Political Science

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Concept of Political Science:
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The term political science is the
systematic study of the state and the
government.
Political Science is a social science
regarding the practice and theory of
politics, the analysis of political
systems, and the study of political
behavior.
Simply put, political science is the
study of politics. Some particular areas
that political scientists study include
public policy, national politics, political
theory, international relations, and
comparative politics.
“Politics is a fascinating game,
because politics is government. It is
the art of government.” - Harry
Truman
“I have never regarded politics as the
arena of morals. It is the arena of
interest.” - Aneurin Bevan
“Politics is the gentle art of getting
votes from the poor and camp aign
funds from the rich by promising to
protect each from the other.” - Oscar
Ameringer

Scope of Political Science:
The
scope of Political Science can well be
illustrated by Harold Laswell’s saying that;
“Politics is who gets what, how and when.”
Politics then is not just about the government
of the State, but also about the forces and
influences
behind
every
other
social
institution governed by definite rules and
laws, like churches, corporations, trade
unions, etc. Politics became thus more
concernedwith human interaction in societies
. According to Robert Dahl, apolitical system
is any persistent pattern of human
relationship that involve, to a significant
extent, rule or authority. Nearly all human
associations tend to become political and are
influenced by or directly influence a
government’s policies.
Thus, the scope of Political Science may be
divided into the following categories:
1. The scientific study of the state
and
government,
their
respective nature and aims. In the

opinion of the old theorists like
Bluntschli, Lord Acton, Goodnow
political science is to be restricted to
the study of the state only. For
Leacock, Deutsch, etc, the study of
government is at its core, while for
Laski, Gilchrist, Gettel, etc, because
government and state cannot be
separated, political science must
include the study of both.
2. The
scientific
study
of
associations
and
institutions.
Because not only the state but also m
any other association and institutions
in society succeed in gathering men
together
with
some
common
objective, these deserve the attention
of political scientists aswell.
3. The
study
of
national
and
international affairs, and the
political study of man. Politics is
also about human interactions at
home and abroad, in international
organizations and during international
conflicts. According to Laski, political
science is concerned with the life and
acts of man in relation to organized
states.
4. The study of the development of
the state. According to R.G. Gettel,
political science is the study in the
past, present and future of political
organizations and political theories.
This historical dimension of political
science suggests a rather optimistic
opinion that the study of past and
present political institutions and
theories may serve to the future
improvement of the state.5. The study
of power in human relations. The
issues of political power are one of the
main topic of political science for the
simple reason that without it, politics
would be void of any sense and
reduced to the empty interplay of
useless structures and roles.
Conclusion: The fact that the scope of
political science covers so many aspects
of human life and has the potential to
profoundly affect the course of human
civilization would be sufficient to convince us
that, indeed, Manis a political animal.
POLITICAL IDEOLOGY

Political Ideology:
(1) A coherent set of ideas of on how
people should live together should live
together.
(2) A plan of action for applying these
ideas
Four key functions:
1. Explanatory (How the world Works
[Empirical])
2. Evaluative (Deciding whether things
are good or bad [Normative])
3. Orientation (Supplies the holder with a
sense of (Supplies the holder with a
sense of identity)
4. Programmatic (What to do and how to
do it)
5.
I.

Liberalism (J.S. Mill)
- Desire for a free, open, tolerant
society
- Humans as rational and able to
recognize and promote self-interest
- Liberty and equality of opportunity
- Classical Liberalism versus Modern
(Welfare) Liberalism (Welfare)
Liberalism’s ‘Four Functions’:
Explanatory: Social conditions are the
result of individual choices and actions
Evaluative: Societies work best when
individuals are free to do as they wish
without harming or violating rights of
others
Orientation: Rational, self-interested
individuals (and hence equal)
Programmatic: Programs for promoting
individual
liberty
(classical)
and
opportunity (welfare)

II. Conservatism (Edmund Burke)
- Human imperfection
- Focused on conserving existing
social order
- Custom and tradition as ‘latent
wisdom’
- Organic view of society
- Acceptance of inequality
- Freedom and order
Conservatism’s ‘Four Functions’:
Explanatory: Social conditions are the
result
of
human
imperfections
(intellectual and moral)

