be no politics without man, therefore, where ther~
-
) are men there is politics _also. Every individua l in one way or the other is associated with
l.
politics and ttie truth is _that like the.coils of snake, the politics has also encircled the individua
) Accordin g to D.A. Butler, "Politics is ·entire/y conc1:·~ed with the people, with the way
in
which they react to the decisions. It cannot use fullybe studied except in the light of actual
) human behaviour". So, the study of Political Science is incomplete without the study of the
-
political behaviou r of an individual.
23. Study of the Political involvem ent of Groups -There is no doubt that an individua l
·1
j

plays an i_m portant role in politics, but politics is a group activity and in it various groups
) which are also known as pressure groups and interest groups play an importan t role. -These
put
groups aggrega te the interests of the people, articulate these and to get these accepte d
,
pressure on the decision making authoriti es of the government. Before taking any decision
the governm ent also negotiat es with the concern ed groups. Some scholars include political
.
parties also in the category of pressure groups which are ce~tml to all the political activities
the ~
The political parties mobilize the people, contest elections , form governm ent, criticize
e_ tc.
govern·m erit and when need arises provide an alternati ve team to form the governm ent
Because of this, the supporte rs of the modern view have also included the study ..oi
the
political involvem ent of the groups in the scope of Political Science.

L
 . . .:,. --;4_-;;~dy of Political Culture and Poii tical Scc ialization - In me _modern vi ew of
· ,·:~· Poiitical Science, political culture c1nct political socialization have special significance. According
to Alan R. Ball, "A political culture is campused of attitudes , beliefs, emotions and values
of
society that relate to political system and to pcfitical issues ." So, all these elements in tota~ity
are given the name of political culture . When po:itical culture is transferred from one generat1o_n
to another or the people are oriented towards political te liefs and values then this process
1s
known as political socialization . According to Alan R. Ball, "A political socializa tion is the
establish ment and developm ent of altitudes and beliGfs about political system". Today,
in
order to understan_d the politics of a particular country we need to understand the political
culture and the process of political socialization of that country. Because of this, the supporters
_of the modem view have included the study of political welfare and political socializa
tion in
the scope of Political Science.
25, Study of Elite-Th e modern thinkers of Political Science are of the optnion that
whatever may· be the form of the government, the political power is always in the hands of
elite class which runs the administration and provides !eadership to the people. Accordin g to
Vilfredo Pareto, "Potiticaf -elite ·means that group of leaders Which by_ virtue_of its higher
abilities controls political power and provides leadersh ip in ruling affairs of society." The -elite
.
-class-is always smali in number and be_c_aus~ of its economi c, political and intellectu al abilities

I · it has established its supremacy in the society,: The <?Ommon people look towa'i"ds this class.
for ·1eadership. During election~ the people elect this class and whenever the p_o wer changes
. in ·the state, it passes into 'the hands· of another ente etas~. The _supporte rs bf the theory of
- elite class are of the opinion ·that even in democra cy the poweris nofinto ·the hands of
the
people or the rnaJori_ty rathedlis into the hands of elite class which is always &mall in number
and has tight control over the admipistration. The Pol.itical Science makes the study of elite
class also.
26. Study of Compara tive G~vernm ent and Pol_itics:_Th,e supp9rte rs of the modern
yiew of Political Science hav~ aJs,oinc;luded the comparati~:e $tudy of the governm ental systems
of different countries in th·e ·scope of. Political· SciencQ-: i:~e ·supporters of the tradition al view
of Political Sci_e nce have ·included ·the study _o f · tlie-g<>V:ertimental systems of develop ed
·. countries of turope in thA ~cope of ;PolitiO?! Scienc_ u
e . Sul :ilw s~1ppu~le1~ or ,e n1odern view
of_Politi<:;:)! Sc::iP.n~P. hAVP. ~l~o,inr.lude.d the sti.1dy .of the governm ental ~ys(ems of the ·aevelop ing
countries along -With the study of the ·govemmentat' systems of develope d countrie s. Along -
With they have also ihduded the study of au those formal and •informal factors~which in any
way influence the working of the· constitut ionalsys·tems, As a .result of this. the scope of the
study of Political Science has become quite vast:
. . . . . j ;
I .

LIPSON 'S VIEWA BOUT THE SCOPE .OF. . ~ .

\
~~
I

POLITI CAL SCIEN CE 'j

lI
Lipson accepts politics as an active controve rsy and he is of the view thaf where there
is controve rsy, there is politics arid ·these controve rsies are found everywh ere such as
hqmes. villages, cities, states and -at interna_
in -
tional level and as, s'uch the scope of politics_ is
very vast Lipson differentiated between society, politics, state and governm ent and regarded
.1.
 . ·f\A . .
Po litir.a l Sc ierJ ce
~ - ~ :·_. t?a nm g, - D e fini tion s ,·111cf 0.-- cop r. .. 1 !.i
- - ---. :.::
. - . : .·- -- -- -- __ ____ __
. poff
t
, 1cs o be ~1..,me th·ing wid .
~
.1,
llity
I
...
Ir
p 0 ff

•
.
I ICS includes many
.

th ere 1s po liti c s the sta

te ·
e

~
r in sco pe th r1 th "'-·".110 - Th e sta t{~ is onl y an aspect of polllics .
thi ng s wt11. h
c.
· ·
do
"
not
Ac cor din g to Lip so n • wh ere the re 1s sh te the re ·15 poh•tic
a
com
.
c
e und er th e pu rvie w of the study of

ex :11- · ·
.
s bu t
IS a 1so the n,- Wh ile ·: ~ ,lin ing lllis vi ew po int Up
·
ii is not ne ce ssa ry
the state
th at wh ere
so n ha s said th at
· \I
I

.bn ' d on - 1 ,- . We can t::31k

to ay we tal k of int ern ati 11 no th ing likf~ int<=?rnation al st;:itc .
e at IJO •tic~ bu t lt) c re '

