INTRODUCTION:

The Concept of Politics and

Governance
What is Politics?
Etymologically, the term Politics emanates from the Greek word
Politika meaning the “affairs of the cities”. During the Middle Ages, the
word comes from the French politique and Latin politicus, meaning
relating to citizens, civic, or belonging to a state. It is basically the study or
practice of the distribution of power and resources within a given
community.
 Formal
Kinds of Semi-formal
Politics Informal
  It pertains to the structured and defined

Formal operation of a constitutional framework,

institutions, and methods. Public policy
Politics falls on this category.
  It includes neighborhood
Semi-formal associations and student

Politics governments where political party

politics exists.
  It is also known as everyday politics
which affects everyday lives of man like
Informal how the household or office is managed
Politics and how one person impacts one another.
  Political science is a field of
What is discipline that is under the umbrella
Political organization of social science, the
Science? profession of social actions.
  The power of performing certain actions especially acquired by
experience, study and observation is art. Art is a selective re-
creation of reality according to a person’s metaphysical value –
judgement. It concretizes man’s fundamental view of himself

Politics, as and of his existence. Thus, political art means the power to
perform selective re- creation of reality inspired by experience,

an art study, and observation. Political art stylizes man’s

consciousness to suit a person’s objectives. It is art that makes
one truly unique, distinct from the multitude, and what others
cannot be.
  Science is a set of rules and methods for
investigating reality logically and

Politics, as a systematically. Political science is

therefore a science to the extent that it
science observes the cardinal rules of scientific
logic.
 Traditional
Approaches in Scientific
General Theory
the study of Systems Approach
Politics Structural-Functional
Political Economy
 Traditional/Historical Approach
Most political scientist make some use of history, but
traditionalists concentrate almost exclusively on this area,
emphasizing chronology and the historical development of
government structures and institutions.
 Scientific/Behaviorist Approach
Behaviorists are concerned mostly with empirical theory which deals
with the observable world, rather than normative theory which involves
value judgements. The scientific approach of behavioralists brough a new,
technical vocabulary to the study of politics, a vocabulary which must be
learned to understand much of contemporary political science.
 General Approach Theory
This approach focusses on identifying all the critical structures and
processes of society, explain their interrelationships with politics, and
predict a wide array of governmental outcomes. Politics is not totally
predictable because, since human behavior is involved, there can be no
direct cause-and-effect relationship among all variables.
 Systems Approach
The essence of systems theory is that the politics of a country can be
predicted by the interaction between the social environment and an abstract
political system which processes or converts demands and supports into
outputs, producing an overall stability of homeostasis.
 Structural-Functional Approach
The thrust of this approach is that it specifies the
activities of a viable political system and explains how
these functions must be performed to maintain the stability
of the political system.
 Political Economy Approach
Politics and economics are never entirely separate phenomena.
Economics involves conflict over scarce resources, while politics
generally involves decisions about who will pay and who will benefit
from the production and distribution of products and services.
 Political Institutions
Components of Political Ideologies
Political Parties
Politics
Political Issues
 These comprise the state, government,
agencies, organizations like party-list groups
Political and civil societies, governmental
Institutions departments, political systems, and the
functions of the political beings or
individual within the institution.
 These refer to the set of beliefs and
doctrines that serve as the guide in the
Political political, economic, and social action of a
Ideologies state. Foremost examples are idealism,
realism, rationalism, and extremism.
 There are groups and agglomeration of
certain individuals who aspire to occupy
Political Parties public office. This varies from one
government to another as its structure,
memberships, and political views.
 These are governmental and societal
controversies debated over time inclusive of
Political Issues topics such as abortion, to taxation, and
government spending, foreign policy, and
trade.
 1. Participation
Core 2. Rule of the law
3. Transparency
Characteristics of 4. Responsiveness
Good 5. Consensus orientation
6. Equity
Governance 7. Effectiveness and Efficiency
8. Accountability
9. Strategic vision
Participation
Rule of the law
Transparency
Responsiveness
Consensus Orientation
Equity
Effectiveness and Efficiency
Accountability
Strategic Vision
END OF MODULE 1