Evaluative: Success is a question of
social order and harmony Orientation:
Each of us is part of a greater whole, and
we should act with interest of society (not
just self) in mind
Programmatic: Slow and cautious
change

III. Socialism (Robert Owen)
- Flaws of Liberalism
 Individualism
and
Social
Class
 Economics
and
Political
Power
- Economic
Equality
as
‘True
Equality’
- Economic Planning and the Welfare
State
Socialism’s ‘Four Functions’
Explanatory: Social conditions can
only be understood by reference to
economic and class relations
Evaluative: Sharpness of economic
divisions
(exploitive?)
determines
health of society
Orientation: People should think of
themselves in terms of their economic
(class) position
Programmatic: Policies must be put
into place to advance economic
equality (which is a prerequisite for
‘true’ political equality)
IV. Communism (Karl Marx)
- Historical Materialism
 Economic
(material)
foundation of social change
 Class conflict as engine of
history
- Historical progression
 Primitive
Communism
>
Slave -based Empires >
Feudalism > Capitalism >
Communism
- Inherent contradictions
 Capitalism,
profit
and
exploitation
 Revolution
Communism’s ‘Four Functions:

Explanatory:
Social
conditions
determined by economic and class
relations
Evaluative:
Sharpness
of
class
divisions
determines
‘stage
of
development’
Orientation: People should think of
themselves in terms of their class
position
Programmatic: Policies must be put
into place to advance movement
toward communist revolution and
‘classless society’
V. Fascism
- Organic view of society (society
over individual)
 Mussolini Slogan: credere,
obbediere,
combattere
(Believe, obey, fight)
- Irrationalism
- Rejection of Democracy
- Elitism
- Statism
- Militarism
- Hypernationalism/Racism
 Nation/People
as
determining identity
Fascism’s ‘Four Functions:
Explanatory: Problems from ‘enemies
of the nation or people’ (scapegoats)
Evaluative: Strength and unity of the
nation or people
Orientation: Define yourself as part
of nation/people (not as individual)
Programmatic: Establish fascist elite
in uncontested power (Believe, obey,
fight).
Forms of Government
- “Forms” of government refer to the
basic rules by which a nation carries
out its policies
- There is no standard for the
classification of governments
- Actual arrangements differ from
theoretical ones
As to extent of powers exercised by the
central or national government.
a. Unitary – control of national and local
affairs is exercised by the central or
national government
b. Federal – powers of the government
are divided between to sets of organs,

one of the national and the other for
local affairs
As to the relationship of the between the
executive and the legislative branches of the
government
a. Parliamentary

legislative
and
executive bodies are fused together
b. Presidential
– the
executive
is
constitutionally independent of the
legislature
The Government of the Philippines in
Transition
The pre-Spanish government
(1) Unit of government
- composed of settlement villages
called barangay
- from balangaya Malayan word
meaning boat
- every barangay was virtually a
state
- they form confederations for the
purpose of protection against
common enemies
(2) Datu
- each barangay was ruled by a Datu
- the barangay is monarchy in form,
with Datu as its monarch
(3) Social Classes in the barangay
- the people of the barangay are
divided into four classes namely:
 the nobility (maharlika)
 the freemen (timawa)
 serfs (alipingnamamahay)
 slaves(aliping sagigilid)
(4) Early laws
- Maragtas Code – written by Datu
Sumakwel about 1250 AD
- Kalantiaw Code – written by Datu
Kalantiaw in 1433 AD
(5) Comparison
with
other
ancient
governments
- laws of barangay are generally fair
- the
system
of
government
although defective was not so bad
- Filipinos even during the early
period
have
shown
high
intelligence and moral

Government during the Spanish period
Spain’s title to the Philippines
- discovery
of
the
archipelago
Magellan 1521
- Conquest of Miguel Lopez de
Legazpi in 1565
- By virtue of the Treaty of Paris, the
Philippines was ceded to the United
States
Spanish colonial government
- the Philippines was ruled indirectly
by the King of Spain through
Mexico from 1565 to 1821
- Mexico obtained its independence
from Spain, thus, the Philippines
was ruled directly from Spain until
1898
POWER & AUTHORITY
Definition of Power – Max Weber claimed
that every society is based on power.