►- is of po litic s within chi.irch r, -, or tra d e uni o n s etc

, tho ugh
sta te. -~· er~ ple s, gurrJw_ar os . r. orr<>r <1lio er
)e none c! these is a e sco pe of politic is wid
s
0
• Lip so n ha s tri ed 10 explain th at th . ·
tha n that of the st a 1e an d he ha s expta· d aII 'h . cle s given belm• ,
t.·a in me , 1s by the sch em e of cir
Ja l
¥ Soc loly
,ers
)in
I
'hat
; of
·:1 to
her
.)lite
ies
}lSS
u
1es _·
) of
he
pe of politics:
) ~er
so n ha s inc lud ed the following five .subjects in the sco
. Ile Lip
hip.
I. The coverage of citizens
) te ..
·rn 11. The functions of the sta
.
I
ns Ill. The sources· of Authority
thority and
!W
IV. The organization of Au
.
~d te and its external relations
I
V. The magnitude of the sta rding to Lipson
al Science, therefore, acco
j

!W
su bje ct ma tte r of Po litic
19 Since politics is the ce .
) the se _are als o the su bje ct matter of Political Scien dern
19 all
the me an ing an d sc op e of the Tr ad itio na l and Mo
g
,y Co nc lus ion -A fte r rea din co nc lus ion that the scope of the Politic
al Science
ce we co me to the
viewpoint of Political Scien of governments
18
to the stu dy of the sta te, government, various kinds is
cannot be confined only up inc lud e ev ery ac tiv ity , formal or informal, which
we need to
an d 'its organs etc rather of po litic al ins titu tio ns into the subject matte
r _of
cts the wo rki ng
political in nature and ...effe bje ct ma tte r of Po litical Sc ien ce has become
very
ult of this, the su
j Political Science. As a res ind ivid ua l is po litic al and he cannot escape
from
vironment aro un d
wide. Today, the en,;.e en ing an d in his da ily me he tak es part in so
many
n is a po litical be
the influence of politics. Ma stu dy of an ind ivi dual an d his political beha
viour,
e, starting wit h the
l political activities. Therefor wit h the stu dy of the wh ole mankind living
in the
ce is conc ern ed
the study of Political Scien so cia tio ns , int er na tio na l law , internation
al
tiv itie s, po liti ca l as
wo rld , the ir po liti ca l ac
 ••. ..._., . J \ ........ '-' • • , •.., .. J • <._, ' '/ \ .

_r ,.6_r___:~_a_n_isa~•-,io_n_s_,-in-.. t-e-=-~n-a-ti-o-na_l_i-ss_u_e_s_ lik_e_pc-.a-c_c_, -e-nv-i-ro_n_rn_e_n_t_

• ~ . : •• •
;_Jl_p_r_o_te-ct\011; · terr"brism, :povc r1 y'
illiteracy, racial discrimination etc.

DIFFERE NCES BElWEEN TRADITI ONAL AND

MODERN VIEW OF POLITICA L SCIENC E
Following are th e differences between th e traditional and mudern vi ew of Polit ica l
Science :
1. Traditiona l viewpoint is Normative whereas Modern viewpoint is Empirical -
The supporters of the traditional viewpoint of Political. Science laid more emphasis on the
normative study. Generally the objective of the ditterent political scientists remained on th e
formulation of such principles which would help in making the political environme nt still better.
Opposite to it, the supporters of the modern viewpoint are more empirical. They are
more concerned with actualities than with oie mere principles. In order to make the study of
any situation, they lay emphasis on the st~dy of actualities which ·take place in day to day life.
2. Traditiona lists are more concerned with · the future whereas -Moderni_sts are
more concerned with the Present~The more emphasis of the traditionali sts remaineq
focussed on
what the stute ought to b.e,whaf th~ .govemme nt ·ought to be and which rights
the citizens ought to get etc. It does· not ·mean that they were not concerned with tt,e past
and the present, the point was !hat they iaid more emphasis on the future.
Opposite to it, the supporter s of the modern viewpoint are more concerned with the
present. The modernists are more conceri";ed with _the country, political activitie~.►organizations
and the actual humari behaviour etc. ·
3. Traditiona l viewpoint is more concerned with the forma.l structures of political -
institution s whereas Modern viewpoint is more concerned with their Function s-The
. supporters of the .traditional viewpoinflai(,J more emphasis on the formal orgahizalio rn; u{
political institutions , state ~nd the gove'm mentetc which was almost uniform in all the countries.-
_Opposite to it, ttie·supporters of the modern viewpoint have laid emphasis on the actual
i
j
working of these org~n1za~ions and how·:these affect economic, social anc(r~ligio us aspect~
ofthe country's -Ufe; - . . . . .
4. Modern writers c:onsider Pontical Science· more an Art than Sf:)ence- There is
·no -doubt that the supporters of . tJoth th~ .viewpoints ·do -_ not consider •Politi~al Scien~e- as a
science like physical sciences, y~( there is one difference between thes·e two and that is the
traditional thinkers preferred fo call Political Science a science and the thi~ker~ iike Aristotle,
Fredric PoUak, Blun-tschli, Sidgwic, _Lord Bryce.,etc were the ,main suppo:rter s: ofthis view .
.Opposite to it, the supporters of the modern viewpoint prefer to ca·11 it 'art' or 'process': an
According to Herbert J. Spiro, "Politics is the proCess by which a -human communit y as small
as two-perso ns or as large as the community of mankind, c;Jeals with its problems. t,Today, the
main objective .of Poli!ical Science is to make the study of hur,,an behaviour because of_

I _which many people prefer to call it 'Art of Politics.'

 - ce . M
c-.cien - ~- c . :_ .
0, ,1;,;,..,,.,
,- '·"" •~--
. Sc ope 17
ean mg , _D efin iiio ns an d
~
.

