Lesson 1

POLITICS AND
GOVERNANCE; An
Introduction

- ARMAE R. AGUSEN, BAPOS

 WHAT POLITICAL SCIENCE IS:
Political science centers on the
systematic study of political and
government institutions. In this field
of knowledge, the principles,
processes and structures of political
and government institutions are given
 WHAT POLITICS IS:
“Politics” according to the Greek philosopher
Aristotle was politike, the short term of politike
episteme, or political science. This pertained to a
practical science concerned with the noble action
of happiness of the citizens. The adjective
“political” also traces its roots to the Greeks. It
comes from politikos, which means of, or
pertaining to, the polis or city state. (Miller, 2012)
 ORIGIN OF POLITICS:
The term `politics‟, is derived from the
Greek word `Polis‟, which means the city
state and the word science comes from the
Latin word, "scire," meaning "to know.
According to Greek Philosophers, Politics
was a subject which dealt with all the
activities and affairs of the city state.
 Origin of Politics:
 Polis – City state
Polites – Citizens
 Politikos – Government Officials
 What Politics is:
Their City States were known as
`Polis‟. City state was an all inclusive
term, as the ancient Greeks made no
distinction between the state and the
Government on one hand, and State
and Society on the other.
Man is a social animal. He cannot live in isolation,
because he is not self-sufficient and the natural instinct
to survive compels him to live a collective life.
According to Aristotle, this collective life necessitates a
political mechanism of rules, regulations and leadership.
An organized society needs some system to make and
enforce rules for orderly behaviour in society. This led to
the evolution of a political system with elaborate
governmental institutions & procedures in each society.
Therefore, man is also a political animal. Political
science is one of the oldest subjects of study of this
political life of man.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Politics is a set of activities on how groups of
people decide.

If there are group of people, then there is

politics.
Difference between:

Governance,
Government and
Administration
 GOVERNANCE
Governance is the process of making
and enforcing decisions within an
organization or society. It is the process of
interactions through the laws, social
norms, power or language as structured in
communication of an organized society
over a social system.
 GOVERNMENT
A government is the system or
group of people governing an
organized community, generally a
state. In the case of its broad
associative definition, government
normally consists of legislature,
 ADMINISTRATION
The term administration, as used
in the context of government, differs
according to the jurisdiction under
which it operates. In general terms,
administration can be described as a
decision making body.
WHAT POLITICAL SCIENCE IS?
Political science is the study of politics and
power from domestic, international, and
comparative perspectives. It entails
understanding political ideas, ideologies,
institutions, policies, processes, and
behavior, as well as groups, classes,
government, diplomacy, law, strategy, and
war.
HOW TO STUDY POLITICS
Politics can be studies through;
 Exercise of power by local political
leaders and the effectiveness of
governmental institutions and official
action.
Through the prism of everyday life.
HOW TO STUDY POLITICS
Politics is deeply engraved in Filipino
Culture, and it is manifested everywhere;
This is not to say that politics is evil; on the
contrary, it can be used for the greater good
of the greater number. Otherwise stated,
politics can be used as a tool to advance
public welfare and national development.
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND OTHER
DISCIPLINES
◦We can appreciate political science better
if we analyze its relationship to history,
economics, sociology, anthropology,
psychology, geography, or law, disciplines
which have preoccupied much of
intellectual thought in this century.
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND
HISTORY
Political science is closely related to the history.
The word “history” came from the Greek word
historia, which means the investigation or
inquiry. This etymology gives an idea on how
the past is studied. Relying on an investigate
work, a historian can give a vivid account of the
political history of one country, nation,
community, or group of people.
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND
HISTORY

This chronicle could be used by a political

scientist to interpret political events that
happened in the past, to understand the
present and even possibly to anticipate
future political conditions.
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND
ECONOMICS
Economy traces its origin to the Greek word
oikonomos, which means “household
management” a concept associated with the
individual and family, later, the concept of
household management transformed into
“political economy” a recognition that the
economy of modern time is no longer limited
households alone but encompasses a whole
nation.
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND
ECONOMICS

The economy of the Philippines is largely

dependent on the export of labor.
 POLITICAL SCIENCE AND
ECONOMICS

This would require growth in the

industrial sector, that is the
economic climate must be
conducive enough to attract
investment in the industries. An
important part of the process of
encouraging the growth of
industries in the long run is the
removal of invisible barriers like
red tape and corruption.
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND
SOCIOLOGY

Sociology came from Latin

word “socius” which means
“partners, companions, associates,
or mates and the Greek word logos,
which means “to study”.
 POLITICAL SCIENCE AND
SOCIOLOGY

The field revolve around the study of social

groups in society. These social groups include the
family, as well as professional, religious and business
associations. Then there are groupings along racial,
ethnic and linguistic lines. Considered as social
institutions, these groups are the subjects of study
among sociologists. This groups have brought
together the interests of political scientists and
sociologists in a sub field known as political
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND
SOCIOLOGY
While the family is hardly involved in conflict
with other families except in the political arena,
this social group is mostly vulnerable to
politicians. During the election period, politicians
perform a never ending rituals; they walk from
house to house to convince families to vote for
them. Politicians try to influence this basic unit of
society because family members largely vote as a
group.
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND
ANTHROPOLOGY

Anthropology was derived from the greek

word anthropos, which means “man” and
logos, which means “to study” field deals with
the study of the origin of man or humanity. Its
concern is to establish the cultural origin of
man within the context of social institutions,
education, religion, economy and government,
among others.
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND
ANTHROPOLOGY

In so far as the government is concerned, an

anthropologist can team up with a political
scientist to trace the roots of the political
leadership in an ethnolinguistic group, minority
group, or a nation itself. This will establish the
evolution of political structure and leadership,
which may have influenced the way of life of the
people in that era.
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND
PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology- a scientific study of the mind and how it
dictates and influences our behavior.
Political Science deals with human psychological
behavior. This field of study comes in handy to political
scientists, who can work with psychologists in
intercepting the behavior of voters during elections,
studying how officials treat public funds. If only people
knew the psychological profiles of the candidates for
various positions, the country would be better off today.
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND
GEOGRAPHY
Geography was derived from the greek word geos,
which means “earth”, and graphein, which means “to
write”. This field is concerned with the study of the
earth and its surface features, and how they
influence human distribution and activity. It is
related to political science because it deals with
location, territory, and resources. From the
relationship of this fields of study sprung the cognate
concept of geopolitics.
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND
GEOGRAPHY
Geopolitics involves the study of
the influence of factors such as
population pressures, scarcity of raw
materials, location and size of a country
relative to others, national wealth,
domestic policies, politics and the
conduct of foreign affairs.
 POLITICAL SCIENCE AND LAW
Law plays an important role in society.
People exercise their political authority to the
government. It functions as an instrumentality
of the state through law. It is also through the
government that the state exerts its power in
order to achieve its goals.