Power is the ability to achieve desired
ends despite resistance from others.
Power is the ability to carry out one’s
will, even over the resistance of
others.
Power struggles – workers with their
bosses, power struggle within family
members, (all these attempts to gain
or keep power) these also consider as
political actions.

Therefore, in our everyday life, we practice
power. Additionally, the elements of power
according to symbolic interactionist could be
categorized into two:
i)
ii)

Micropolitics – to refer to the exercise
of power in everyday life
Macropolitics – refers to the exercise of
power over a large group E.g.: the
governments; whether dictatorship or
democracies, they are the examples of
macropolitics.

• For every society development, it is
inevitably for a society to encompassed a
system of leadership. • Some people must
have power over others
• Weber perceive power into two type that is
legitimate power and illegitimate power.




Legitimate power : is called as
authority i.e. power people accept as
right.
Illegitimate power : known as coercion
i.e. power that people do not accept
as just.

• The use of power is the business of
government. Government is a formal
organization that directs the political life of a
society.
• How do government try to make itself
seem legitimate in the eyes of the people?
• Through – “authority” as mentioned by
Weber.
• Authority - power that people perceive as
legitimate rather than coercive. This
relations of power authority is legitimate
• How do governments transform raw power
into more stable authority?
Types of Authority
• Traditional Authority; power legitimized
by respect for long-established cultural
patterns.
Characteristics of Traditional Authority:
a)
Preindustrial societies
b)
Populations collective memory –
people’s accept a system
c)
Usually
one
of
hereditary
leadership
d)
Strong
power
in
political
system, absolute power and almost
godlike
e)
Source
of
strength
for
patriarchy, domination by men
• Examples of Traditional Authority:
- Chinese emperors
- Aristocratic rulers in medieval Europe
• Traditional authority declines as societies
industrialize.
• Traditional authority remains strong only as
long as everyone shares the same belief and
way of life (Hannah Arendt, 1963).
• How?
a.) Through modern scientific thinking,
b.) the specialization demanded by industrial
production and,
c.) the social changes and,
d.)
the
cultural
diversity
resulting
immigration all combine to weaken tradition.

• There are still hereditary rulers who claim a
traditional right to rule. But this claim is
easily out of step with modern society.
• Today's hereditary rules, their power over
society has been minimized, relinquished,
and
regulated
by
another
authority;
government. E.g. : In the United Kingdom,
Malaysia.

b.) Make their own rules and challenge the
status quo

Rational Legal Authority
Weber defined rational legal authority
(bureaucratic
authority):
as
power
legitimized by legally enacted rules and
regulations.

• Charismatic authority flows from a single
individual, the leaders death creates a crisis.
• Survival of a charismatic movement, Weber
explained, requires the “routinization of
charisma”

the
transformation
of
charismatic authority into some combination
of traditional and bureaucratic authority.
• Example: After the death of Jesus, followers
institutionalized his teachings in a church,
built on tradition and bureaucracy. Routinized
in this way, the Roman Catholic Church has
lasted for 2000 years.

• Rational legal authority is power
legitimized in the operation of lawful
government.
• Weber viewed bureaucracy as the type of
organization that dominates in rational
thinking, modern societies.
• Members of today’s high income societies
seek justice through the operation of a
political system that follows formally enacted
rules of law.
• Rationally enacted rules also guide the use
of power in everyday life.
• Examples of Rational Legal Authority:
a.) the authority of deans / classroom
teachers/ lecturers – rests on the offices they
hold in bureaucratic colleges and universities
b.) the police officer / police traffic / security
guard in uniform possessed rational legal
authority
• Traditional authority - comes from family
background – ascribed status
• Rational legal authority - comes from a
position in government organization
• Traditional monarch - rules for life
• Rational legal/modern rules - the president
or the prime minister accepts and gives up
power according to law, which shows that
presidential authority lies in the office not in
the person
Charismatic
Authority;
is
power
legitimized
by
extraordinary
personal
abilities that inspire devotion and obedience.
• Charismatic authority depends less on a
person’s ancestry or office and more on
personality.
• Charismatic authority characteristics:
a.) Using their personal skills to turn an
audience into followers

• Examples:
a.) Jesus of Nazareth
b.) Adolf Hitler
c.) India’s liberator, Mahatma Gandhi
d.) US civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

(ADDITIONAL INFO)
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Authority may be defined as the
legitimate right to give orders and get
orders obeyed.
Authority is permission to act without
permission.

