STUDY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

Meaning of Political Science

Reduced to its simplest terms, political science is the systematic study of the state and government.
The word “political” is derived from the Greek word polis, meaning city, or what today would be the
equivalent of a sovereign state. The word “science” comes from the Latin word scire, “to know”.

(1) The science of politics, therefore, has, as its formal object, a basic knowledge and
understanding of the state and of the principles and ideals which underlie its organization and
activities.

(2) It is primarily concerned with the association of human beings into a “body politic”, or a
political community (one organized under government and law).

(3) As such, it deals with those relations among men and groups which are subject to control by
the state, with the relations of men and groups to the state itself, and with the relations of the state
to other states. 3

Scope of Political Science

Political Science is a very comprehensive field. Its curriculum is almost certain to include
courses in political theory, public law, and public administration as well as in various more
specialized subjects. 4

(1) Political theory. – The entire body of doctrine relating to the origin, form, behavior, and
purposes of the state are dealt with in the study of this subject.

(2) Public law. – The (a) organizations of governments, (b) the limitations upon government
authority, (c) the powers and duties of governmental offices and officers, and (d) the obligations of
one state to another are handled in the study of public law. In contradistinction to the rules of
private law, which governs the relations among individuals, public law is so specialized that separate
courses are offered in each of its subdivisions – constitutional law (a,b),administrative law (c), and
international law (d).

(3) Public administration. – In the study of public administration, attention is focused upon the
methods and techniques used in the actual management of state affairs by executive, legislative, and
judicial branches of government. As the complexity of government activities grows, the traditional
distinctions among the powers of these branches become even less clear-cut5. Today, legislative
bodies have been forced to delegate greater discretion to executive officers responsible for the
conduct of government policies and powers. Thus, we find many administrative agencies exercising
quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial powers, i.e., powers which are legislative (see Art. VI, Sec. 1) and
judicial (see Art. VIII, Sec. 1) in nature.

Administrative law, already referred to, also falls within the scope of any broad study of
public administration.

Interrelationship with other branches of learning.

No precise and definitive boundaries can be placed around a subject as comprehensive as political
science. It shares many points of common interest with other social disciplines.
(1) History. – The bond between the political scientist and the historian is obvious in the
observation that “history is past politics and politics present history”. The political scientist
frequently adopts a “historical approach” and employs the knowledge of the past when he seeks to
interpret present and probable developments in political phenomena.

(2) Economics. – Until late in the 19th century, political science and economics (the study of the
production, distribution, and conservation, and consumption of wealth) were coupled inter the
name “political economy”. Today, these fields are jointly concerned with the fact that economic
conditions affect the organization, development, and activities of states, which in turn modify or
even prescribe economic conditions. The political scientist regularly adopts an “economic approach”
when seeking to interpret such matters as “public financial policies” and government regulation of
business.

(3) Geography. – Geopolitics (a science concerned with the study of the influences of physical
factors such as population pressures, sources of raw materials, geography, etc., upon domestic and
foreign politics) indicates one approach which a political scientist frequently must adopt to help
explain such phenomena as the early growth of democracy in Great Britain and the United States
and its retarded growth in certain Continental Europe, and the rise of authoritarian governments in
developing countries.

(4) Sociology and anthropology. – The political scientist, the sociologist (who specializes in the
study of “society as a whole”), and the anthropologist (who studies “mankind” in relation to
physical, social, and cultural development) are all deeply concerned with the origins and nature of
social control and governmental authority, with the abiding influences of race and culture upon
society, and with the patterns of collective human behavior.

(5) Psychology. – The political scientist as well as the psychologist promotes studies of the
mental and emotional processes motivating the political behavior of individuals and groups. One of
the many topics which the political scientist handles from a “psychological approach” is that of
public opinion, pressure groups, and propaganda.

(6) Philosophy. – The concepts and doctrines of Plato, Aristotle and Locke (and other universal
thinkers about the state) are important to the specialist in academic philosophy and also to the
political scientist. These concepts are the underlying forces in the framing of constitutions and laws.
The political scientist considers the branch of philosophy called ethics, too, when he contemplates
the moral background of proposed changes in social legislation.

(7) Statistics and logic. – The political theorist must possess a broad scientific background and
knowledge of current political problems, and he must employ scientific methods in gathering and
evaluating data and in drawing conclusions. These involve a proper application of statistical
procedures for the quantitative measurement of social phenomena and of logical procedures for the
analysis of reasoning.

(8) Jurisprudence. – This branch of public law is concerned with the analysis of existing legal
systems and also with the ethical, historical, sociological, and psychological foundations of law. A
comprehension of the nature of law) whether the “natural law” or the “divine law”) and of statues
enacted by legislatures is indispensable to the political theorist.

Law and state are inseparable. All states proclaim laws, effective within their jurisdictions,
and enforce them through a system of penalties or sanctions. To maintain a full understanding of the
facts of political life, the political scientist has to combine the legal with the extra-legal viewpoints.
Function and importance of political science.

(1) The function of political science is to discover the principles that should be adhered to in
public affairs and to study the operations of government in order to demonstrate what is good, to
criticize what bad or inefficient, and to suggest improvements.

(2) Its findings and conclusions may be of immense practical use to constitution-markers,
legislators, executives, and judges who need models or norms that can be applied to immediate
situations. Again, they may be of immense practical use to individuals who seek to understand that
state in which they live.

(3) The study of political science deals also with problems of social welfare, governmental
economic programs, international cooperation, and a wide range of other matters that are urgent
concern to public officials and to private citizens.

Goal in study of political science courses.

Why should the university or college student study political science? What good will it do
him or her, in later life? Will it help in getting a job – in “getting ahead”? Are political science courses
“practical” (i.e., vocational)?

(1) Education for citizenship. – In answer, it should be made clear that the primary objective of
the political science curriculum is education for citizenship. The preparation of students for careers
in politics, law, teaching, the civil service, and the foreign service (though vitally important) is
secondary to the task of equipping them to discharge the obligations of democratic citizenship,
which grows constantly heavier in the modern world.

(2) Essential parts of liberal education. – Most political science courses should be viewed as
essential parts of liberal education, bearing no materialistic price tag and promising no job security.
Such shop-worn adjectives as “practical” and “cultural” have no relevance here. Intelligent,
responsible citizenship can save democracy; ignorance and negligence can lose it.

Democracy has practical advantages which no one can appraise in monetary terms. Just how
much is freedom worth? The oft-repeated but seldom comprehended quotation, ”eternal vigilance is
the price of liberty,” requires amendment. Study, information, and understanding of the
complexities of modern government and politics are necessary as eternal vigilance.

(3) Knowledge as understanding of government. – Political science seeks to gather and impart
this knowledge and understanding. The “good” citizen who behaves himself and votes regularly is no
longer enough. He must know how his government really operates, what interests and forces are
behind particular policies, what the results of such policies are likely to be, what his rights and
obligations are, who his elected representatives are, what they stand for.

Reference:

De Leon, H., Textbook on the Philippine Constitution (2019)