.
5 Di ff ere nc e in res pe ct of the a
·. roa ch of Stu dy - The
su·pporters of traditional
. pp litical
VH:! Wpomt have laid em h th e use of philosophical approach to the study of Po
aS is on
Science . Because of· th~rs reason many ph·I osoph ers pref~r to call it 'Political Philosophy .'
d · . . '. king the study.
Under philosophical rneth 0 emphasi s rs lard on building hypoth esis for ma .
, .. .
. have tried to make
.
e to it, the sup po rte rs I th w of Po ltt1 cal Sc ien ce
Op po sit .
0
e modern vie
ii a 'p·u re sc ien c e, an · d f
or this they em ph a siz · d on th e adoption of scientific methods.

,.
e .
According to them 1 WI 11 help to lay down correct guidelines for the future
•t . _
•
w-
porters of the traditional vie
. -
d' . II
6. Dif fer en ce about Int er 1sc1p nary St ud y-The sup s su bje cts
, ....
J
. th
the im po rtance of the mutual relati
onships among variou
·
.
no t ac ce pte d
it,o,n f av e
ph as is on int er- dis ciplinary study.

,'. d the em
. ere ore, they: have ignore pted the ~oncept of
1I
of the mo dern viewpoint have acce
~p po sit e to it, the su pp ort ers study . They -
th
ore , the y ha ve laid em phasis on inter-disciplinary
ref ion .
· e un ity of knowledge, the mp let e stu dy of no su bject can be made in isolat
_i partial an d co
are of the opinion ·that im nology us ed
no log y Us ed -T he re is a wide gap in the termi
mi
. 1 · D,i ffe ren ce · in th_e ter 9in t and moc:1ern viewpoin
t. The supporters .of the
ion al vie wp matter an d the y
?Y t~~ su pp ?rt ers qf . the . tra dit
the stu dy of sta te ce ntr al to its subject
ma de
tradit,on_al vie wp oin t ha ve post, present an d future
of the state.
lkin g the sfu dy of the
em ph as ize d on wa t of 'Politi.cal
ers of the mo de r~ vie wp oin t ha ve mclde the concep
. · Op po sit e to it, the support em ph as is on the study of
the 'roles' . Be sid es ·
stu dy an d the .y ha ve laid tion,
Sy ste m' ce ntr al to their ts su ch as po liti ca l culture, political social1z,a
ma ny ne_w co nc ep
this, the y ha ve ind ud ed Scienc·e . .
uts an d ou tpu ts etc int o the literature of Political
, inp
po we r, infl.uence authority pe of tra dit ion al
ir Sc op e
· -T he re is a wid e dif fer en ce in the sco
8. Difference in the an d
tra dit ion al vie wp oin t, the stu dy of the sta te
Ac co rdi ng to
an d mo de rn vie wp oin t.
su bje ct of the ir study.
go ve rnm en t is the main ~ry su bje ct wh ich
ort ers · of mo de rn vie wp oin t ·ha ve included ev
Op po sit e to it the su pp liti ca l .
ng of po liti ca l ins t.itu tio ns into the sc op e of Po
lue nc e the wo rki s, de cis ion
dir ec tly or 'indirectly inf like the au tho rita tiv e allocation ·of valu.e
) lud ed the su bje cts
Sc ien ce . Th ey ha ve inc op e of Po liti ca l
ve lop me nt, po litic al mo de rni za tio n etc into the sc
of de
ma kin g pro ce ss , politics
Sc ien ce . ort ers of the tra dit ion al
the im po rta nc e of Va lue s- Th e su pp
9. Di ffe ren ce reg ard ing stu dy of
sic va lue s and they make the
ecial inipqrtance to .the · ba
vie wp oin t have given sp ne d va lue s an d ide als. Besides this, alo ng wi
th
basis of _prede ter mi
va rio us institutions on the sta te, the y als o ma ke the study of the fut ure
of
the present of the
the stu dy of the past and
the sta te. stu dy of the
ers of the mo de rn vie wp oin t want to ma ke the
Opposite to it, the supp ort be co nc ern ed
lu0 !re e an d the y are of the _opinion that il sh qu ld
ely va
- Po liti c~ , Science complet mo de rn thi nk ers want to complet
ely ex clu de the
ts. So me of the
with actualities and pure fac d wa nt to ma ke Its study co mp let ely se
cu lar an d
Political Sc ien ce an
va lue s from the scope of
im pa rti al. nces be tw ee n the tra dit ion
al
t the re are va st dit f ere
do ub t tha
Co nc lus ion -T he re is no letely se pa rat e
al Sc ien ce bu t ins pit e of thi s, we ca nn ot comp
Politic
an d modern viewpoint of
 Political I twory <0 1; 111 " · " ~ · · , • . , ., -
,o_ _J .. . ~ . . . . I id a solid f~undation
. . t and the
both these viewpoin~ . The supporters of the traditlona! viewpoint have a
on which a beautiful structure was built by the supporters of the rn?dern viewpo~~ent upon
scope was widened to a great extent. rn nutshell, both these viewpoints are depe
one another and are closely related.

j ESSA Y TYPE QUE STIO NS

1. Define-Political Science ;and write down _lts scope. (G.N.D.U. Aprl.l, 2012,13,14 )
2 . "Political Science begins and ends with the state:" (Garner) In the light of this state~ent
discuss the meaning and scope of Political Science.
3. Define the- Traditional viewpoint of Polit.lcal Science and write down its scope.
(P.U. I Sem. _2 016).
4 . Discuss Uie Modern or Contemp·o rary ·~jew of Political -Science:· _
. . . . (P .u~Apr!I, 2011, 14, I Sem. 20t5) - :
i.
I

. . . Or- . .. ·· . .. : . . . . .
i . . . . . I .
I Oe.fine -Modern or Contempor ary viewpoint . of Political -Schmce and write down the , ·
.
I
i scope of Political Science according to ·thls· .viewpoint. . . .
• • .. • • . • , I • . , • • •
. • .
5 . Distinguish between Tradition·a1 and Modern Viewpoint of Political ·Science, ..