Characteristics of Authority
 Legal & Legitimate
 Position are defined in advance
 Relationship between Superior &
Subordinate Influences the behavior
 Managerial Job
 Decision Making
 Personality Factors
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Power refers the ability or capacity to
influence the behavior or attitudes of
other individuals.

AUTHORITY
Right to do
Something
Derived from
Organization
position
Always flows
downward- can be
delegated
Legitimate
Narrow Term

POWER
Ability to do
Something
Derived from many
sources
Flows in all
directions
Maybe illegitimate
Broad Concept

Authority









It is the formal right given to a manager
to command or to give orders to perform
a certain task.
Authority is given to a manager to
achieve the objectives of the
organization.
It is a right to get the things done through
others.
It is a right to take decisions.
A manager cannot do his work without
authority.
A manager gets his authority from his
position or post. He gets his authority
from the higher authorities. The lower and
middle-level managers get their authority
from the top-level managers. The toplevel managers get their authority from
the shareholders.
Authority always flows downwards. It is
delegated from the top to the bottom.

Power
 It is a broader concept than authority.
 Power is the ability or potentials of a
person to influence another person or a
group to perform an act. - - It is the ability
to influence events.
 Power can be personal power. A person
gets his personal power from his
personality or from his expert knowledge.
Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers,
Programmers, etc. get their power from
their expertise and professional
knowledge.
 Power can also be legitimate or official
power. This power comes from a higher
authority. “Authority is the right to give
orders and power to exact (get)
obedience."
Difference Between Authority and Power
In management, authority differs from power
in the following ways:
1. NATURE
Authority is the formal right given to a
manager to make decisions or to
command.
Power is the personal ability to influence
others or events.
2. FLOW

Authority flows downwards in the
organization. This is because it is
delegated by the superiors to the
subordinates.
Power can flow in any direction. Even
subordinates have power over their
superiors, if they can influence their
behavior. So power can flow upwards,
downwards or horizontally.
3. LEVEL OF MANAGEMENT
Authority depends on the level of
management. Higher the level of
management, higher will be the authority
and vice-versa.
Power does not depend on the level of
management. Power can exist at any
level of management. Even a lower-level
manager or a worker can have power to
influence the behavior of a top-level
manager.
4. LEGITIMACY
Authority is always official in nature. So
it is legitimate.
Power need not be official in nature. So it
need not be legitimate.
5. POSITION AND PERSON
Authority is given to a position or post.
The manager gets the authority only
when he holds that position.
Power resides (lives) in the person who
uses it.
Five Bases of Power
In 1959, social psychologists John R. P.
French and Bertram H. Raven identified five
sources or forms of power from which a
person gets power. These sources are now
known as French and Raven's Five Bases of
Power.
The French and Raven's five bases of power
are briefly explained as follows:(1) Referent Power (2) Legitimate Power (3)
Expert Power (4) Coercive Power (5) Reward
Power
1. Referent Power, is also called as
personal power and the power of
personality. This power comes from
each leader individually. It is the
personality of a person that attracts
followers. People follow because they

are influenced or attracted by the
magnetic personality of the leader.
The followers admire their leaders and
may even try to copy their behavior,
dress, etc. John F. Kennedy, Martin
Luther King, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar
and Mahatma Gandhi are the
examples of leaders with referent
power.
2. Legitimate Power, is also known as
position power and official power. It
comes from the higher authority. In an
organization, a manager gets power
because of his position or post. It gives
him the power to control resources
and to reward and punish others. For
e.g. a chief executive officer (C.E.O) of
a company gets legitimate powers
because of the position which he
holds.
3. Expert Power, is also known as the
power of knowledge. It comes from
expert knowledge and skills. Expert
power means the expert influences
another person's behavior. This is
because the expert has knowledge
and skill which the other person needs
but does not possess. Persons like
doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc.,
have expert power because they have
expert knowledge and skills, which
others require.