Ciope e Cctfe
s_oys _Hostef-061-
. P.lJ, CHO -,
 ,I u '-.J t:-' ,. -- .
r) ~Ph-Jtp stat @ 50. r, :p
~; CAL
RE LA TI ON SH IP OF POLITI
) CI AL
SC IE NC E WITH OTHER SO
~)
. SC IE NC ES
. . . ..
~~) -
Man is a soc ial animal ·d soc1a,1 econom1. c, rehg1ous , potit,cal , moral, cultural etc are
. rent asp ects of h" - an p . . . ical aspect of
the diffe 11 1
IS I e. o 1ttcal Science
1s concerned only with the polit l witry other
~ -) , · . r such subjects dea
Economics, Ethics and othe
man s hfe w~en~as Sociology, r. Therefore, each subject
hfe. Eac h asp ect of man's life affects the othe
aspects . _of his r to understand one subject
~✓ ;
i
i concern ed with .ma n's life mus t be related with each 'other. In
help of the other subjects bec
orde
ause each subject is dependent
completely we hav e to ge, the nce
more understand Political Scie
-r -) I upon one another. Accordi
ng to Pro.f. Garner, "We can.no ge of allie d sciences
t: with out the kno wled \
of state phenomenon
as the Scie nce of the totality hanics without Mathematics."
~ ,-J com pre hen d Biol ogy without Chemistry c1nd Mec \
as w~ can not as we cannotseparate the
parts of a large human body and
All social sciences are like the s from one another . According \
hum an bod y, simi larly . we cannot separate social science
organs of n realizes that th_ ere are no walls
beginner in any social study soo rtantly to the
Ii
te impo
. ()
;- ~ to Jac obs on &-Lipm an, 'The
between scie nce s and even
the ·most minute research in one_
para
may
tive
cont
stuo
ribu
y of diffe rent disciplines, t
a·dvancement ·of all." In thes
e days, in order t~ make com ign univ ersities.
y of the fore
have been established _in man
inter-disciplinary__-c;fepartments
) l Science with other _social
discuss the relation of Politica
In the follo win g pages, we
sciences :-
---) I. P,O LIT ICA L SClENCE- AN
D HIS TO RY
, (.) t and it _inciudes his political
of the activities:.of .rnan in pas natural.
History is the bala nce sheet tical Science and History is
ose r,el~tionst}ip_between Poli has no fruit, Political
actiyities also. "fhe refo re, cl. out Poli tica l Scie nce
has said, "History with and
. (_ In· this regard Prof. _S~ ley
t -_), said, "His tory is pas t Politics
His tory h45 no roo t." Fteeman ·has -~lso has said , "Po litical
Spiehce _with.ou( view ·Lor d Bry ce
While. supporting this point of It has drawn I
Politics _is pre sen t-Hi stor y." pres ent of Hist ory and Politics.
I / een the pas t and
' · ·1 Scie nce stan ds mid way betw his view s about the
le express ing
it has to apply it.to othe r:" Whi them and one
its mat eria l from the one and , "Se para te
I~ -) History, Bur ges has said
close rela_ tions of \Political Science with
a se. n
bec ome s crip ple if not _ corp SCIENCE
; ). RY TO POLITICAL
CO NT RIB UT ION OF HIS TO
belo w: _
to Political Science is given
t ._) The cont"ribution of History tical Science
l Sci enc e-A stud ent of Poli
1. His tory p_ r ovi des material for Pol itica his con clus ions for t~e
he dra ws
History and on the basis of that ory. This way
t .) ;
gets his su_bject ma tter from omes the part of hist
event take s place today, it bec poli tica l science
future. Wh iche ver poli tica l -hel p of hist ory,
is a stor e hou se for all the political events. With the dra wn by it
••
hist ory do so, then th~ results
) to und erst and var ious events and in case it does not
tries
will ~e spe cula tive only . i ..
• 19

L._ OH ~ ·n o
.-1- -1 ais o H s;' og _ .,
0 e~ ~~1 .r: 0
"· - - "- ·;
~ C, ......... ~

,.,. ,. 20 .. . 1'01,rw:11111eory( ~emes1er-1J(t'.U.)
2. Roots of
instilutions are the Political n
In 1 f -
. s _u rons ar~ .rn History--'We ·
result know it qnite well that different.
are also the result of h~tonc-.al evo_lution. Slm1lnrly th e state and other political inslilutlons
r
present form we n ° 1 hiSloncal evolution and in _order to understand
the nature of their
understand ro eed to take t~e h~I~ of history. Without taking the help of history we cannot
P perly about their ongIn, development and changing nature.
f p ~--Hi st0 ,:V is the _laboratory for Political Systems- · History is also known as laboratory
~ - 0 iltcal Science. _ History is the sum total of the lailu1 es and successes of \he man and
b rs becomes a guide for the present clay politicians . Mier leaming a lesson from it he
ecomes watchfu~ for tomorr~ and does not repeat these mistakes. While learnl~g a
I'I
1ess~n fr~m the history_of Indra, we declared India to be a secular state. Since India is a
mullt-rellgtous state, to impose any particular religion over the people will not be proper.
4. His~ory ~xplal_~s the changes In Political Systems-In every stale, changes do
take place In the_rr poiltrcal systems and history explains \he factors responsible for these
chang~s from which a polit~al scientist learns lesson. A political scientist learns .from history
\hat why the governments hke aristocracy, monarchy and dictatorship fell and how democracy
became popular and repla_ c ed these governments. Earlier the scope of state was limited
and h_ow ii has increased now etc. · .
CONTRIBUTION OF POLITICAL SCIENCE TO HISTORY
Following is the contnbution of Political Science to History-
1; Today's politics is t,istory of Tomorrow-History gets its subject matter from
the present politics because the political events of today become the history of tomorrow. tn
order _to understand the history of the freedom movement of India, we neeq to took at the
history of Indian National Congress and various _move_ments launched by it from time to time
as a result of which the British Government had to pass various Acts . History gets all· such
-, material from Political Science, therefore, it is said that today's politics is tomorrow's history.
2. Political events change the course of History-Most of the politlcal ·events changti
the course of history, as the Glorious _Revolution of 1688 in England changed the nature of
monarchy and limited monarchy was established in place of absolute. Jalianwala Bagh tragedy
of 1919 mode Mahatma Gandhi a non-co-operater and Russian.revolution.of 1917 changed,·
the course of Russian history and so on. ·· ·
DIFFERENCE BE1WEEN POLITICAL SCIENCE
AND HISTORY
Though History and Political Science are closely related to each other, still we find the
following differences between the tw{,". .· . ·
1. Differ~nce in their Scop?This way we can say that there are· wide differences
between the scope of Hil>tory and f-oiitical Science am.! the scope of history ii;; much wider
than the scope of political science. History deals with every aspect of huma~ life, Whet~er
economic, social, cultural or political, whereas Political Science is concerned with the polltrcal
life only.
'G'
) .
~
\ Rela/ionsllip of Political Science willl... 21
.)
2· His_
f ~
t ory deals with past whereas Politkal Scie;·.ce deals with past pr~sent and
~u_tur- .His\ory is concerned with \he pa s\ only ar.d only \he stories ol \he pas; are explained
in 1'- Willi the study ot History we come \o know atou\ the :-,a\ure ol \he ~\ale in \he pas\ and
which factors played role in its development. tn cGmparist:1 to ii, v. hile mz,king pa5\ i\s basis.
) Pohltcal Science makes \he study ot \he present ;:md draws conc\Jsion !or the lu:ure.
. 3. Difference in the method of Study-The study ot \he His\ory is more explanatory
·: as it deals with \he mere interpretation ot various events. History is no\ concerned with what
and why . In comparison lo it \he method of study ot Poli\;cal Science is more analytical as ii
.) analyzes various tacts and even\!' . Whenever any changt takes place in the Political System
of a particular country, \hen the Political Science tries lo :,nd·oul the reasons responsible tor
this change and its effects on political system.
4. Difference in Ends-There is di:lerence in the e:sds of Political Science and History
also. History .e xplains only the even_ts of past and doe s no\ draw any conclusion tor the
~-
future. History only \ells that how the stale was in \he pa~\ and how -it is today. In comparison
lo it the study ot Political Science is also concerned w:th the lulure ot the stale_. II is the
,)
philosophical as·pec\ of \he· state whereas History has no philosophical _aspect
Conclusion-On \he basis of the above given discussion we come lo \he conclusion
\hat \hough there is•ctose relationship beween both the subjects, still both are independen!
also. While· supporting this viewpoint Prof. Barker had said, "History and Political Science ·
march together for all the length of their frontiers but :hey are separate and independent
studies." ·
11. POLITICAL SCIENCE AND ECONOMICS
There is close relationship between Economics and Political Science. In the earlier limes
Economics was considered a part of Political Science and it was called 'Political Economy'• 11
was only in 18\h century that Adam Smith made ecor,omics as an independent sub1e_c1.
Economics is concerned with the production of wealth, v;ith its exchange system, distnbu\ton
and consumption e\c. .
While · being an independent subject both are very close lo each other. According· lo
Lipson, " Welfare stale and planning have brought s.bout a • reapproachm enl between
Economics and Political Science to the mutual benefits of both.
Meaning of Economics _.
Economics is concerned with \he production, C::slribution and ulthly etc ot wealth .
According to tamous economist Marshall, "Economics is on one s'.~e a study of wealth and
on the other and more important side. a part of the study of man. _
According lo Robinson , "Economics is the science which studies huma~. behaviour as
a· relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses. . . _
In brief, we can say Iha\ economics is concerned wit~ the e_conom1c acltv1t1es ot an
individual · such as production, economic exchange, tr~de , dtsl.ibut,on etc.
CONTRIBUTION OF POLITlCAL SClCNCE TO ECONOMlCS
Following is _the contribution of Political Science lo Econom_
i cs- . .
_ For Economic progress, Political Stability _is Esser.t1at-ln the countries having
1
political unslabilily, the pac e ol economic progress ,s very slow . For economic progress .