subordinates, etc. The reward power
also enables the leader to recognize
the services of the subordinate
through appreciation.
STATE & NATION
A community of persons more or less
numerous, permanently occupying a
definite portion of territory, having a
government of their own, to which the
great body of inhabitants render
obedience and enjoying freedom from
external control.
ELEMENTS OF THE STATE
1. People – the inhabitants or mass
population living within the
state.
2. Territory – the fixed portion of the
surface of the earth inhabited by
the people of the state.
3. Government – the agency through
which the will of the state is
expressed and carried out.
4. Sovereignty – the supreme power
of the state to command and
enforce obedience to its will from
people and to have freedom from
foreign control.
9 Major Differences between State and
Nation
Some of the major differences between state
and nation are as follows:

4. Coercive Power, is the ability to
punish others or to pose a threat to
others. Coercive power uses fear as a
motivator. The leaders or managers
with coercive powers can threaten an
employee's job security, cut his pay,
withdraw certain facilities, suspend
him, etc. The coercive power may
have an impact in the short-run. It will
create a negative impact on the
receiver.
5. Reward Power, is opposite to
coercive power. With the help of
reward power, the leader tries to
motivate the followers to improve their
performance. This power enables the
leader to provide additional facilities,
increase in pay, promotion of the

In common usage, the terms State and
Nation are often used as synonyms. For
example, when we say ‘Western nations’ or
‘Asian nations’ or ‘African nations’, we do not
mean nations but States. Similarly, the
‘United Nations’ is in reality an organization
of nation-states. Each modern state is a
Nation State; nevertheless there exist some
important distinctions between the State and
the Nation.
Points of Difference between State and
Nation:
1. The elements of State and Nation are
different:
The State has four elements—population,
territory, government, and sovereignty. In

the absence of even one element, a State
cannot be really a State. A state is always
characterized by all these four elements. On
the contrary, a nation is a group of people
who have a strong sense of unity and
common consciousness.
Common territory, common race, common
religion, common language, common history,
common culture and common political
aspirations are the elements which help the
formation of a nation, and yet none of these
is an absolutely essential element. The
elements which go to build a nation keep on
changing.
2. State is a Political Organization while
Nation
is
a
social,
cultural,
psychological, emotional and political
unity:
The State is a political organization
which fulfills the security and welfare needs
of its people. It is concerned with external
human actions. It is a legal entity. On the
other hand, a Nation is a united unit of
population which is full of emotional, spiritual
and psychological bonds. A nation has little
to do with the physical needs of the people.
3. Possession of a Definite Territory is
essential for the State but not for a
Nation:
It is essential for each State to possess
a fixed territory. It is the physical element of
the State. State is a territorial entity. But for
a nation territory is not an essential
requirement. A nation can survive even
without a fixed territory. Love of a common
motherland acts as a source of unity. For
example, before 1948 the Jews were a nation
even though they had no fixed territory of
their own. When, in 1948, they secured a
definite
and
defined
territory,
they
established the State of Israel.
4. Sovereignty is essential for State but
not for Nation:
Sovereignty is an essential element of
the State. It is the soul of the State. In the
absence of sovereignty, the State loses its
existence. It is the element of sovereignty
which makes the state different from all
other associations of the people. It is not
essential for a nation to possess sovereignty.
The basic requirement of a nation is
the strong bonds of emotional unity among

its people which develop due to several
common social cultural elements. Before
1947, India was a nation but not a State
because it did not have sovereignty. (State =
Nation + Sovereignty).
After her independence in 1947, India
became a State because after the end of
British imperial rule it became a sovereign
entity. However, each nation always aspires
to be sovereign and independent of the
control of every other nation.
5. Nation can be wider than the State:
The State is limited to a fixed territory.
Its boundaries can increase or decrease but
the process of change is always very
complex. However a nation may or may not
remain within the bounds of a fixed territory.
Nation is a community based on common
ethnicity,
history
and
traditions
and
aspirations.
Obviously its boundaries can easily
extend beyond the boundaries of the State.
For example in a way the French nation
extends even to Belgium, Switzerland and
Italy because people in these countries
belong to the same race to which the French
claim to belong.
6. There
can
be
two
or
more
Nationalities living in one State:
There can be two or more than two
nations within a single State. Before the First
World War, Austria and Hungary were one
State, but two different nations. Most of the
modern states are multinational states.
7. Nation is more stable than State:
A nation is more stable than the State.
When sovereignty ends, the State dies, but
not the nation. A nation can survive even
without sovereignty. For example, after their
defeat in the World War II, both Germany and
Japan lost their sovereign statuses and
outside powers began to control them. They
ceased to exist as States. But as nations they
continued to live as nations, which after
some months regained their sovereign
statuses and became sovereign independent
states.
8. A State can be created while a Nation
is always the result of evolution:
A State can be created with the
conscious endeavors of the people. Physical
elements play an important role in the birth