 I
II'
Political 11,c,o,y (~c111c,:,1er-l} (P.U./
l1elalions hip ol Politica l Science ~ilh... . i:i-
politicai sla.biiity is esseniiai and European countries a.re ·the example of it. Political Scienc"
lays down principles which are es: .:ntial to provide political stablllty. •. ; \he o~\~ome o1 Economic Con_di\ions-1 ~~/~:~:1
3. _Poli~ical . ideologies ar_
i ideologies lrke liberalism, Marxism, S°<:1ahsm, _Cotornahsm, tmpenahsm etc_a~:m a~d as a
2. State formulates Economic Policies-Economic policies are made to regulate the
economic system of the country such as taxation policy. impor1 and expor1 policy, bank policy. ',.} of economic conditions ol a particular \lme. llberahsm_gave birth 10 cap~~ Socialism elc
industrial policy, ag ricullural policy Pie . All these economic policies are made by the stale. result ot the exploitation made by \he cap,lahsls Marxism. Commun::mb~rth Imperialism
came into existence. Similarly . the indus\nally developed na1,ons ga 10
3. State e nforces Economic Policies-The state not only makes economic policies, and Colonialism to sell their goods in under-developed counlnes. .
~thi:ir it enforces these also. The ~late has supreme coercive power to get its will enforced
4. .Econo~ic System Influences the policies ot the Government-The ec:_~m~c.
_jmd _in case any organization of an individual does not obey the will of the state , he can be 1
pu(1i~_ed. by the state. Therefore , every individual living in the state is bound to _obey the system in a state also influences· the policies 01 th e governm~n\. F9 r ,::~~~:e~f :conomic
0
policies of the state. there is _~apitallstic economic order beca_use 0~::~h~: ~: :i:;~~~-economic order as a
· 4. Econ~mic System is laid down by the State-Today there are different types of compelttron and tree trade . Contrary to rt, m . . Ii ited 10 a great extent.
economic systems in the world such as Capitalistic Economy, Socialistic Economy, Mixed result of which the right to property of the people 15 quite rn d y democracy
Economy etc. _The state decides which economic system is to be adopted and it is the subject . . • t f th uccess ot Oemocracy-1 0 a ··
5. Economic pros_p erl\y 1s muS or_ es rtd Bui for the success of democracy ,
matter of the Political Science.
5 . Political Solutions of Economic Problems-Today there are political solutions of f
! is the _mos\ popul_ ar _lorm of governme~I m 111:;: ed people take active par1. in.the poht1cal
economic prosperrty 1s a mus\. E,conomically de P d mocracy . The poor people are
almost all the economic problems ~uch as the labour disputes, increase In wages and salaries, j activities and ii is essential condition tor the success
O1
~ and \hey do no\ lake interesl
betterment of service conditions . increase of prices, unemployment, lock-outs etc. All such . ~ . more concerned about \he lultilmenl ol their economic nee .
. disputes are solved through political processes which is the subject .matter of Political Science. · -~ I in political activities. _ he origin ot the state-We kn_ow ii
!.
I 6. Economic activities are responsibl~ for n~ many !actors have co_nlributed in th e
6. State makes mies about Consumption and Distribution-In the matter of ._ ,
consumption. the stale ensures thal every individual livirig in the state geis sufficient to fulfil J! quile ·well that the state is the result of evolution a . artare When \he peopte· adopted
his basic _needs and he does no t feel any sort of hardship. The state can regulate the i development ol the state and one of these is economicp:rticula.r portion ol land as a result
consumption of essential commodities . On the basis of the princlple of demand and s·upply, i the prolession ol agriculture, they settled i::n ;~1~:ewere made to regulate economic , and
the stale makes rules about the distribution of goods and maintains a proper balance between ,
1
i ol this economic wartare started among I -~e into existence to entorce lhese rules . . .
demand and supply. ! t give and lake and _state and gove~nment ca ome to the conclusion that Economics
7. State r-egulates Production-The state regulates production also. The state ensures
that goods are produced according to their need. In case the production is less than the
'·
•.
i On \he -basis ol the views _wntten above, we c
j _,_
also inlluences the Political Science. .
d9mand then the col'l~itiori · ·o,
:,corcity will prevail and price of the goods will increase. ~ut ~ i
in ·c ase the production is more than the demand the prices will come down. So, the state ! DIFFER
ENCES BETWEEN. POLITICAL SCIENCE
AND ECONOMICS .
ensures proper balance between demand and production. \ ·
In brief, we can say that in the present age, economic system is regulated by·the· state i . .
In spite ol being close relalionsh1~ betwee
n the two . we find the following d1fl er_ences
. .
and no political activity can be done against the wishes of the state. J
between Political Science and Econormcs- .. S . nee is the scien~e of the stale and
CONTRJBUTION OF ECONOMICS TO POLITICAL SCIEN~E
J .. . b" t Matter-Polrt1cal cie S • e is the study
~ . 1. Difference in t~e,r Su I~~ to modem political scien\isls, PoliUcal ~en\rt in polilicai
Economics helps Political Science in the following ways- ~ ~ government. Besides t~1s, _accor tn;_ll format and intormal groups which ta ~ ~nd makes the .
1. Economic Condition influences the PO:litical Condition of Man-Karl Marx was li
l
II ol political system w~1ch t~\u~:onomics primarily is the science of ~ -e ~tldistribution etc .
a staunch advocate of this idea and according to him, "It is not t~e consc(ousnes~ of m~n activities. In companson o i_• ctivities such as production , consump io . . ·cs and
which de/ermines the ma(erinl conditions of life but it is t/Je mater,a.f con~1_t,ons oty~ wh,c/1
determine their consciousness." A poor man -remains passive towards pohtrcal actrv!t1es and
i-~
ii. ·_ study ol all types ol econ~m1c a d of Study-'-There is dilference _b etween E.c(t:: statics
2 . Oiff_
e rence in ~~~~i~;:~:od of study. Economics~ primanl~ :~~c:~:ct results can
he does not take active part in these. i J Polit\-:<11Science abou I ted with the use ot scien\lhc method t political behavioui
2 Economic inequalities give birth to Revolutions-The economic inequ8:1ilies _found and tacts which can\ ~~ ;~~t~:at Science is concerned ~ith pol~ict ev::;•lor their stud~ .
1
in the ·society give birth to dissatisfaction amorig the people which gradually 9 1~\birth ~ . be drawn. Contrary o' • d ·ts kinds etc and philosophical met o IS . . ce as it is

IJ
revolutions . Th e basic reason rP.:c,ponsible for French Revolutior:i , Russian Revo u io n an 1 government an 1 • • lly a physical sc1en
o men, . e regarding Nature-Economics is bas1~~duction and distribution etc.
Chinese Revolution v,as economic discontentment among the people.. ·' 3. 01tterenc . d r1<.e w e:alth , property . P
concerned with physical goo s I
I I

f\'>111,:.~I T/100/)' (Semes /cr·/) (P.UJ 25

Relationship of Politica l Science wilh ... ...... .
Opposite· lo it, Political Science is not a physical science because il is concerned with
human behaviour. political values and beliefs. sta!e and l?s clements etc which have no CONTRIBUTION OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
delnle form. Political Science Is a normative science and lays down the structure of what TO SOCIOLOGY
the slate ought to be. Following is \he con\ribulion ol Poli\ical Science l o Sociology- . . l S . nee
. 1 gel s lrom Poh\tca cie
4. Production made In Economics generally comes true, but not in Political Science-
1. Provides knowledge about the State-Soc~o ~;ywhal the s\ale is, what is \he
We ha,-e read earlier that Economics is concerned with figures and il is easy lo draw correct
concusion by co8ecting figures and their evaluation. By collecting stalislics, the econcrnists can
knowledge about all the subjects related l? s~:~es s:i\he stale and what are \~e ~u\ual
organization of the stale , what are the obIecl d. to Pro1 . Garner , soc,ology
tel abolt lhe amual production of a particular good. Coolrary to it, Political Science is concerned
relations between an individual and \he Slale etc. Accor dmg the organization and activities
wlh Ile political behaviour and the polili::al activities ol man which keep on changing wfth the
derives from Political Science, knowledge of th e tacts regar rng
passage cl time and situations, and therelore . it is difficult to make production.
of the ·s1ale." social evils which are found in\he society
Conclusion-In spite of the differences between the two, both Economics and Polltlcal 1h
2. State ends social Evils-Stale ends all e touchabili\y etc and this way
Science are closely related becaus_e:-
such as evil ol sali, evil ol human sacrilice , dowry ~~s~ u~iely. In India : the evils .like
1. Both are directly or indirectly concerned with man. suitable for healthy aabolished by laws. and the people have
tries to build an environment
II. Both want to create proper conditions lor the development of man. untouchabilily, child marriage, sali etc have been
Ill. Both are concemed with the past, present and iuture. been liberated lrom these ag~ old evils .. . -In every stale, \here are. many ty.pes ol
IV. The method of study ol both is analytical. 3 Stale regulates Social Organ1za1tons . .. such organizat10ns and tn case
01
social ~rganizalions and \he stale reg.u~ates the ac~v1:~ pul limitation on such organizations.
Apart from alt this, for the economic progress of every slate, stable and efficient polltlcal .
system is needed and this can be possible only in a healthy and stable economic system. any organization indulges in wrong ac\tv11tes. \~es: e ris Ginsburg, August Comte , Lester
Because of \his reason, famous soc1?log1stshke or • .
Wl1liam Esslflnger has rightly said, 'The integration of Economics and Politics must be
Ward etc have shown keen interest in \he sla~e . ocial being only rather h e is po?tical
taught in course and lower classes. "While realizing the closeness between both the subjects,
4 State influences Social Lile-Man is not. s ol social and political ac\tv1\1es
the Cambridge Round Table Conference organized by UNESCO in 1952 recommended that
in the course of swely, Political Science and Economics should he. taught together. being ~lso and while living in \he society he does va;•~~:
and ·the government ol the stale and th~ laws o
\~ta~: regulate the soci~I life ot a.n
do any such activity which ,s no\ in
In the end, we can conclude that both the disciplines (Economics and Political Science)
. individual. The state does not allow an md1v1dualc:~1y. And it an individual perlorms an act
co-operate with each other and yet maintain their autonomies.
consonance lo \he interests of \he stale and th~ ~:en\
W. POUTIC'AI. SOENCE AND SOCIOLOGY against the interests ot the slate, he gels purns O~IOLOGY TO
· CONTRIBUTION OF S
. What is Sociology?
POLITICAL SCIENCE ·at instinct ol man has
Sociology is the science of society and since society is the oldest institution, therefore, . • 1being also and soc1 t
Sociology can be considered 'Mother Science' of all social sciertces. In Sociology, we make Man is no\ only a political being, he is a soc,a d I0 know all this, Political Science has o
. the sludy of the subjects like origin, evolution, organization, objectives and nature etc of the
played an import~nl ro:~ ~~i:;0~r~~i~li~~t~::t:i:;ing s ~s righ~\::i~~~~;:a:t:~ ;:1,
society. Though Sociology"is the oldest science, yet as an independent &Ubjcc:t it was developed.
by August Comte, a French scholar in 1839 and today it holds special place among social depend on ;o~~v:g~.ot /earn! the first principles of Socr~,1~: of Motion .• Following is the
sciences. Aooordirig to Maciver, "Sodcty is web of wciul relalio11sfliJ1' and Sociology Is the of state w oamics to men whO have not learnt Newtons
subject which deals with the study of society. According lo Prof. Gilchrist, "Sociology is Thermo dyn . rr I Science :- • h

science of society.·
Mutual relations between Sociology and Political Science-In Sociology, we make
contribution of Sociology to Po i ,ca
1 State has developed out of Society- ~::ik
S . t is the oldest organiza\lon and I e
philosophers made no distinction
slate has developed out ot s?ci~t~hTh~o~;c;~n:now about the development and the nature
the study of the entire social life of an individual which includes all social, €COflomic, religious,
betwee·n the state and the society . ere end .on Sociology.
culturaf ·and political aspects of his life. And since Political Science is concerned w1~ ..the . . ~I Science-Sociology provides useful
ol the stale, Political Science has lo ~ep
political aspect of man's life, therefore , close rela tionship between Sociology and Pohtical
Science are natural. Prof. Catlin has said, "Po/ilical Science and Sociology are inseparable 2. Sociology provides matenal to i;:;:~n political thinkers have tak en many ne;I
0
and•in fact these are two sides of the same picture.· material to Po~\::' p~~i\~;;t s:~i:l\~!ii~~~:olitical culture_t~ ;~~:ss~\~~~ ; !s a;e;o::~ore
concepts sue p rr cal Science h as become much w1 e
which \he scope ot o 11
tac tual .
 2ti
f'ollt,cal Theo<y(Scm.."5/U -l)(I' LI J
Z7
.1
.· . ,
I
political con<J,tions do Relations hip of P o1,r,ca1 Sc,e nce w 11h ... ..
·· 3. Social conditions influence Political Organizatio ns~ The
environment and social environment Pof~jcal ~ ; ,
not wor1c in a vacuu-n. rather these work in a social 5. Oitterence in Approach-S ociology is e·,.p1ar,a10ry :-.iiby.,<:\ ,,,t,ereas . '
the wori<ing o1 political organizalions is tar :.no ~ elopment of soci<;~f
inlluences their worl<ing and nature. For example. is normahve subiect. Sociolog'{ .,,pl;:iins in detail aboul t~ <fl,jn
bener in developed societies than in IK>derdeveloped societies
. oc93n\oiti<)n ~nd ~c:flv'r.~~ o1 ~l~\ir;a:I
wh e reas. Politic81Sc1~nc ~ 1s n r:,t only c:oncerneQ •mth th'!
customs are an important institutions rather ,t c,intemplat'!S about their future also
4 . Social customs influence the laws of the State-Social
. Therelore, wh,le making laws. keeps in mind th e social actions whe_ reas ?oli tical
source of the laws ol th e state 6. Sociology deals with conscious and unconscious
customs ol the society become
customs. The laws which are in accordance to the prevalent Science deals wilh conscious actions Alone-Ther e is also difference
bet,,,,;en Sociology
toe -their enforcement The laws
more popular and the state needs lo .use rTWlimum force and Political Science that Sociology is concerned with bolh conscious
a nd unconscious
not become popular.