of a State. For example, after the Second
World War, Germany got divided into two
separate states West Germany and East
Germany.
But
Germans
remained
emotionally as one nation.
Ultimately in Oct., 1990 the Germans
again got united into a single state. In 1947
Pakistan was created out of India as a
separate State. A nation is a unity of the
people which emerges slowly and steadily.
No special efforts go into the making of a
nation.
9. The State uses police power (force)
for preserving its unity and integrity,
the Nation is bound by strong cultural
and historical links:
State has police power. Those who
dare to disobey it are punished by the state.
A nation does not have police power or force
or coercive power. It is backed by moral,
emotional and spiritual power. A nation
survives on the power of sense of unity of
the people. A nation appeals, the State
orders; a nation persuades, a States coerces;
and a nation boycotts, the State punishes.
State is a political organization, while the
nation is a unity.
State and nation do not have the same
boundaries, and yet there is a tendency for a
nation and state to be one. Most of the
nation’s today stand organized into different
states. Most of the modern States are
multinational States. The modern state is
called a nation-state because all the
(nationalities) living in one state stand
integrated into one nation.
A state continuously pursues the objective of
national- integration. The State tries to
secure this objective by securing a willing
blending of the majority nationality and all
the minority nationalities, through collective
living, sharing of all the ups and the downs in
common and development of strong
emotional, spiritual and psychological bonds.
Unity in diversity or more really, unity in
plurality stands accepted as the guiding
principle by all the modern civilized
multinational states like India, USA, Russia,
China, Britain and others.
3 INHERENT POWER OF STATE
The power of the government or state to
enforce
and
money
mandatory
or

compulsory money contribution from the
people to support the needs of the nation.
POLICE POWER is the power of promoting
the public welfare by restraining and
regulating the use of both liberty and
property of all the people. It is considered to
be the most all-encompassing of the three
powers. It may be exercised only by
thegovernment. The property taken in the
exercise of this power is destroyed because it
is noxious or intended for a noxious purpose.
POWER OF EMINENT DOMAIN is the
power of the State to forcibly take private
property for public use upon payment of just
compensation. Like police power, it is based
on the overriding public necessity and is
exercisable by the legislative department of
the State. But unlike police power, eminent
domain may be exercised by private entities
with the express valid delegation from the
legislature. It can likewise be exercised by
the President, administrative agencies and
local governments. The power is usually
exercised through the formal expropriation
proceedings before a court which, when
granted by the latter, will result to the actual
taking of the property from its owners upon
payment of just compensation.
Requisites of Taking in Eminent Domain
1. The expropriator must enter a private
property.
2. The entry must be for more than a
momentary period.
POWER OF TAXATION is the power by
which the State exacts enforced proportional
contribution from the people, property and
exercise of a right within its territory to raise
revenue for the purpose of defraying the
necessary expenses of the government. The
main theory supporting the exercise of the
power is the so-called "lifeblood theory". The
theory states that taxes are the lifeblood of
the nation. Without the revenue raised from
taxation, the government will not survive
resulting to the detriment of the society.
Without taxes, the government would be
paralyzed for lack of motive power to
activate and operate it. Another theory is the
benefits-received theory which states that
tax are imposed because of the reciprocal
duties of protection and support between the

State and the taxpayer. The taxpayer is liable
to pay tax
Summary:
1. Police Power – for public good
2. Power of Eminent Domain – for state
3. Power of Taxation – for revenue

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