•I
to the customs of the society, do with the COf\SciOUS activities
which are not in accordance activities ol an individual whereas Political Science is c0<1Cemed
age. everyday some
5. It helps. to unden.tand Porttical _Ideologies -In the present of an individual. 10
the social, economic
new ideologies keep on emerging and fNefY ideology is the product ol Conclusion -lhOugh \here are diHerences be\ween the two.
yet it is impossible
understand any particular ideology,
and political conditions of that time. Therefore, in order to separate one .from the other because:-
the social. economic and political conditions of ·that time and in it we
we need to ISlderstand
cannot igno<e the role ol Sociology. !. 80th deal with man;
11. It is ditticult to separate the political aspect _lrom the social
aspect:
DIFFEREN CE BETWEEN POLITICA L SCIENCE
AND SOCIOLO GY Ill . State is part ol society and ;ociety is part ol state:
th
and e Slale.
Following are the oifferances between Political.. Science and
Sociology- IV . It is essenliat for individual to be \he member of both , society
belween the subject j
1. Difference in their Subject Matter-~ ~ are wide differences In this connection white expressing his views. Engels has said. "The
ultimat~ ~~~;i
that Sociology is .the ~ience i.,:: m,n:15 r:;:;~~~ ar.:i:-0 :xchange.
matter of Political Science and Sociology. We have read earlier and the mutual social changes and pofilical revolutions ar~ to be sought not in the O
organization , functions riod con~med.•
of the .society and it deals with the origin. nature of insight into eternal lruth and Justice but 111 changes in !he mode
P_.
to it Political Science is the J _ .
relations between the indMdual and the society. In comparison They are to be sought not in the philOS-OfJhY but in the econC(TllCS
of tne pe
functions and.thn rnlations between ,
~ of the ~IP. ,mo it d<>A,i,; with th<> origin, nature,
individual and the state.
1 Gamer has rightly said , ''The political scientist. therefore. aught o
t_ b::;::r:~: ~i~::r
e;~:n;hiloso pher. • Hence,
of the society ·and sociely \ a sociologist and vice-versa .· Wilson sa~s, " It is often diffrcu~:,~:;
2. Difference in their Origin-Sn: :e Sociology is the science writer should be considered as a socrologrst, a polilrcal 10
t
01h
the oldest subject. Because
is the oldest institution, therefore, Sociology can be considered both Political Science and Sociology are complemen\ar/ each er -
science.' In comparison to it, the
of this reason many thinkers give ro it lhe title of 'mother

~ E ~ S T I O N S .~
amon.g men: As e result of lhe
state is lhe result of the growth of political consciousn ess
formed state In the lonn of political organization
growth of political consciousn ess , the people
of the state.
and PoHtical Science came into existence to make the study
SQ(..ioluyy ~ much wider _II ,an
3. Dirreren~ in their Scope-The :;copt! ul U1e study ul _ _ . 1 -
wilh ·":conomics and History.
of organized and unorga~1zed, (P .U. April, 2010)
the scope of Political Science. Sociology makes the study 1. Define Political Science and discuss its re ations ;.::
is concerned only with the
legal and illegal human oganizations, whereas Political Science
study of politically organized associations . Or en Poh\1cal Science and Econom1cs
According to Garner, ·Political Scienc1:t is ccncemed
only ~ -one f~rm of human "There is the retabonship cl na1t and flesh betwe
. ~ol1f1cal ~nee assumes .
association : the state, Sociology deals with all forms of association Do you agree with this viewpoint ? Give arguments.
does how p rtical Science and History .
to start with thatman is a pofrtical being, it does not attempt to expfa,n as sociology (P.U. April , 2011, I Sem. 15, 16)
. 2 . Discuss mutual relations between o,
__
and why he became political.·
r,f Sociology Not-P~ht1c al Or
Study of Political Science is more Legalistic whereas (G.N .O.U . April, 2008)
4 life and pa~s more_ attenbon to
Scien~ is more concerned with the legal aspect of man's Explain the relation.s between Political Science and History .
to 11, Soc1olo~
or izalions which are legal and make use of power. In comparison Or
r. ·1a,.,.~, ·-'-"ch are based on morolity, customs, convcnlion.,, . - . h \low and baseless." Discuss. (P .U . April, 2008)
those gan .
is con<'.-emed with alf lyµc:; u re uvo ,.., vm1 "Political Science w1thoul History ,s o Or
power and law 1:,tc. ,
 t . ·"a:. •
I

.,·--•~::.:..:~-2&:,,f',--I' 1 i< '· :.. -- . ·•.· Political Theo,y,(Ser!}ester--1) (P..U.j .. :tt

:ff.
fl
iJ "History without Political Science has no fruit, Poiitical Science without History has no : . r-
root. ~(Seeley) Explain this statement. ·
?·
3. Discuss the relatlons of Potitical Science with Sociology.
(G.N.O.U. April, 2007), (P.U. April, 2005, 06)
Or
Explain the mutual relations between Political Science and Sociology. Write down their
differences also. (P .U. April, 2009, 14)
4 "Potitical Science cannot live in isolation." Keeping this statement in mind, write down ~~
~
its relations with other social sciences .
Or
"Political Science is ultimately related with all those sciences which deal with men in an
f organized Society." Explain this stat~ment. ·
s. What '•is the relationship of Political Science with History and Sociology? Explain.
. ' . . (P.U. April, 2005, 12, 13)

**.***
~